Rhetorical Analysis Of Dr. Martin Luther King's Letter From Birmingham Jail

In Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter From Birmingham Jail", I agree with his defense of his protests against segregation. King wrote this letter to respond to eight white southern religious leader’s statement that called his protests "unwise and untimely". Slavery had been abolished almost 100 years before, but African-Americans were still being treated as lesser beings. There was never going to be a right time for some to make people of color equal. Martin Luther King Jr. was and still is considered the biggest influence in the civil rights movement.

(King 501).” This use of pathos is very effective because young children are often seen as innocent and vulnerable. Many racist people of the time period may not have had empathy for older African Americans, but they may have been more likely to see young children as victims of unfair treatment. He then states examples of rights that were not given to him because he was black, and he also shares the shame and humiliation he has faced everyday. He states, “When you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs that read “white” and “colored” ;when your first names becomes nigger and your middle name becomes “boy” and your wife or mother are never given the respected title “Mrs.” :When you are harried day in and day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a negro:living constantly at tiptoe substance, never knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments (King 502).”

He states, “when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people…” (567). Dr. King’s emotional appeal is to invoke compassion and empathy in the hearts of his readers by showing that segregation creates an envirnoment of tension and

He then addresses the clergymen criticism that the SCLC’s actions are “untimely” and begins an extended claim that “privileged groups” will always oppose any threats. Dr. King insists that black people have waited long enough for justice. Dr. King then proceeds to describe different abuses his people have suffered in the past and in his present day. Amongst these abuses, he shares a personal one where he has to explain to his young daughter why she cannot go to the “public amusement park” because of the color of her skin. Dr. King then acknowledges that the clergymen show anxiety over the black man’s “willingness to break laws.”

Why must the Negro community keep waiting for the promise they have begged to receive for the past 340 years? Why must they continue to be criticized, hated, judged, and discriminated by the white man? Why must they continue living each day as a lower member of society when in reality, they truly are the same as everyone else? King asks these questions in his writing, yet he already has a blaring answer. Simple response: There is no sense in waiting when it can occur now.

Dr. King is showing that to fix segregation they must deal with it in other places as well as locally to them, since Birmingham was one of the worst cities racially Dr. King and his followers go to take a stand to the inequality. Dr. King reflects that citizens should be able to take a stand in states other than their own without being called an

King uses an appeal to logic brilliantly when he talks about the “negro” community of Birmingham saying, “I began thinking about the fact that I stand in the middle of two opposing forces,” (). This shows the clergymen that there are two sides to the community, one being, “a force of complacency… so drained of self-respect and a sense of ‘somebodiness’ that they have adjusted to segregation,” and the other, “is one of bitterness and hatred, and it comes perilously close to advocating violence,” (). By doing this, King does not justify his intentions, but rather gives the audience facts so that they can comprehend that his response was, in fact, the most

Martin Luther King uses this ability he has in writing to the clergymen about the struggles the black race has faced, in order to detail the history of the dehumanization the white race has ordered upon blacks for many years. King is attempting to show that it is unfair and daunting towards the black community to face these discriminations every day. King when mentioning discrimination, says ¨We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God given rights . . . Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say, "Wait." But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; [when you have to tell your six-year-old daughter] Funktown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people;¨(3).

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, uses the lense of social power in order to get his thoughts across. Social power is the degree of influence that an individual or organization has among their peers and within their society as a whole. This idea is illustrated throughout his letter to show the significance of the disabilities and unfair treatment the black community has faced for the entirety of their existence. African americans have never been able to gain the respect from others they deserve due to the idea that other races have more power on them simply due to the color of their skin. Martin Luther King is able to express these ideas by referencing multiple examples as to how social power has negatively affected their societal presence for many years.

In 1963, Martin Luther King was imprisoned in Birmingham because of his protesting contributes. During this time, there was segregation going on which prohibited African Americans from using particular areas or any type of services in all. King had written a letter in response to the eight white clergymen who criticized King's actions. In the "Letter from Birmingham jail" King defends the lawfulness of protesting, breaking the law in nonviolent demonstrations against segregation and racism. The major premise here is that all laws that devalue the human disposition are unjust.

In his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. uses politics, attempts to define unjust law, and imagery of violent treatment of protesters in order to argue that standards and non-violence are the most effective strategies in overcoming segregation. He also argues that those who truly want change need to be ready for action and protest now rather than forever holding their peace and living in a world of segregation. Martin Luther King compares international civil rights campaigns in order to shame the clergy into realizing how far behind American civil rights are. When Martin Luther King says, “we have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God-given rights.

Letter from Birmingham Jail The Letter from Birmingham Jail by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is important to understanding American history because it explains that even if blacks followed the laws provided for by the Constitution, they still were not treated as equals to whites. At the time, Dr. King was President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a civil rights group.

On April 16, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote the “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Martin Luther King, Jr. was a very sophisticated, wise, and an educated man who wanted to please and make things right for everyone. He always put others before himself and believed in helping people in need instead of sitting back and not accomplishing nothing. MLK lived by the quote “treat others the way you want to be treated.” He never used criticism in his work, nor “answer criticism of my work and ideas.”

In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. is responding to accusations made by eight Alabama clergymen. He asserts that his actions, and the actions of his followers were just and reasonable. He notes that the clergymen claimed he was acting too hastily but King explains that their actions were not hasty. He backs up his actions with persuasive argument and reasoning. He points out ways that others actions have been unjust and immoral.

“Letter from Jail” On April 16, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter to the eight clergymen while he was incarcerated. Dr. King wrote this letter to address one of the biggest issues in Birmingham, Alabama and other areas within the United States. The “Letter from Birmingham Jail” discussed the great injustices that were happening during that time towards the black community. Dr. King wanted everyone to have the same equal rights as the white community, he also went into further details about the struggles that African Americans were going through for so many years, which he felt like it could change. Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, expressed his beliefs and his actions about the Human Rights Movement.