He understood the necessity for peace to achieve progress. When one is willing to compromise with an adversary it allows for a greater chance for progress. Given the inequalities of the time, King had every right to demand an equal playing field the second he was discriminated against. However, he also realized people’s inability to want to change. Thus, he recognized the demands of the other. The implications of this led to another one of the steps that he provided. He outlines the importance of “self-purification.” I take this to mean understanding the biases that blind one’s perception and living by the words that you preach. King was a man to say what he meant, but also to mean what he said. This allowed is movement to have greater credibility and allowed for a larger number or individuals to be willing to follow his movement and advocate in a non-violent way.
In Martin Luther King’s “A Letter from the Birmingham Jail,” he demonstrates the necessity of peace and planning when looking for societal progression. These steps allowed for greater solvency during the Civil Rights Movement because nonviolent measure allowed for King’s movement to gain and retain larger solvency. Thus, his words hold massive message, context and implications. Doctor King is what I would refer to as a positive extremist. He embodied change. Today, pluralism still seeks to promote the words that King wrote