Final answer:
Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'Letter from a Birmingham Jail' was a response to his arrest during the civil rights protests in Birmingham and to a public statement by white Alabama clergymen who opposed the protests' tactics.
Step-by-step explanation:
Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from a Birmingham Jail was written in response to a specific civil rights event involving a series of protests in Birmingham, Alabama. These protests were part of a campaign initiated by the African American community to end discriminatory employment practices and public segregation. The event that prompted King to write his letter took place after he was arrested for participating in a nonviolent demonstration, which violated a local injunction against such demonstrations. King's letter was a direct response to a public statement made by eight white Alabama clergymen who criticized the civil rights protests. They argued that the battle for social change should be fought in the courts and legislatures, not in the streets, and that it should be pursued gradually and patiently. King disagreed vehemently, stating in his letter that 'justice too long delayed is justice denied,' emphasizing the urgency for immediate action in the fight for civil rights.