Essay about King's Argument in A Letter from Birmingham Jail

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.

In the beginning, King responds to the criticism he received concerning his present activities as “unwise and untimely.” King then explains that he is in Birmingham because the presence of social injustice, and the purpose of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights is “to be on call to engage

The largest challenge Dr. King faced in writing his response was that his audience did not respect him. As a result of the laws he devoted himself to protest, Dr. King was a second class citizen. To the white clergymen he was addressing he was both socially and legally inferior. The feeling of supremacy that the clergymen, and many other whites, had toward blacks at the time made them largely unsympathetic to their plight. To avoid appearing pitiful or even pathetic he maintains a calm and authoritative tone. Even though the clergymen were harshly critical of his activities and methods King responds in a collected manner “I feel that […] your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to answer

Meanwhile, Dr. King also appeals to the logical side of the men within the letter, to lead them to the bigger picture of the injustice faced by African-Americans during this era. Dr. King uses facts and United States laws to prove that his actions were not untimely but in contrast these actions were overdue and that in fact he was not an outsider, but rather an invited guest.“So I, along with several members of my staff, am here because I was invited here, I am here because I have organizational ties here. But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.” (King) He goes on by saying “Then, last September, came the opportunity to talk with leaders of Birmingham's economic community. In the course of the negotiations, certain promises were made by the merchants --- for example, to remove the stores’ humiliating racial signs. On the basis of these promises, the Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth and the leaders of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights agreed to a moratorium on all demonstrations. As the weeks and months went by, we realized that we were the victims of a

In Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter “Letter From Birmingham Jail” he attempts to explain himself to the clergymen that have been criticizing his actions , and explain why he is protesting in the city of Birmingham. In the beginning of this essay, he states his points as to why he belongs in Birmingham at this time, and that he is not an "outsiders coming in”. Further along in this essay he shows the importance of these non violent protest, and that “all communities and states are interrelated, and he feels compelled to work for justice anywhere that injustice is being practiced.” In this Argumentative letter, Dr. King uses many rhetorical appeals to give his argument great strength, and he show cases immense emotions to appeal to the readers to help them relate to the injustice that him and the African American community are facing.

Martin Luther King Jr. wrote the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” after an unjust proposal made by eight white clergymen. Their claims were to be that no Negro “outsider” should be allowed to establish or lead any protest and should leave them to their local neighborhoods. King replied directly to the clergymen, but used religious ties to also have his voice heard in the public. In his counter argument, King strategically used logical evidence, emotional aspects and good motives to present his perspective to the clergymen.

In the letter “Letter from Birmingham Jail” King wrote to the clergymen as to why non-violent direct actions are superior by arguing on how he and the clergymen are alike in terms of their goal to make a better Birmingham and occupation as a clergyman, describing the white moderate and how they are considered to be worst offenders of continuing racial discrimination, and listing several descriptive scenarios of African Americans brutally and morally wounded by racial discrimination to explain that the African American community can no longer wait for change to occur in court; they must take immediate action if they desire racial freedom. If they do nothing, the African American society would fall into obscurity, never being equal to the white

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” I could not help but sit in amazement as I read his prolonged letter written from inside a jail cell. His letter, in black and white responding to “A Call for Unity,” an note written by eight, Caucasian, Alabama clergymen, was to serve as a response to those who believed that King acted wrongly for coming to Birmingham, Alabama, as an outcast, for building massive pressure with his protest march, and for the unfortunate timing of said marches. As I read over the letter at hand King’s letter, I couldn’t help but be captivated with his broad awareness. In the time and day that King was in, with any assistance from the internet or anything because in today’s times, we as people will use

In this letter Martin Luther King responds to the criticism he received from several Clergymen which basically articulated that Mr. King should withhold from any further acts of demonstration for the Negro community. Mr. King goes on to explain how although the clergymen feel his actions were “unwise and untimely”, he has taken the proper steps in trying to provide peace among the Negro and white communities. However, he states how the empty promises and absence of change that the Negro community was assured would never actually ensue, leading to Martin Luther King pursuing further and more extreme actions.

These people would rather stay at a comfortable, albeit unjust, state than fight for fairness. He connects this point to another, that we should not stop trying to gain our rights if we might cause violence in doing so. Together with other supporting points, like how some African-Americans are also inactive, these points urge people to take action. He moves into a section about the criticism about him being an “extremist”. King says that extremists might actually be needed and compares to historical figures, like Jesus, who might have been considered extremists. This part appeals to religious folk who admire figures such as Jesus and might be swayed to take action. King wraps up with a criticism of the church, specifically the white church, who had not taken action in favor of the Civil Rights movement. This section could also have stood to be shorter, as his major points, how the church has gone from forging new paths to following those already forged and how there are some exceptions in people that have been prosecuted for their choice to help the blacks, could be given equally as effectively in much fewer words. Much of King’s piece was wordier than necessary and would have been more engaging for the general

taking a genuine interest in helping the people of Birmingham. Later on in King’s letter, he further explained

Even though King hopes that the black community will fight oppression peacefully, he knows that without his efforts many angered individuals would be utilizing violent forms of protest. With the help of the black society’s church, King was able to lead the movement in a nonviolent way, which he believes not only benefited the blacks but the whites as well. “If this philosophy had not emerged, by now many streets of the South would, I am convinced, be flowing with blood(7). King continues his letter by saying that if he had not stepped in and instituted the idea of a peaceful protest that the blacks would’ve taken matters into their own hands, causing mass violence. As the letter continues King states, “if they refuse to support our nonviolent

He explains that there are others who have cultivated this deeply- rooted, entrenched feeling of disgust for the white men that they have completely renounced of their peaceful movements and the non-violent ideas stemming from Christianity. These men are so pent-up with anger that they have renounced to the beliefs in their religion. King explains and that he has cautioned against these and is relentless to participate in the brutality of the movement but; however, he comprehends the frustration that’s deep-seated in these men, who have waited hundreds of years to be granted their God-given rights and till now have received nothing.

4. King has been disappointed by white moderates, because “Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Councilor or the Ku Lux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than justice; who prefers negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice.” (King) The white moderate are the ones enforcing these laws that favor white people, being the ones making it hard to fit in a change. All Martin Luther King wants from the white moderate is for them to help establish justice in America. As for the church, he demands that they join hand in hand with the movement. Instead, “some have been outright opponents, refusing to understand the freedom movement and misrepresenting its leaders; all too many have been more cautious than courageous and have remained silent.” (King)

In paragraphs 12-14 of “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, Dr. King begins addressing the clergymen’s belief that the peaceful demonstrations conducted by him and his associates were untimely. King starts answering questions frequently heard by opposing or moderate forces, as well as essentially denouncing the resistance to desegregation. King then introduced the relationship between the oppressor and the oppressed; concluding that the oppressor is not inclined to act on things that do not directly affect them. Therefore, providing a platform of his argument as to why blacks could no longer wait to be given their basic human rights. Action needed to take place because fair treatment was no longer a hope to be given, it had to be taken.