King was determined to bring the Civil Rights Movement into the limelight where people would come to understand his message and the messages of the movement in a non-violent way. King needed the media, he needed exposure, but he didn't want violence, and he most certainly didn't want incarceration, this letter stemmed from a response to being jailed, a response to criticism, in which he was publicly chastised by local ministers for taking part in a siutation without invitation.
