Letter From Birmingham Jail By Martin Luther King

Helena McFarland Mr. Bodell Per. 4/ Adv English ll 12 March 2024 Martin Luther King Jr’s letter Rhetorical Precis In Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail," he argues that people must disobey unjust laws. He believes that unjust laws go against moral principles and should not be followed. King structures his argument by addressing criticism and explaining the difference between just and unjust laws. He also uses examples from history and religious texts to support his points.

Many times, disagreements fail to bring an understanding to opposing sides because each side has different views on the subject at hand. In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. attempts to establish an adequate definition of “just” and “unjust” laws. King knew he could not directly argue his beliefs of segregation because the clergymen made clear they were not impressed with anti-segregationists breaking the law. He knew in order to make a valid rebuttal he could not cause confrontation. What is most interesting about the letter is the style of writing King uses to argue for righteousness which compels the reader to share his views of anti-segregation.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was a powerful speaker and a major contributor in the Civil Rights movement. One would think that because of the type of person he was, he would never end up in jail. Unfortunately that is exactly where he ended up due to the injustice that he faced in Birmingham, Alabama. He wrote a persuasive, straight to the point letter directed towards the white church and to those who sit idly by doing nothing about the racial injustice that engulfs the community of Birmingham. Kings argument in “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was so coercive and successful at piquing the readers’ emotions by his use of pathos in a way that typifies inactions and hypocrisy.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was imprisoned in Birmingham jail because of his contribution and participation in nonviolent demonstrations opposing the segregation championed by the southern leaders. The essay explores his longhand letter in response to civic statement of alarm and threats from the letter written by white religious leaders.

Two identical concepts can be received in two completely different ways depending on the manner they are presented in. In Civil Disobedience, Henry David Thoreau puts forward his argument that the only way to stop the immoral ways of the American government is by taking immediate action. The same belief is portrayed in a more emotional approach in Letter From a Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King, Jr.. Although both focus on equivalent concepts, their presentation separates them into two different categories, with Letter From a Birmingham Jail being clearly superior to the other.

Dr. Martin Luther King wrote a letter from Birmingham jail on April 16, 1963. The letter was written in response to his “fellow clergymen,” stating that Dr. King’s present activities was “unwise and untimely.” The peaceful protest in Birmingham was perceived as being extreme. The letter from Birmingham Jail was a letter of grievance to the white clergy, and their lack of support in the civil rights movement. Dr. King explained in his letter the difference between what is just and what is unjust and his reasons being in jail at Birmingham. He believed clergymen are men of genuine good will and that they deserve a response, so Martin Luther king wrote a letter from Birmingham Jail.

Letter from Birmingham Jail was a letter written by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. from a solitary confinement cell in Birmingham, Alabama. Some portions of the letter were written and gradually smuggled out by King 's lawyer on scraps of paper including, by some reports, rough jailhouse toilet paper. Violent racist terror against African Americans was so horrible in Birmingham in the summer of 1963 that the city was being referred to by some locals as “Bombingham”. King had been arrested while participating in a peaceful anti-segregation march on the grounds that he did not have a parade permit. He had been called to Birmingham by one of the affiliates of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a group of which King was president, to help in the protests of the extreme racism present in Alabama. Segregation laws and policies were part of the Jim Crow system of separate schools; restaurants, bathrooms, etc. for blacks and whites that existed far beyond the era of slavery, especially in the American South. Several local religious figures Dr. King had counted on for support simultaneously published a letter entitled A Call for Unity, which was critical of King and his supporters. King 's letter, in turn, identified and responded to each of the specific criticisms that he understands are being made by these men, specifically, and by the white church and its leadership, more generally; however, this letter was also deliberately written for a national audience.

King constantly uses questions throughout “Letter from Birmingham Jail” to make the reader think deeply about the topic being discussed, the questions he asked are called rhetorical questions. A rhetorical question is a question that you ask without expecting an answer. One main question that King asks is “How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust?” (King pg.324). A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of god, and an unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law (324). King wants the clergymen to understand the true meaning of just and unjust laws, he hopes that they will question their own false meaning of the words just and unjust. Sit-ins and marches are just a few of the ways that civil rights activists fight against the unjust laws of segregation, but “isn’t negotiation a better path?” (322).

Martin Luther King Jr. was a well-known advocate for justice and civil liberties. His biggest devotion was for equality of African-American citizens, usually revealed in marches or peaceful demonstrations; in Birmingham, however, one of such protests rendered King and hundreds of his fellow protesters in jail. From that cell, King wrote his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” in which he proposed the idea that “it is a historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture but…groups tend to be more immoral than individuals” (par. 12). Regarding King’s quote, it could be ammended to state that groups are more likely to influence the upkeep of a practice of privilege while individuals hold more power over their own decisions.

In his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. makes appeals to ethos, logos, and pathos to convince the clergymen that colored people have been waiting for too long for political, economic, and social justice and freedom. He argues that it’s unfair to promise someone, or a group, for a change and not fulfill that promise. Along with demonetizing and/or belittling a person to the point where they don’t feel as important or as worth as they should; making them feel hatred and anger towards the person(s) that inflicted the pain on them, and anger towards their ethnic/culture. Also, that he is needed and wanted in Birmingham. King appeals to ethos to establish credibility and biblical allusion. King uses logos to process his

Martin Luther King Jr. claimed that everything the blacks were going through affected the whites. When he was in Birmingham jail, it was because he was the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the affiliates urged him to engage in a nonviolent act. He claims to have went down there because of the injustice in the area. King states in his letter that, “Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”White individuals can no longer say what is happening to the blacks isn't affecting them, because it is. Their whole life revolves around the African Americans, even if they don't believe it. For example, there are segregated churches, water fountains, schools, public transportation, beaches, name it and it is most likely segregated. For example, imagine that someone white goes to church every Sunday, and one day a black woman is trying to go to church, and they won't allow her to go into the building. Even spiritual being who swear by the bible are neglecting what the bible is about, and that is that everyone is equal and beautiful in God’s eyes. The poor black women, though, she can not even get

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” emphasizes the need for civil disobedience when faced with unjust laws. This idea contradicts Socrates’ claim made in Crito, that one must follow the law under all circumstances. In this paper, I will argue that Socrates is not a proponent of civil disobedience based on King’s definition of civil disobedience and Socrates’ charges. Moreover, I will argue that both Socrates and King disagree with one another based on the concept of civil disobedience—breaking the law and rejecting certain ideals.

“We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God given rights”(King 1305). This is a statement that was given in the letter by Martin Luther King Jr., he was feeling as if his people will never have the justice they deserved to have. The publication of “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” by Martin Luther King Jr. is written from King himself to establish his personal opinion on all the injustice movements going on. Throughout the article you will find that King shows views from ethos, pathos, and logos on why the Civil Rights Movement and segregation all most come to an end during this injustice time period.

Aristotle, a famous philosopher once said: “ It is absurd to hold that a man ought to be ashamed of being unable to defend himself with his limbs but not of being unable to defend himself with speech and reason, when the use of reason is more distinctive of a human being than the use of his limbs” (Aristotle). He believed that rhetoric was more powerful than fists would ever be. Another man, a very influential social activist, shared the same ideals, preaching to his people to fight for their freedom with words and not their fists. Martin Luther King Jr. used the power of rhetoric during the civil rights movement to gain equality for the black community. MLK was a master of rhetoric and used his knowledge of proper arguments to sway the