Final answer:
In his 'Letter from a Birmingham Jail,' Martin Luther King Jr. connects the public and private actions of the police by revealing the tactic of brutality against activists to suppress their voices while externally showing restraint in handling protesters to preserve a facade of peaceful law enforcement.
Step-by-step explanation:
Martin Luther King Jr., in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, highlights the dichotomy between the public and private actions of the police during the civil rights movement. While publicly, law enforcement officers were seen arresting protesters peacefully and selectively releasing prominent figures such as Dr. King himself, they still took part in brutalities against African Americans symbolizing a double standard. King's critique focuses on the complacency of white bystanders and clergy who urged patience and submission to a slow legal process, contrasting it with the immediate and violent repression activists suffered at the hands of the police such as Bull Connor—whose actions, like unleashing high-pressure fire hoses and attack dogs on children, were publicly broadcasted. These private actions were meant to intimidate the African American community and suppress their right to protest, but when televised, they inadvertently garnered national sympathy and revealed the severity of racial injustice, advancing the civil rights cause.
In his letter, Dr. King articulates the urgency for immediate action and confronts the notion that oppressors will never voluntarily give up their power; therefore, justice delayed is justice denied. Through his words, King connected the horrifying images of police brutality with the broader struggle for civil rights, underscoring the moral imperative to act against unjust laws and social systems.