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An Analysis of Letter from the Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King
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An Analysis of Letter from the Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King Jr is considered one of the most famous civil rights advocates across the United States in the 20th century. He is celebrated by many as the father of the modern civil rights advocacy, and he made it his mission to fight for equality in a time when the black race was considered weak and less important by many white supremacists. He organized and led many civil disobedience groups in the country in fighting for the liberation of black people from slavery and encouraged them to champion for their rights. For many black people who lived in the United States, he was a hero who promised emancipation while for those who promoted white supremacists, he was just another stubborn black man who wanted blacks to have rights like whites. Due to his numerous activism activities, Dr. King found himself at loggerheads with the government, and he was arrested and sent to prison at the Birmingham prison. He was an inspiration for black people who he wanted to save from the chains of slavery. A group of white clergy that was opposed to Dr. King’s advocacy message and activities sent a letter to him condemning him, and this did not sit well with him. He wrote a reply to the Alabama clergy condemning them for being hypocrites and justifying his activism.
Dr. King wrote the letter lamenting that those who had not suffered torment and problems like the black race in America could not either understand or acknowledge the need for equal rights for all people. Dr. King was aware of the issues that black people facing since the first slave was brought into America and knew that it was up to each of them to rise and fight for their rights and end segregation based on the skin colour. For him, the fight against racism and economic exploitation of black people was a noble cause that he was willing to pursue to death (King). Dr. King did not want the prison walls to be the excuse for the failure of his mission to enhance equality and build an America that everyone was proud of calling home. In his letter to the Alabama clergy that came to be commonly known as the ‘letter from the Birmingham Jail,’ Dr. King outlined the main reasons why he did advocacy work. He highlighted the need for racial equality, and he justified his civil rights action. He looked up to convince the moderate whites on the need to support reforms that allowed each American to live a fulfilling life and exposed the hypocrisy in the six clergymen who wrote a letter to him.
As a civil right and leader, Dr. King concerned by some of the issues the six white clergymen raised although he responded in a diplomatic tone to appeal to the moderate whites. He was aware that he needed the support of white moderates to succeed in his quest for constitutional reforms and if he responded harshly to the letter, his objectives would be in jeopardy (Dyer &Kevin). He did not want a situation where the tension between whites and blacks would be high hence eroding the support of moderates. Dr. King had known to accommodate divergent views, and he often wanted to be a uniting factor between the black people and the whites, and he never wanted to alienate himself. Dr. King knew that the six white clergymen had no right to condemn his civil rights movement, but he was willing to defend it although in a manner that was lawful and upheld the rule of law. He did not want to use injustice to fight injustice.
To pass him views to the clergymen, Dr. King used an interesting analogy to appeal to them. He knew that most of the white moderates were Christians and using a Bible analogy gave him a better chance of speaking to their hearts, and this would enhance his ambitions. He also knew that it would be easier for the white clergymen to relate to a Bible analogy as they were familiar with the Bible and its teachings. He explained to them that injustices had no place in the modern society and even proclaimed that, ‘An injustice anywhere would mean injustice everywhere.’ The letter focused on dismissing the myths and misconceptions held by the white supremacists about his civil rights advocacy movement and explain that Christians should help fight the injustice. Dr. King knew that many white Christians were against slavery and racial segregation, although the methods that they used to address their displeasure made little impact. Christians believed that black people should be patient and wait for an equal society without the need for demanding for it while he thought that it was up to the blacks to fight for their rights (Sherriff). He hoped that the white moderates would support him in declaring that the time for racial segregation was over and there was a need to build a just society where everybody was equal under the law.
The letter from the Birmingham jail was not only an eye-opener to the black people, but it also served as a warning shot to the white supremacists that it was time for an equal society. The letter advanced the race debate that had taken off and invited the white moderates to join hands with civil rights advocacy groups in building a better future for future generations. Dr. King did not hesitate to make it clear that there was no more room for racial segregation in America and that every individual had a responsibility of fighting the injustices that were being perpetuated on minority groups. The letter had a personal touch, and most people would relate with the concerns that were bothering Dr. King, and he hoped this was to help increase the support base for his movement.
When he wrote the letter from his jail cell, Martin Luther Dr. King was emphasizing that the time for change was now. He wrote the letter to criticize his distractors who included the eight clergymen who believed the change was necessary, but it was not yet the right time to demand it. The clergy had criticized him through a publication in the Birmingham News, and he found it prudent to respond to them and all those who were not willing to support the cloud of change. In response, Dr. King acknowledged that most of his critics were people who had not been affected by racial segregation and could not understand the challenges that the issue presented to the black community. He knew that some of his critics believed that they were first-class citizens and considered the minority races like black as second-class citizens, and this did not settle down well with him (Kaplan). The fact that the status quo favoured the whites allowed the white clergymen not to be worried about their wellbeing or that of their children. This was not the case for Dr. King and his followers who wanted their grandchildren to inherit a country that valued all its citizens without considering some as more important than others. He was willing to bring the message of change to the masses that had been oppressed by the current status of things and the letter from the Birmingham jail help him convey the message.
In his letter, Dr. King cast doubt on the federal government’s policies in addressing the issue of racial segregation that had become entrenched in American society. The letter raised fundamental questions that had not been directed by law by outlining the injustice that was occurring in the black community. Although it was not a written law at the time, he felt that it had become the unspoken law that needed to be addressed urgently by law. By the fact that segregation had alienation the black community, in the eyes of Martin Luther King, the Constitution had failed to protect the vulnerable people in society. He believed that people were equal, and we need to protect each other’s rights. He advocated for the St. Augustine’ logic on the law where he believed that if a law was unjust, it should not be considered to be an actual law and it doesn’t need to be followed. He wanted the masses to oppose the oppressive laws that supported segregation.
The letter from Martin King Jr from the Birmingham jail did also highlights the importance of individual action in ensuring that change was achieved (Sails-Dunbar). He acknowledged that time would not change anything, and it would not help if everybody sat down and wait for things to change for the better. He wanted to provoke every person to action and bring the moment of action. In his letter, Dr. King emphasized that every person, men and women, had a role to play in fighting for equality. In ensuring that everybody was involved, Dr. King denounced violence as a means of demanding for justice as it would have caused injustice to innocent people. He was a firm believer in civil disobedient, and he considered it the most appropriate method that people could use to bring change into their societies. This did not mean that Dr. King would not use force to ensure that the black race was uplifted from the chains of segregation. He acknowledged that people could break laws that enhanced injustice. He further argued that freedom and liberation is never giver on a silver platter; instead people have to make sacrifices to ensure that future generations enjoy the privileges they are pursuing. He considered himself a firm believer in the rule of law and that even if he was sent to prison, it was because the law was perpetuating injustice and Dr. King considered it null and void.
In his letter, Dr. King did also acknowledge the specific role that organized religion groups had in fighting segregation in the United States. Although the reply was to the white Alabama clergymen, he made particular reference to what the church and all other religious groups needed to do in promoting equality. He did not only emphasize on the fact that racial profiling and discrimination was immoral, further explaining that it was against the necessary religious foundations that many people believed in. He gave a Bible analogy to drive his point home and ensure that other Christian ministers would advocate for change just like he did. He even gave reference to the Christian missionaries who were selfless and put their lives in line in aiming to ensure justice prevailed. He explained that most churches in the south would end up being irrelevant if they did not call out segregation for what it was.
The letter from the Birmingham jail is one of the most iconic letters that Dr. Martin Luther King wrote. Although there were many letters he wrote, this attracted the most attention, and it is because of the time that it was written and the place it was written. Dr. King received much appreciation from many people who believed in the cause of pursuing justice for the black race and remains one of the most celebrated civil rights activists. He was the epitome of the black emancipation in the mid-twentieth century and forever he will remain as a national icon in the champion for civil rights.
Works Cited
Dyer, Justin Buckley, and Kevin E. Stuart. “Rawlsian Public Reason and the Theological Framework of Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham City Jail”.” Politics and Religion 6.1 (2013): 145-163.
Kaplan, Howard. “The Rule of Law and Civil Disobedience: The Case Behind King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” Social Education 77.3 (2013): 117-121.
King, Martin Luther, and C. T. Vivian. “Letter from Birmingham jail.” Arguing about law (2013): 254-264.Sails-Dunbar, Tremaine T. “A Case Study Analysis of the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”: Conceptualizing the Conscience of King through the Lens of Paulo Freire.” Pursuit-The Journal of Undergraduate Research at the University of Tennessee 8.1 (2017): 14.
Sherriff, Gina. “Letter from Birmingham Jail Letter from Birmingham Jail.” LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 6 Dec 2018. Web. 2 Dec 2019.
Rowing New Zealand
Rowing New Zealand
Introduction
Rowing New Zealand is the governing body for the nation’s rowing sports. The purpose of this organization is to offer support and leadership to create a success environment for the country’s rowing community. The organization is in charge of rowing at different levels including basic and startup class for secondary schools, and the intermediate level for clubs and universities, and at the premium level involving professional high performance organizations. The organization was established in the 19th century as the New Zealand Amateur Rowing Association (Rowing NZ, 2021). It was comprised of nine major clubs attempting to regulate and coordinate the sport at a professional level. As time went by, the sport has gained a lot of media attention and especially for the secondary schools. The overall aim is to dominate at the international level in the Olympics to attain the success of Australia and Great Britain at the global stage. Within the New Zealand sport sector, the organization is in charge of more than 65 clubs connected to different regional rowing affiliations. As an umbrella body, Rowing NZ includes the Rowing Association for Secondary Schools, Rowing Council for NZ Universities, Rowing Race Official Association, the Karapiro and Ruataniwha Rowing, and the Regional Performance Centres NZ. The organization is also in charge of the National Club Championships, Masters Championship, NZ University Championship, and the NZ Secondary Schools Championships. The selection criteria for national representation is also under the mandate of Rowing NZ.
Structure of Rowing NZ
As the managing body of a very competitive sports in New Zealand, Rowing NZ has done significantly well since its inception in the 1850s. It has supported the sport, including successful establishment at home and on the international scene since it was established. Rowing NZ has two main arms. The domestic division has its focus on universities, clubs, and schools within New Zealand. The professional high performance division focuses on international teams including the elite teams and the more amateur junior teams that participate on behalf of New Zealand. The structure allows the organization to develop and retain a workplace culture of top performance, as evidenced by the excellent performance both at home and internationally over the last few years.
In terms of organization and structure, Rowing NZ has a board that is responsible for the administration and management of day to day activities. Rowing NZ has 11 associations that include 10 regional affiliates plus the governing body for secondary schools referred to as the NZSSRA (New Zealand Secondary Schools Rowing Association). Right below the above associations include 65 clubs, each with its own affiliate association. NZSSRA is in charge of rowing schools instead of clubs (Rowing NZ, 2021). Rowing NZ also includes friends of the associations that support different aspects of the club. However, the latter do not enjoy any voting rights or a decision making power. From this structure, the intention of the organization is to ensure a stable governance framework that is reflective of best practice models, diversity, and inclusion.
Information from the official website of Rowing New Zealand (2021) indicates that the organization has a board of directors at the helm. It is made up of a chairperson and 10 members. The current chairman is Gerry Dwyer. Other members of the board include Raechel Cummins, Geoff Taylor, Thornton Williams, Jane Davel, Bruce Tong, Virginia Le Bas, Genevieve Macky, Jock Mackintosh and Annabel Ritchie. Rowing NZ is headed by a president Bill Falconer and a vice patron, Fred Strachan. Other administrative and managerial roles include a general manager (finance), office manager, and coach development manager. For the high performance rowing category, the leadership and management is made up of a general manager (performance), a high performance athlete development leader, a high performance operation manager, high performance coordinator, athlete wellbeing leader, high performance coaches, both male and female segments, elite development coaches, and the national pathway coaches.
As a private-public organization, Rowing NZ uses a board of directors as a way of representing the different interests of shareholders including affiliate clubs, regional associations, rowing participants, junior athletes, professional athletes, other governing bodies, and so on. The structure used by Rowing NZ ensures that the decision making process regarding the welfare of employees is well implemented. The board is appropriate for the organization because it allows issuance of a strategic direction, performance management, compliance and for the management of risk. The existing structure uses a board management as the top decision maker, and key professional management leaders within the organization in charge of different departments and for different roles. From a management point of view, the role of the board is appropriate for Rowing NZ because it allows strategic planning and a focus on identification of priorities, meeting of objectives and establishing goals for the entire organization. The board is able to find and gather resources, plan on the allocation of resources to support their decisions, and run an oversight role on the management of the organization.
Summary of How the Organization is Governed
As noted earlier, Rowing NZ has a board of directors made up of a chairperson and 10 members. The current chairman is Gerry Dwyer. Other members of the board include Raechel Cummins, Geoff Taylor, Thornton Williams, Jane Davel, Bruce Tong, Virginia Le Bas, Genevieve Macky, Jock Mackintosh and Annabel Ritchie. Rowing NZ is headed by a president Bill Falconer and a vice patron, Fred Strachan (Rowing NZ, 2021). The role of this board include strategic planning and a focus on identification of priorities, meeting of organizational objectives and establishing goals for the entire organization, finding means to gain resources for the benefit of the organization, plan on the allocation of these resources to support their decisions, and run an oversight role on the management of the organization.
Rowing NZ has a role to enhance and promote all rowing aspects and related activities in New Zealand. The board of directors released a strategic map and plan expected to run from 2020 to 2025. The strategic plan, released in 2020, looks at leadership, participation, and performance (Rowing NZ, 2021). The mission and vision of the strategic plan is to attain continual improvement with a vision seeking to improve the current position of rowing in New Zealand. The overall aims are categorized into five missions including continued improvement, trusting together, accountability, caring, and honor. Further, the strategic plan is focused on sustained high performance, a thriving domestic culture in rowing, people welfare and overall wellbeing, and operational excellence. The overarching established objectives are all geared towards making the organization better in all realms of operations including participation, management, leadership, engagements with others, team leadership, coaching management, performance, and a culture that upholds the values true to the nation.
In terms of the people, the strategic plan intends to establish relations with driven individuals who are relentless in the pursuit of organizational and personal excellence. The welfare aim is to ensure that everyone thrives within the organization and create high performance through the sustenance of health and happiness for all stakeholders. The teaming goals include ensuring collective working together to realize the goals of the organization, ensure flexibility and trusting, and encourage a democratic environment where knowledge sharing, questioning, and communication are an essential part of the organizational values. For the culture, Rowing NZ’s strategic plan for the next five years is to live and breathe organizational values that will see everyone hold themselves accountable.
To create a thriving domestic community, the strategic plan for Rowing NZ aims to investigate new structures and delivery possibilities post the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (Rowing NZ, 2021). It also aims to engage different stakeholders to create a streamlined domestic rowing community. To reflect the diverse population in New Zealand, the organization will deliver relevant events that ensure active participation opportunities for various talented individuals. The organization also intends to proactively promote safety practices, implement policies that protect young stakeholders, implement a coaching strategy to harness talent for both athletes and their performance managers, and offer clear development opportunities and pathways for the current and new officials. Lastly, the organization will assess alternative competition disciplines and structures including newer coastal rowing for the benefit of all members. People welfare and wellbeing prioritizes on the best outcomes for the staff, coaches, and athletes. The organization will also recognize the participation and involvement of volunteer groups in supporting rowing. Were resources allow, the organization also aims to support family time and apply the best human resource practices and positive employment support systems to ensure the best environment for internal stakeholders.
Short Bio on the President
Bill Falconer is the current president of Rowing NZ. Bill Falconer has had a long career in rowing, including actively as a rower, as a board member, as a long-standing chairman, and now currently at the head of management of the organization. As a long-time chairman of the board, Bill Falconer has a background in management. He has headed the board for years and gained enough experience to manage the organization as the top staff member (Scoop Business, 2016). Bill Falconer has also held other leadership positions as the chairman of the Meat Industry Association for more than a decade. He successfully oversaw operations of an organization that is highly sensitive, in terms of the commodities traded as well as the regulations imposed on the meat industry. He was able to establish unity in the organization and created an avenue for a collective voice to provide key stakeholders in the meat industry with the voice needed to address key issues including trade policies and government initiatives. At Rowing NZ, he has been a key part of the organizational progress, including being a critical player in a transitional period when the managerial head was fired for unethical behavior. From his career in the organization, Falconer has gained a wealth of experience in planning, organizing, coordinating, controlling, and commanding. At one point in his career, he was an executive chairman, serving both the interests of the board and heading the management function of the organization. Therefore, he is well versed with strategy formulation and implementation. Due to his rich management background, he is able to define and implement corporate strategy through purpose identification in line with organizational plans of action and other strategic direction that would help steer the organization into the right direction.
References
Rowing NZ. (2021). The 2020-2025 Strategic Plan. Available at https://www.rowingnz.kiwi/Attachment?Action=Download&Attachment_id=999Rowing NZ. (2021). Staff & Board. Available at https://www.rowingnz.kiwi/Category?Action=View&Category_id=523#Rowing NZ. (2021). Decision making in New Zealand rowing. Available at https://www.rowingnz.kiwi/Story?Action=View&Story_id=739
Scoop Business. (March 3, 2016). New Meat Industry Association Chair. https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1603/S00141/new-meat-industry-association-chair.htm
Health Inequalities
Health Inequalities
Author
Institution
Health Inequalities
The following program is aimed at promoting healthy behaviors in the face of prevailing health inequalities in the society. In order to develop this program, we shall lay emphasis on one of the prevalent chronic illness among various groups in the society, their causes and how this can be corrected. In this program, we shall focus on the population of the diabetic female African Americans. The program is designed at promoting healthy behaviors in prevention of diabetes in this population that has a high risk of diabetes infection. The women in this program are between the ages of 20 and 60 years. The morbidity rate of this group demonstrates that in every 4 African American women older than 55, have diabetes, and among 20 years or older African Americans, 11.8 % of women have diabetes. Mortality rates among this group as a result of diabetes indicate that, though they represent 13 % of the female population in America, the African-American women account for 23% percent of diabetes related deaths among all the women in the U.S (Krishnan, Cozier, Rosenberg & Palmer, 2013).
Race and gender is intertwined with the social economic status of African American women which have had a profound effect on their health status. Race is seen as a determining factor in the outcomes of their socioeconomic status. The consequences of their segregation as a minority group due to gender and race, compounded with gender have led to low economic development, low educational levels achievements and poor health (Hayward & Seaman, 2004). Efforts towards solving the prevailing socioeconomic inequalities and its correlates, for instance, racial or ethnic discrimination will reduce the gaps in socioeconomic statuses in the U.S and hence prevent the ensuing detrimental effects, when it comes to issues like health.
The low socioeconomic status of the African-American women shapes their health behaviors, such as, access to health care, health education, and increased stress levels. Their race in this case is in relation to their social economic status and, therefore, their lower economic status coupled with increase in chronic stress lead to health problems. The low socioeconomic status is also associated with a poor diet and poor health care (Hayward & Seaman, 2004). Addressing the existing differences in social class is important in understanding the racial inequalities prevalent in health care and health behaviors. As a result of their segregation, many African American women have a low economic status and are continuously at the risk of health care concerns. Their low socioeconomic status has fatal consequences in determining their health status, and access to both health care and insurance, or even lacking it at times. The association between socioeconomic status and both racism and gender, is further exhibited by the existence of a restricted socioeconomic development for the Africa American women, considering that they are a minority group in America (Hayward & Seaman, 2004).
A relation also exists between socioeconomic status and the environment that African-American women live in, which is associated to the occurrence of diabetes. The effect of such environments is seen through the sources of chronic stress from environmental factors, such as, noise, poverty and violence. Adverse housing conditions to such women are also contributors towards increased risks of diabetes due to stress (Krishnan, et al. 2013). High levels of diabetes prevalence in African American women are thus as a result of the prevailing risk factors leading to the disease, among them socioeconomic status. In order to eliminate health inequalities, lifting and bridging the socioeconomic gap between these African American women and the whites is critical, and consequently promotes their health behaviors.
Various services aimed at promoting healthy behaviors among African American women should be considered in order to achieve these objectives. The use of the transcendental meditation technique greatly reduces the stress levels and consequently improves the prevailing dyslipidemia condition (the most common complication in diabetes characterized by abnormal amounts of liquids such as cholesterol) (Rosenthal, 2012). Dyslipidemia is characterized by low levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL) or needed cholesterol whereby, the use of the transcendental meditation technique leads to an increase in HDL cholesterol. Stress reduction through the use of this method is both practicable and effective when it comes to the reduction of diabetic dyslipidemia in African American women. It can also be used as an essential part of these women’s lifestyle modification program, and for continued improvement of diabetic dyslipidemia. It’s worth noting that most of the African American women suffering from any type of diabetes are mostly under psychological stress. The combination of the transcendental meditation program with some changes to the diet and adequate exercise may go further to producing immense benefits (Rosenthal, 2012).
The reason behind the use of this method on this group is that African American women are under constant pressure with regards to their low socioeconomic status in the society. As such, they need to overcome stress and its effects such as diabetes. It’s essential to note that this service is customized for African American women considering that its viability was first tested on these women (Rosenthal, 2012). As such, the technique hopes to achieve its objectives of developing healthy behavior and practices among African American women, in order to reduce the diabetes disease in this group.
References
Hayward, M & Seaman, T. (2004) NCBI: Race/Ethnicity, Socioeconomic Status, and Health. Retrieved on Feb. 20, 2013. < http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK25526/ >
Krishnan, S. Cozier, Y. Rosenberg, L. & Palmer, J. (2013). Socioeconomic Status and Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes: Results From the Black Women’s Health Study. American Journal of Epidemiology. 171. 564-570
Rosenthal, N. E. (2012). Transcendence: Healing and transformation through transcendental meditation. London: Hay House.