His letter is known as "The Letter From Birmingham City Jail." Martin Luther King used ethos, logos, and pathos in his letter to persuade the white clergymen and the community that non-violent protests were necessary in the movement for equal rights. In his letter, Martin Luther King used the element of ethos to establish his credibility. By explaining his reasons for taking action and proving the goodness of his character, Martin Luther King effectively used ethical appeal. "But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here"(MLK).
His inspiration could also be maintained and enhanced by Gandhi's methodology. King Visited India to study Mohandas Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolence, which characterized the civil rights movement in bus boycotts. Gandhi's fought the British with his nonviolent policy that united all Indians in a common cause. He tolerated the violence and vicious actions towards his people in order to get their freedom. His famous attitude was not to evoke the British troops even when he was jailed.
DAM Literature 18/03/2012 Critical Analysis of a Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King The letter from Birmingham jail was written by Martin Luther king junior when he was confined in jail. King wrote this letter as a reaction to the allegations from eight clergymen who had openly criticized his campaign in their message that was titled “a call for unity.” The clergymen main issue was that the fight for the issues of alienation by King ought not to have been done in the streets but rather in the courts. In this letter, king responds to them from a remorse perspective so as to gain their support in united against racial discrimination that was being witnessed everywhere. The major theme of this letter is justification for the efforts of liberations and a call for unity in combating human injustices. Throughout this writing, king tells his story from an abstract point then to a concrete aim as the letter progresses.
Dr. King fought his whole career for equality amongst the races, meaning all communities with violent, racist actions should be addressed. The clergymen presented Dr. King with a list of arguments they had against him; he responded to these in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail. A few of the arguments King responded to from the clergymen were to have local solutions to local problems; to pursue justice in the courts, not the streets; and to keep peace, law, and order among all. Corwin 2 The clergymen of Alabama were clearly against any outsiders coming into their territory. They had called Dr. King an outsider to the Birmingham community.
Jennifer Smith Prof Franco 3/26/2011 Engl 1213 Standing up One of the most known advocates for equality is Martin Luther King Jr. He’s had some of the most moving, convincing and change inducing speeches of all time. His “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is no exception. King wrote the letter from a Birmingham jail cell in April on 1963 following his arrest for public demonstration. In the beginning of the letter, King describes his reason for writing the letter as a response to the Clergymen’s statement calling his “present activities unwise and untimely. ” (King).
In response to Dr. Martin Luther King’s letter to his fellow clergymen, it appears that they were asking or even possibly pleading Dr. King to stop his activities describing them as, “unwise and untimely.” These activities included a non-violent campaign of civil rights demonstrations, sit-ins, non-violent marches, concerns regarding police brutality and civil equalities for people of color. Dr. King eloquently wrote a long letter, as he sat in jail, describing all his concerns to a clergy of his peers, in the hopes they could see how all these injustices demanded action immediately and not by waiting as they mentioned. Dr. King was obviously disappointed with a letter that he received and wanted his concerns to be heard. As he sat in jail and pondered all the injustices he had witnessed or had been a part of, it appears that he had time to create a letter which he felt would outline and describe how he felt about the situation. When Dr. King stated facts about describing the situation in Birmingham, he clearly wanted to provide a foundation to build upon.
The youth of the 60’s decided that if they were equal enough to fight for the freedom of all Americans on foreign soil, then they wanted to enjoy the same lifestyle as the privileged whites in their own country. Under the guidance of Dr. Martin Luther King, a black minister from Alabama, the black Americans organized what is now referred to as the Civil Rights movement; a peaceful protest against the unfair treatment of all minorities. The movement was quickly spread nationwide and put pressure on President John F. Kennedy to introduce desegregation to the legislation. Protests around the country had turned extremely violent despite King’s attempts at peaceful protests. Blacks were being beaten and murdered while white authorities stood back and watched.
This organization had requested support from the SCLC in their protest that was approaching because they had been partners. Because they were affiliates, the SCLC had settled that they would help the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights so that together they ay be able to set up protests in Birmingham that were not violent. This arrangement had been stopped by Martin Luther King, Jr. Because of this, Martin Luther King, Jr. and his people were directed to jail. While Martin Luther King, Jr. was in jail, he had come across a statement that the King had written stating that his actions were “unwise and untimely”. In response to the statement of the King, Martin Luther King, Jr. had written the famous Letter from Birmingham Jail.
Martin Luther King Junior became a warrior fighting for the injustices that burdened African Americans, spreading the gospel of freedom wherever it was needed. While working towards this cause King heard the cry of injustice in Birmingham, Alabama. Birmingham had become diseased by illegal segregation. King answered the call for help and agreed to lead a non-violent protest. He soon found himself wrongfully imprisoned and kept in a small jail cell.
is very courageous. He had the courage to stand up, speak up, and stand out against the racism against the African-Americans. He changed America in the face of adversity. He led marches for Civil Rights for Black people. His philosophy was non-violence, so that when the police, spat on, and beat the marchers, even killed several, his response was not to respond in kind.