Power Analysis: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham JailA statement by eight white Alabama clergymen gave rise to the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King. This statement criticized King's nonviolent protest actions against racial segregation and the injustice of unequal civil rights in America (Carpenter et al.). The eight clergymen considered Birmingham to be “their” city and King was upsetting established “law, order and common sense” in dealing with racial issues in Alabama during this time (Carpenter elt al. par 1). These clergymen considered King an “outsider” and described his actions as “unwise and premature” (Carpenter elt al. par 3). This statement suggests that there is an opportune time to create equality among all Americans. To analyze the power strategies of Martin Luther King's Letter we must understand that this letter was written from a prison cell, where King, a black man, was being held for protesting for racial equality. Furthermore, King began writing his letter in the margin of the newspaper article that contained the priests' statement (King Institute). The statement written by the priests and directed at Martin Luther King Jr. was a direct action to manage the "game" and "regulate the action," as Michael Schwalbe theorized (163). By detaining King for "parading without permission," the Birmingham police force attempted to handle King's actions with punishment (King, para. 14). By denying King the “First Amendment privilege of peaceful assembly and protest” (14), the Birmingham Police Department is protecting his “identity stakes” (Schwalbe, 165), of white privilege. The white power structure described in King's letter aimed to “preserve the evil system of segregation...... middle of paper ......., LL.D., CCJ, JOSEPH A. DURICK, DD, HILTON J GRAFMAN, PAUL HARDIN, HOLAN B. HARMON, GEORGE M. MURRAY, EDWARD V. RAMSAGE and EARL STALLINGS Alabama clergymen” Letter to Birmingham News. April 12, 1963. Web. October 26, 2011. King Institute. Web. October 26, 2011. .King, Jr., Martin Luther. April 16, 1963. “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” 25. Print. Schwalbe, Michael. “Regulatory Action"..