When he wrote in the letter, “You deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham. But your statement... fails to express a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the demonstrations." Dr. King addressed a flaw in the clergymen’s argument. This statement then leads to his point that the demonstrations were inevitable and necessary. When he wrote the phrase, “… left the Negro community no alternative,” he managed to emphasize that there was nothing else African-Americans could do.
On April 12, 1963, a group of white Birmingham clergymen wrote a letter to Martin Luther King Jr., who, at the time, was imprisoned in the Birmingham jail for breaking a court injunction requiring him to discontinue the civil rights protests. While supporting the civil rights movement, the letter emphasized the clergymen’s wish that the movement take place within the government and without public protests on the streets of Birmingham. King believed that the clergymen’s position in the letter, requesting that the demonstrations on the street not take place, lacked justice. Their desire to avoid a public demonstration failed to acknowledge the unjust conditions under which the African American community was forced to protest. King then responded openly with a letter that he addressed to the clergymen, but it was also directed to the entire world.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is an example of a rhetorical text that is centered on ethos. King Jr.’s letter is a response to “Public Statement by Eight Alabama Clergymen,” which was written about the civil rights protests that King Jr. had led in Birmingham, Alabama, causing him to be in jail. In his letter, King Jr. addresses the concerns that the clergymen had about his motives and intentions in Birmingham. A rhetorical analysis of “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” shows that through his use of effective logic, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has a way of re-creating the ethos that was taken away from him in “Public Statement by Eight Alabama Clergymen”. Specifically, the arguments that King Jr. uses to defend his untimeliness, his willingness to break laws, and his extreme actions are appropriate for the audience and help him build credibility, which ideally will move his audience to action.
But to analyze the whole paper, in some cases I think Dr. King didn’t go far enough about his theses. In the letter he disapproved the statement of white clergymen with an almost appeasing tone. Dr. King noted that he was addressing them in part because the criticism of clergymen was sincere and added that they were men of real good will. However, in the paragraphs that follow, King changes to a language that can depart no doubt about the firm commitment that he introduced to the battle against racial injustice. For this transition Dr. King made a fuzzy statement to persuade them with the ideas of the justice and equality.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was imprisoned for breaking a court ruling while leading a nonviolent direct-action protest program against segregation. While imprisoned, King wrote an open response; “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. This letter was addressed to his fellow clergymen, but he wanted the entire world to read it. King elaborately explains; why he was in Birmingham, why he believed change must take place immediately, and what he planned to do to help bring about this change. In his prodigious letter, King creates a vigorous yet respectful response to a criticism made by eight Clergymen from Birmingham, Alabama.
Martin Luther King’s Jailhouse Call for Unity On April 16, 1963, Martin Luther King along with other civil rights activists marched on downtown Birmingham, Alabama as pat of a program of direct action campaigns aimed at fighting the “disease of segregation” as it existed there. He was subsequently arrested on charges of parading without a permit during which time he wrote a letter to a group of clergymen who had written him expressing their opinion that his demonstrations were unwise and untimely. His letter from the Birmingham Jail is an impassioned plea for the opposing members of society to come to a better understanding of why the time to push for the end of racial segregation in the name of social progress cannot wait any longer. King does an excellent job of effectively employing pathos in his speech in order to relate to his readers regardless of race, religion or social status. For every argument he makes, King backs it with irrefutable analogies in hopes of moving past the issue of race and getting to an understanding of humanity.
Opponents of civil disobedience see it as a threat to democratic society and the forerunner of violence and anarchy. The premise... to disobey a law that they feel is unjust. As martin luther king Jr. , wrote in his Letter from Birmingham Jail, "I submit that an individual who breaks a law that his conscience tells him is unjust, and willingly accepts the penalty by staying in jail to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the very highest respect for law. " Civil disobedience is most justifiable when prior lawful attempts to rectify the situation have failed; and when the acts of civil disobedience are done to force the society to recognize the problem; when performed openly and publicly; and when the actor will accept the punishment. Many proponents urge that civil disobedience be used only in the most extreme cases, arguing that the Constitution provides many opportunities to voice one's grievances without breaking the law.
“Letter from Birmingham Jail” Questions Comprehension 3. King’s reason for the demonstration was segregation and injustice taking place in Birmingham. He thought it was too late for negotiations because Birmingham's mayoral election was coming up in March. 4. King says to black people wait almost always meant "never" and "justice too long delayed is justice denied."
Letter From Birmingham Jail The background of this speech is MLK Jr. has been imprisoned in the Birmingham jail after participating in a nonviolent protest in the streets of Birmingham. As a result of this protest eight white Alabama clergymen made a statement titled “A Call for Unity,” in which they criticize MLK Jr.’s involvement in Birmingham, viewing him as an “outsider” who causes trouble. Their view is that the battle for racial integration should be fought solely in the courts, not in the streets. The speaker’s (Martin Luther King’s) goal is to educate his fellow clergymen as to why he has come to Birmingham when he receives criticism from them calling his “present activities ‘unwise and untimely.’” His goal is to also persuade the clergymen that his non-violent protests are necessary. He begins by establishing rapport between himself and his audience by stating that he receives many criticisms and that he has personally decided to respond to this one because he believes the clergymen are “of genuine good will” and that their criticisms “are sincerely set forth.” The argument that the clergymen have used against King is that “outsiders [should not be] coming in” to Birmingham.
MLK’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” In August of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was imprisoned for refusing to wait for racial justice in Birmingham, Alabama. While King was in the Birmingham jail, a public statement was issued by eight white religious leaders of the south. This statement was a letter named “A Call for Unity”. In this letter, the clergymen urged activists to engage in local negotiations and use the courts if rights were being denied rather than protest. King knew that sometimes waiting makes things worse and by taking these inequality issues to the court, they would just have to wait even longer.