Letter From Birmingham Jail Analysis Essay

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 renowned civil rights activist who worked tirelessly to gain equal rights for all African-Americans. He was known throughout the world and his speeches continue to gain attention because of their quality. King was a gifted speaker and knew how to build a proper argument. He built up his credibility and targeted the logic and emotions of his audience. Without Martin Luther King Jr. the civil rights movement may not have seen as much success, and segregation may still have affected us today. By studying King’s work, people can learn much about rhetoric and argument. One of his most persuasive pieces was his “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” This piece was written on just one of the occasions King was thrown in jail for protesting segregation and the Jim Crow Laws. It was written to eight clergymen who condemned his actions. However, King realized the letter was likely to get attention from more than just the clergymen, and he tailored the letter to include more than one audience. Paragraph 31 found on pages twelve and thirteen of the letter contains the most effective argument in regards to the eight clergymen. It provides emotional and logical arguments for justice and are fully credible because of the sourcing they use.

African Americans have undergone unimaginable hardships in this land and were powerless to effect change in the system with their vote. I find this to be great injustice. Another example of injustice in this reading is King’s arrest. He writes, “I have been arrested on a charge of parading without a permit. Now, there is nothing wrong in having an ordinance, which requires a permit for a parade. But such an ordinance becomes unjust when it is used to maintain segregation and deny citizens their First Amendment privilege of peaceful assembly and protest.” As King explains how a just law can become unjust through capricious or malicious application, I find myself confused by the situation. African American citizens are struggling for the equality America was founded on, and these people are being arrested for improper parading. After exhausting many other approaches, African Americans moved to peaceful protest and even that was stifled. I find myself asking where else were they to turn, how else could they effect change, and where is their justice? Would anyone have blamed Dr. King for being angry with his situation? I doubt it. King made a wise choice to remain optimistic, to address those who questioned his motives with reverence. In fact, he defines how he will respond to his critics in the opening paragraph of his letter: “I want to try to answer your statements in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms.” This statement demonstrates King’s commitment to

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s response to a public statement of concern from multiple Southern white religious leaders entitled “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is perhaps one of the most important and influential pieces dedicated to the fight for equality written in the last one hundred years. It is striking just how much of the content within this letter continues to ring true. Numerous arguments King makes are still extremely relevant today, and it is nearly impossible to engage with and reflect on this text without drawing parallels to the current political landscape. This paper will discuss exactly how particular points

Martin Luther King’s (MLK) “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” was written in 1963 as a response to the Eight Alabama Clergymen’s public statement against King’s actions in April of that year. Martin Luther King Jr. was an activist for desegregation of the south in the early 1960s and overcame much adversity to attain incredible gains on the segregation issue in the United States. King uses effective persuasive appeals of logical evidence, emotional appeal, and author credibility to win over his audience in “The Letter from Birmingham Jail.” MLK’s writing shows the effects of segregation in Birmingham with clear direct language and heart wrenching examples.

In Dr. Martin Luther King’s essay, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” he refutes the statements made by the eight clergymen who denounce the demonstration taking place in Birmingham. His letter which he directs to middle class citizens, otherwise known as “white moderates,” is very compelling because King is very in tune to his audience, making them imagine themselves under specific circumstances. King explains that the intent of their “direct-action” is to cause a tension powerful enough to force a response, to direct change. Although the clergymen placed blame on timing of the demonstration, calling it “unwise and untimely,” King, declares they have waited long enough to be further delayed. Throughout his letter, King uses many biblical references to make his readers see the inequality of their society, and what it would continue to be like without change.

In 1963, Martin Luther King was confined in Birmingham because of his participation in protesting. During this time, there was segregation which enjoined African Americans from utilizing particular areas or any type of accommodations in all. King wrote a letter in replication to the eight white clergymen that reprehended King 's actions. In the "Letter from Birmingham jail," King bulwarks the lawfulness of protesting, transgressing the law in nonviolent demonstrations against segregation and racism. The major premise of this argument is that all laws that devalue the human disposition are inequitable. The white clergymen who conveyed objection to King 's actions felt that his actions transgressed the law and caused chaos. King argues that the laws of the segregated south are inequitable and should not be accepted or followed. King breaks the difference between God 's laws and discriminatory man-made laws that oppress the Black race and how he is obligated to fight against those types of laws. The more diminutive premises here are that the laws of segregation devalue the ebony man/woman character.

A statement from eight white clergymen from Alabama prompted Martin Luther King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail”. This statement criticized Kings actions of non-violent protests against racial segregation and the injustice of unequal civil rights in America (Carpenter elt al.). The eight clergymen considered Birmingham to be “their” town and King was disrupting the “Law and Order and Common Sense” established in coping with racial issues in Alabama during this time (Carpenter elt al. par 1). These clergymen considered King an “outsider” and describe his actions as “unwise and untimely” (Carpenter elt al. par 3). This statement suggests that there is an appropriate time

In Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” he responds to a public statement made by eight Alabama clergymen that criticized his presence and strategies used for peaceful protest in Birmingham. He wrote his response while imprisoned in Birmingham City Jail for demonstrating; therefore, he had neither proper writing materials nor an editor to revise it before its publication which exhibits his natural skill and intelligence. In the letter, he addresses each claim made by the clergyman and successfully invalidates each one. King employs both impressive and effective rhetorical strategies in his letter such as allusions, a theme of darkness and light throughout, and syntax.

Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly” (King 1). Martin Luther King, Jr. established his duty as a leader to be in Birmingham, first for organizational ties, and second, because the injustice in Birmingham indirectly affected African Americans everywhere. Additionally, Osborn addressed the way Dr. King was titled in the response from the clergymen. “The statement to which King was responding, signed by eight leaders representing various religious faiths, had in fact not even mentioned him or acknowledged his identity as a pastor, certainly not as an equal” (26). This excerpt examined the fact that although the target of the clergymen’s letter was apparent, the men remained so adamantly immoral that they refused to even slightly regard Reverend King as an equal. This disgrace has no obvious effect on Mr. King, for he introduces himself as an equal, despite the opinions of the clergymen. “Thus, from the outset, King asserts his identity and claims his seat at their table, whether welcome or not . . . .” (Osborn 26). Through careful placement of adjectives here and there, King efficiently labels himself as an equal. “I also hope that circumstances will soon make it possible for me to meet each of you, not as an integrationist or a civil rights leader, but as a fellow clergyman and a Christian brother” (7). The words “fellow clergyman” and “Christian brother,” especially, help Dr. Martin Luther King,

The “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is a powerful and eloquent letter that effectively argued Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s point that segregation is fundamentally unjust and should be fought with nonviolent protest. This letter, through describing the injustice taking place during the civil rights movement also provided some insight about Dr. King’s view of the government in the 1960s, which can be compared to people’s views of the government today. Three main themes present in Dr. King’s letter were religion, injustice, and racism.

Topic Sentence-King knew he could not lead the fight on injustice alone so he reached out to the clergy in the Birmingham area and eventually across the South for help in hopes they would stand with him. King longed for the time when churches stood strong, but he said modern church is weak. Christians were known for suffering for what they believed in. Battles had been fought by Christians who stood strong as they were “called to obey God rather than man” (389). Their numbers had always been small but their commitment to a cause never wavered. He sought that kind of Christian support but was sadly disappointed in the response he received from the leaders of the churches. He responded to being called an extremist by the same leaders whom he sought

Throughout the essay, Dr. King counters their logic and assumption and appealing to first ethos by building his credibility as an activist and secondly logos by referencing history, religious leaders and ancient philosophers whom employed similar tactics while confronting oppression and unjust laws. He successfully employs pathos appeals, citing several examples of unpunished crimes committed against the black community and appealing to logos, while countering their criticisms of creating tensions through the unwise use and timing of his direct-action program protesting. He ends his essay triumphantly with appeals to ethos, pathos and logos by defending his extremism, condemning the clergy’s silence with racial injustice, while offering hope of inevitable change to the black community. I found it difficult to assess any weakness within this essay; however, it leaves the door wide open to controversy regarding breaking unjust laws.

Dr. King in “Letter From Birmingham Jail” makes many of his points against holding off on protests by appealing to the reader's emotions. This is most pronounced in paragraph twelve of the paper when he recounts many terrible effects that racism has had on the

Dr. King begins by giving a recount of the events that brought him to Birmingham and the injustice that lead to their demonstrations. He then addresses common critiques of their campaign, answering them through logical arguments, as well as empathic appeals. The latter half of the piece deviates in that it aims not to justify their actions, but to shame everyone who doesn’t support their cause. Rather ironically, yet strategically, he expresses disappointment in “the white moderate” (pg.3), who he describes as: “more devoted to order than to justice” (pg.3). In addition to “the white moderate”, he calls out the clergymen, and “the white church”, for ignoring and even at times opposing their cause. Finally to conclude his letter, he prophecies the inevitable end of segregation “One