A Letter From The Birmingham Jail

Martin Luther King’s inspiration for writing his, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was mainly to appeal to an undeniable injustice that occurred during his time. His letter was in response tos eight white clergymen, who objected to King protesting in Birmingham. Dr. King effectively crafted his counterargument after analyzing the clergymen’s unjust proposals and then he was able to present his rebuttal. Dr. King effectively formed his counterargument by first directly addressing his audience, the clergymen and then using logos, pathos and egos to present his own perspective on his opponent’s statements.

The 1960’s was a sad time when segregation existed. Although the colored people were technically free, were they really free? This time in history was filled with colored people being disgraced, threatened, held in captivity, and “vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sister” (King). Children ripped apart from their families, not being able to socialize with certain people, or even go to the local amusement park. It was a hard time to be a colored person, and there was one hope. Martin Luther King, Jr. believed that one day blacks and whites could one day come together peacefully. King tried to do what he believed was right with everything in his will to finally join forces and not be talked down on by whites. In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” he includes several events that affect not only him but thousands of others emotionally, he uses creative examples to get his points across, and lastly King includes multiple past and present historical facts.

On April 16, 1963, from a jail in Birmingham, Alabama, Martin Luther King Jr. composed an extensive letter to eight clergymen who condemned the timing of the civil rights movement. Although the letter was addressed to these eight clergymen, the Letter from Birmingham Jail speaks to a national audience, especially King’s “Christian and Jewish brothers”(King, 29). His peaceful but firm letter serves as a remarkably persuasive voice to an immensely chaotic mess, and is seen as a major turning point in the civil rights movement. King believes that without direct action, the full rights for African Americans could never be achieved. He defends the impatience of people in the civil rights movement, upholding that without forceful

Martin Luther King Junior was an American Baptist minister and activist who was a key leader in the Civil Rights Movement. King wrote and delivered many inspiring and moving speeches. In addition to speeches King wrote several letters including, “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” in which discussed the great injustices that were occurring towards the African American community in Birmingham. To justify his aspirations for racial justice and equality, Martin Luther King Junior uses the emotional, ethical and logical appeals. In this paper, I will be discussing the cause and effect of the significant excerpt, supporting my claims with textual evidence and will be providing commentary about the intended effect.

The ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail’ was written on April 16, 1963. The letter was a response to directed to his fellow clergymen about how he was imprisoned for protesting, and to answer the criticism he received about his work and ideas trying to get fair treatment and equal rights in the United States. The Letter had intent to change the clergymen's thoughts, and so the clergymen would accept him and his ideas, also to act upon them.

In a response to the Alabama clergymen's’ letter Martin Luther King Jr. addresses their concerns and works to connect with his audience by establishing his credentials by describing his work. He uses imagery and sets up his character to not only unify people, but to also to separate groups. From the start of the letter, he respectfully puts himself into a place of importance to coerce the reader to see the relevance of his words. King manages to display himself as a respectful fighter of injustice from the very start of the letter where he positions himself alongside his “dear fellow clergymen”(1). To show his status of someone with power he describes the image of his secretaries not being able to be efficient if he were to respond to every

Martin Luther King’s adherence towards peace and especially social justice is clearly shown in “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” In this letter King writes with passion and conviction. Through this suggestive yet powerful letter Martin Luther King uses various rhetorical devices to get his point across by saying “justice too long delayed, is justice denied.” Through the clergymen’s arguments and use of ethos, pathos, and logos, he demonstrates to them that they need to take action immediately.

Martin Luther King created an archive that might start the defining moment of the Civil Rights development furthermore provides of the battle for genetic equity. King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” aims to defend those who are frantic for peaceful immediate action, the outright shamelessness for unfair laws is very disgraceful and it needed to be exposed for what it really was. Also the expanding likelihood of falling back on amazing confusion and fighting, the utter frustration for those who lie within the chapel who, in King's opinion, required not to live up to their obligations as individuals for the lord. Those activities of the African-American race needed aid and support as the lord required demonstrated in King's Letter. Likewise, King explains, “past promises have been broken by the politicians and merchants of Birmingham and now is the time to fulfill the natural right of all people to be treated equal”. Secondly, King's solution for those clergymen's declarations that separating the law may not be the path to accomplish the effects the African-American is searching for. King feels that the chapel has bypassed its responsibilities to the African-American people, concealing behind “anesthetizing security of stained-glass windows”. King sums up his letter by making a side point that he trusts that the chapel will view its duty and intend as Concerning illustration individuals of the lord and comprehend to have immediate action, those who support unfair/one sided laws and the looming risk of the African-American climbing dependent upon Previously, savagery if they would not listen. King does this all in a diplomatic, ardent

After being criticized about his presence in Birmingham by white clergy in a letter published in the Birmingham newspaper, Martin Luther King set out to not only establish why he was in Birmingham, but also to establish moral, legal, and ethical cause to his platform and the resultant peaceful protests he had been promoting, all of which lead to his arrest and the reason he was in jail. Martin Luther King established early on in the letter his credibility as the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and also that he was in Birmingham due to an invitation as a result of his organizational ties. Mr. King also went on to elaborate about his personal reason for being there due to a great injustice to the black people that prevailed in Birmingham. Mr. King used the artistic proofs of ethos, logos and pathos to establish his credibility and persuade or convince his audience in the relevance of his platform.

Throughout Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” He expresses much passion. King not only used this letter in response to the several clergymen, but he has a bigger audience in mind as he goes along. In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. uses persuasive techniques to respond to the negative letter he received. King uses not just one persuasive techniques in different parts of his letter to better get his point across, which allows the letter to better relate to all who read it. By clearly stating the problem, and going over how it can be resolved in a just, fair manner, King go against the clergymen’s letter with a clear and persuasive mind set.

King opens the letter by explaining that he is replying to their criticisms, in that the protests are “unwise and untimely” (p. 120). King believes that the clergymen are sincere people of genuine good will, but are serving as God’s people in an unjust society. King later highlights the example of early Christians such as Apostle Paul, who preached far from home, and relates to his personal Christian duty in which he chose to travel to Birmingham to blacklist injustice. After all, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” according to King, so when it comes to fighting injustice, there is no such thing as an outsider in the U.S. (p. 121). King gives numerous examples of personal and political wrongs that have taken place while African-Americans had waited for racial equality. Under the hardship of such injustice, impatience is understandable. King responds to the clergymen’s concerns about the protestors’ violation of laws by deciphering between just and unjust laws within an unjust society. Just laws collaborate with moral law and should be obeyed. Unjust laws violate the commandments put forth by God, therefore must not be obeyed. King expresses his anguish in the lack of action from white moderates, as they feared disorder more than injustice and believe they had the right to tell African-Americans to wait for their freedom. King compares segregation to a boil that can’t be cured “as long as it is covered up” but that can be cured if it is “opened with all its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light” (p. 125). King’s final response is criticism of the clergymen’s applause of Birmingham law enforcement’s maintenance of order during the protests.

So in 1955, Martin Luther King started the civil rights movement for non-violent protest against the whites for not making blacks not socially equal. Martin had been arrested for these protests and was criticized for his ways of nonviolence. He wrote a letter to white clergymen who criticized him for being “unwise and untimely.” Martin Luther also presented his “I Have a Dream” speech on the Lincoln memorial steps. In this essay, I will compare and contrast critical information of the two passages.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" is a defense of the kind of non-violent direct action that King promoted and used during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s. It is a response to statements of disapproval made by the clergymen of Birmingham, Alabama, and is obviously written in a way that appeals directly to this audience. King uses his knowledge of this audience's identity to design highly targeted arguments and to choose relevant historical examples for citation, and uses his personal experience in writing sermons and speeches to construct moving sermon-like passages that complement and reinforce his arguments. The arguments' basis in terms that the clergymen will find to be familiar and agreeable,

In “Letter from Birmingham Jail," the leader of the African-American Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King Jr., discusses the injustices and racism of the African-American community in order to address the clergymen's concerns. King’s purpose is to display the racial discrimination of the black in America, to justify his cause, and dispute the requirement of immediate action. He develops an earnest tone throughout the letter to let his readers know that he is not attacking the clergymen but merely trying to get his point across.

Despite both Malcolm X and MLK actively fighting for freedom and equality during the Civil Rights Movement, both men are not remembered equal. Undeniably, their approaches were different and this resulted in varying outcomes for their success. Indirect action seemed ineffective to Malcolm and he desired changed immediately which seems like the most effective route for change, yet Martin Luther King Jr. is famously known for his success. Malcolm X focused on direction action and standing up for the black community while Dr. King wanted to negotiate and was willing to wait for his equality which ultimately allowed him more success.