On April 16 of 1953, Martin Luther King Junior wrote an astonishing letter to the clergymen of Alabama. That day, King led an anti-segregation protest in hopes to end the cruel treatment of African Americans specifically in Birmingham, Alabama. While he was peacefully protesting, King and others were imprisoned in Birmingham City Jail. Here, King wrote about the horrendous and bitter behavior towards African Americans in the south. Throughout the memorandum, King will parade a formal but personal tone and ventilate the ghastly behavior of white moderates. Most people can agree that laws are made to be followed. However, one of the main points of King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” was that it was essential to defy unmerited statues. “ A just …show more content…
Yet, King does not display any hatred. His overall tone is passionate, assertive, and respectful. King has so much love for the people willing to support his cause, and the agony that they suffer will not go unnoticed. “I don't believe you would have so warmly commended the police force if you had seen its angry violent dogs literally biting six unarmed, nonviolent Negroes. I don't believe you would so quickly commend the policemen if you would observe their ugly and inhuman treatment of Negroes here in the city jail; if you would watch them push and curse old Negro women and young Negro girls; if you would see them slap and kick old Negro men and young boys, if you would observe them, as they did on two occasions, refusing to give us food because we wanted to sing our grace together.” (King 5) The quote illustrates the heartache King feels for his people being so mistreated, unable to collectively celebrate their god and attacked while mellow. Many times in his letter, King depicts passionate tones discussing the treatment of African Americans and his Christian morals. Along with being passionate, King is also very assertive in his letter. “... I must honestly reiterate that I have been disappointed with the church. I do not say that as one of those negative critics who can always find something wrong with the church. I say it as a minister of the gospel who loves the church, who was nurtured in its bosom, who has been sustained by its Spiritual blessings, and who will remain true to it as long as the cord of life shall strengthen.” (King 5) King calls out the Christian churches of the south for not advocating for the black community who were predominantly Christian. He exclaims that many Christian leaders are his outright opponents and some are just too fearful to understand or support the freedom movement. At the end of his letter, King makes sure to add an apology for
Throughout the text, King utilized the values of his audience to gain sympathy and later on support. His use of diction and syntax would align his mission to God’s, and show that he was in the right and the clergymen were in the wrong. In his letter, King effectively used an extended periodic sentence that consisted of more than 300 words. The sentence has an extreme appeal to pathos, with such vivid imagery
Summary of King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail In his seminal work, "Letter from Birmingham Jail," Martin Luther King Jr. passionately advocates for immediate action against racial injustice. Published in 1963, his letter serves as a compelling response to critics who opposed his methods of protest and urged patience in the pursuit of racial equality. King emphasizes the urgency of the civil rights movement and the indispensability of nonviolent resistance in addressing segregation and discrimination. The core of King's argument lies in his firm belief that justice cannot be postponed.
In his seminal work, "Letter from Birmingham Jail," Martin Luther King Jr. passionately advocates for immediate action against racial injustice. Published in 1963, his letter serves as a compelling response to critics who opposed his methods of protest and urged patience in the pursuit of racial equality. King emphasizes the urgency of the civil rights movement and the indispensability of nonviolent resistance in addressing segregation and discrimination. The core of King's argument lies in his firm belief that justice cannot be postponed. He firmly rejects the idea of delaying the struggle for racial equality, highlighting the perpetuation of suffering and oppression that would result from inaction.
In my perspective, King’s portrayal of the church still applies to many churches today that do not stand up for the current injustices in our modern world. To begin with, King boldly writes that though he hoped for the city of Birmingham’s religious leaders to stand up for injustice, he sadly states that they did not. He writes that he “came to Birmingham with the hope that the white religious leadership of [the] community would see the justice of our cause and, with deep moral concern, serve as the channel through which our grievances could get to the power structure” (King 485). Instead of serving as this channel though, King details that “in the midst of blatant injustices inflicted upon the Negro, I have watched white churches stand on the sideline and merely mouth pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities” (King 485).
Throughout King’s letter, he incorporated different rhetorical appeals, such as pathos, to make the audience understand the harsh treatment African Americans were subjected to each day. In his letter King emphasized, “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 seen hate filled policemen curse, kick, and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society... (King 3).” This piece of evidence describes the brutality that was
He is speaking through experience as he has been fighting for the rights of himself as well as the other oppressed minorities. He feels betrayed to know that the clergymen are not giving him his constitutional rights. King says, “At first I was rather disappointed that fellow clergymen would see my nonviolent efforts as those of an extremist” (King 4). The other clergymen are supposed to be an ally to King, but instead they are discriminatory just like everyone else in Birmingham. His letter from Birmingham jail called out the oppressors for their wrongdoings in hopes to get his basic human rights.
His response to the letter was him defending the nonviolent protesters and explaining the need for direct action in the fight against racism and segregation. I found King’s letter to have powerful imagery and good arguments to make his case. King starts off by acknowledging the criticism by explaining his reasons for being in Birmingham. He then begins to disprove their arguments one by one, using logic and emotion to help solidify his case. He argues that the demonstrations are necessary since the government and courts failed to address the injustices faced by African American.
Similarly, by implementing passages that contradict the claims of the clergyman and include complex puns, such as when he addresses there accusation that he is an extremist, he claims that the question is not whether he is an extremist or not, just what kind he will as he names “Jesus Christ as an extremist for love, truth and goodness…”, King indirectly targets the church as a secondary audience. In convincing the church of the necessity of their involvement, King is actually referring to all Christians to “rejoice at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believe(d)” and abandon the metaphoric thermometer(passively recording popular opinion) they have adopted. Moreover, he utilizes detailed descriptions of tragic situations endured by his fellow African Americans to evoke pathos from the primary and secondary audiences. In reestablishing the “psalm of brotherhood” King’s letter intent is to convince the American society of the
This is evident in his Letter from Birmingham Jail. King begins his letter by directly addressing the white clergymen. King says “I am sure that none of you would want to rest content with the superficial kind of social analysis that deals merely with effects and does not grapple with underlying causes” (King, 272). King is assuring the white clergymen that he does not think of them as ignorant men. King is assuring the white clergymen of his confidence in their intentions.
King starts his letter by establishing credibility, he states his credentials and some personal accomplishments and continues to compare himself to other leaders throughout the letter. He uses logical explanations and defines key terms, and appeals to his audience’s emotions; however King slightly weakens his argument by prolonging the letter and giving different explanations, but makes up for the
King alludes to several Biblical and historical figures and events in order to justify his actions and decisions. Take, for example, how King refers to Jesus as an extremist for love by recounting the verse, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (King). Dr. King challenges the clergymen’s claims of being extremist by highlighting that Jesus himself was an extremist because Jesus was an important religious figure not only in Christianity but the world which exemplifies Dr. King’s actions and nonviolent demonstrations and refutes the clergymen’s claims of being extremist. King also makes sure to capture the feelings of all Americans, not just the religious, by suggesting that Abraham Lincoln was also an extremist when he said the words “This nation cannot survive half slave and half free” (King). Dr. King challenges the clergymen’s negative connotation of being an extremist by noting that Lincoln’s philosophies would have been considered extremist at the time, and how those extremist ideas lead to the abolishment of slavery because Lincoln was a popular and notable US president whose actions had a resemblance to what King was trying to achieve.
He writes about the treatment Negroes had treated and used ethos to share emotions through the writing. King states that “the political leaders consistently refused to engage in good faith negotiation” (6) which shows that the leaders of Birmingham wouldn’t negotiate with Negro leaders to help stop bombings of Negro homes in the city. This reveals the faultiness of the claim written by the clergymen. King also responds to the clergymen’s statement of calling him an “outsider” because he did not live in Birmingham. He responds by saying “I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states” (4).
King makes the point that a law is just if it follows the Law of God and Unjust if it doesn’t. King goes on further to explain a just law is a law that a “power majority group” wants a minority group to follow and is willing to follow the same law itself. On the other end of the spectrum an unjust law would be if the Majority group isn’t willing to follow the same law they are requiring a minority group to follow. With all of Kings bashing of laws in the letter King takes a step back to clarify that he doesn’t want everyone to go out and break the law, he says this would lead to anarchy. He also says “One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty.”
King was able to employ a number of persuasive devices when writing Letter from Birmingham Jail which only added to his own
He places the strong authority of the declaration on his side to show how the American people are in contradiction to their own “sacred obligation” and the Negros have gotten a “bad check.” A metaphor representing the unfulfilled promise of human rights for the African Americans. King skillfully evokes an emotional response from all races with the use of religion: “Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.” By doing this he finds a common ground that brings black and whites closer with a common belief in God they share, as well as the mention of