Toulmin Analysis In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, King he responds to a letter written by eight, white Alabama Clergymen to the editor of a newspaper in Birmingham. He wants the audience to believe that the clergymen fail to discuss the circumstances that brought about the demonstrations in Birmingham. In September 1962, King had the opportunity to talk with the leaders of Birmingham economic community. The merchants made many promise such as how they would remove the stores’ racial signs. Upon these agreements, Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, the leader of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, (including Martin Luther King) had agreed to delay the peaceful demonstrations.
Analysis of “I Have a Dream” and “Letter to Birmingham Jail” In the “Letter to Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King addresses the criticisms and objections that the white clergymen had made towards his and his affiliated organization’s efforts in trying to end segregation and achieve his and his people’s birth right: the right to be free through nonviolent means. Through the “I Have a Dream Speech” King speaks to his supporters and as well as to the entire nation to make them be fully aware of the injustices they are facing and through this make them stand up to those injustices. Both “Letter to Birmingham Jail” and “I Have a Dream Speech” have the same underlying meaning however. That way too long have the black community been treated wrongly. That way too long have the black nation been “judged by the color of their skin rather than the content of their character (King 815)” and therefore it is time for them to rise and stand up for their rights.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was written in Birmingham Jail in 1963 as a response to the Clergymen to explain his actions and also to answer their questions on why he did not call off the demonstrations. King was a civil rights activist who organized a campaign against segregation in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963. In his letter, King uses anaphora and allusions frequently. He also appeals to ethos, logos, and pathos to make his letter a paradigm of effective rhetoric. King uses allusions frequently throughout his letter.
Subject: The subject of this letter is to state the reason he is in Birmingham for trying to change segregation as social justice and his use of civil disobedience as an instrument of freedom. Occasion: Dr. King is writing this letter from inside Birmingham Jail for being accused of misuse of the law by performing in acts of civil disobedience to show his disappointment at the leadership of the clergy and laws that he and others of the black community deem as unjust. Audience: Although this letter was initially mailed to the eight white clergymen who publicly asked the black community to restrict their Birmingham demonstrations, King meant for his message to reach a much larger audience such as U.S. citizens. King used this letter as
Children are children, regardless of race, and King knew that the mistreatment of these children would expose the violence that had been ever-present in Birmingham. This, however, was not a popular suggestion among black parents and family members. They scolded King for being so inconsiderate, but they knew that there was really no other way that could be nearly effective. Nevertheless, one day in May of 1963, over one thousand black youths did not attend school. Instead, the students gathered together and prepared to demonstrate.
On Sunday March 7, 1965, The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Southern Christian Leadership Council without the help of Martin Luther King did a march along highway 80 from Selma to Montgomery, The Capital. Demonstrators began the march from Selma to the State Capitol in Montgomery. They were demonstrating for African American voting rights. Just after crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the demonstrators were brutally attacked by state troopers and deputies, right in front of the media for the whole Country to see. This caused a huge uproar all over, after viewing “Bloody Sunday”; many people came to join the cause and wanted to march again with SNCC and SCLC.
Fighting for Freedom In a “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr., King explains why he was in Birmingham. In 1963 King guided fifty-three African-Americans through Birmingham to protest for Civil Rights. King wrote this letter to answer a letter he had received from eight clergymen saying that, “such demonstrations were unwise, untimely, and extreme”. King replies to their letter from a Birmingham jail explaining why he was there and why all the actions that have taken place were necessary. In this letter Martin Luther King Jr. shows that he is there for his fellow people and justice.
They found out, didn't they? And how? Because somebody called Junior a dirty nigger'"(83) . Observed in the scene where he refuses to avoid discussing sex with Ted and Junior, he insists on telling his sons the facts of life, including the ugly fact of racism. Another issue raised was the fact that Irene continuously tries to persuade Brian into doing the things she wants in order to feel safe.
Martin Luther King Jr. wrote "Letter from Birmingham Jail" on April 16, 1963 to express his views against unjust laws, which discriminated against him others. In the beginning King explains that he is in jail and is taking in the things he has been criticized for. At the time King was extremely aggravated by the way the church, especially the white clergy who was not in support of the religious civil rights movement. He wrote this letter as a response to the church’s separation of holy and worldly matters concerning his cause. The letter then talks about why King was in Birmingham.
Summary Response-Letter from the Birmingham Jail In this letter, Martin Luther King Jr. describes the current states of injustice and inequality that plague the Negro community during this time as he is writing from his jail cell. He writes to his fellow supporters and brothers and explains the reasons for being in Birmingham in the first place were because he felt it was necessary to protest injustice everywhere. Communities such as Birmingham were known to observe segregation laws that isolated black people from white people and in his opinion were classified as unjust laws. He claims to be a supporter of just laws and a non-violent protestor of unjust laws in which violate human morals and dignity. By citing references of protest such as Jesus Christ, St. Paul, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, he justifies his current actions for the Negro community and states that he is willing to face the consequences when it comes to protesting for equal rights amongst all Americans.