Indeed, he had to establish his authority as both a minister and a representative for African Americans to establish equality between him and the eight clergymen to be credible to his audience and erase all potential condescendence. Furthermore, he played with emotions to abate oppositions and reinforce his vision of the fight for Civil Rights. King's aim was to create a feeling of identification with the civil rights' cause in the mind of his readers in order to expunge any Manichean thinking. Finally, his audience was in a spirit of conciliation and therefore was ready to listen to his message. He did his best to demonstrate the veracity of his claims and the legitimacy of his fight thanks to evidence and logic.
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.
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.
” (King). King uses the letter to help the Clergymen understand why he was in Alabama and why it was necessary for him to protest while in Alabama. King uses ethos, pathos and logos influences to support the claim that his presence and actions were necessary to cause much needed and long awaited change, the most powerful statements in the speech are written to the appeal to the audience’s logical side. In the letter he tells explains to his audience, the Clergymen, that he doesn’t usually respond to criticism stating “Seldom do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas”. This sets a tone of significance for the letter and calls for attention to the matter.
Martin Luther wrote a letter in response to the Eight White Clergymen. Using ethos, pathos and logos, King tried to persuade the church to adhere to the problems African Americans are facing. He let them know that what they wrote in their letter was not the completely accurate. Most importantly he told them even if the church does not come to aid, African Americans will still overcome their struggle and gain their freedom. “But even if the church does not come to the aid of justice, I have no despair about the future.” King kind of challenged the church; with or without them, African Americans will continue to strive.
The main purpose of direct was to aware white leaders and citizens that African Americans refuse to stand down until negotiation was taken place. In the letter it states “Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half-truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, we must see the need of having nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men to rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood.” This statement was related to King’s motive and the cause of his motive. As the statement says because of racism and prejudice among people it is only right to proceed in a nonviolent resilient. The effectiveness did indeed alert the people of Birmingham that African Americans are not waiting no longer for negotiation. This action demonstrated how powerful and untied African Americans were and how they were dedicated to fight for
King carry's on his letter with a little of his own reputation while enlightening us “ I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference,...We have some eighty-five affiliated organizations across the South, and one of them is the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights”(204). His purpose is to demonstrate to his opponents he has enough authority to promote the civil rights cause on behalf of his community, he reminds his contact of his position of leadership in the religious community. Furthermore he explains “I, along with several members of my staff, am here because I was invited here...But more basically, I am here in Birmingham because injustice is here” (204). He sees the opportunity to bring his wisdom into play and directly states “Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid” (204). Thus, King is a prophet for freedom like Paul, but also like Jesus in the way that it is his Job to be here in Birmingham.
King does not take insult to the clergymen’s criticism but he gently counter argues every point they bring up. Letter from Birmingham was a great response to Dr. King’s critics about his actions in Birmingham. He does a great job appealing to their emotions, religious beliefs, and uses logic to answer all their questions. He was an advocacy for equality and fought to his last breath to make sure that the blacks would get the same treatment as
Martin Luther King Jr.: Letter from Birmingham Jail This is a letter from Martin Luther King Jr. to the clergymen in response to their claim in a local newspaper that his protesting was “unwise and untimely.” This is an attempt to defend himself and his fellow protesters. He begins by explaining why he was in Birmingham and states that he is not an outsider. He was invited by the president of the Christian Leadership Conference to be there. [623] He stressed on the issue of injustice in this area and said he must “carry the gospel of freedom” wherever it is needed like Paul did in the Bible. He continues to say that while the protests were unfortunate, it is even more unfortunate that the black community was left with no other alternative action.
TOPIC: Letter from Birmingham Instructor: Barnad Novemer 26, 2012 In reading “letter from Birmingham” by Martin Luther King, Dr. Martin wanted to fight for racial equality. He believed that equality for all could be reach by non- violence. He is a strong advocate that people who oppress the oppressors were not evil; they had to change their beliefs. Everyone yearn for their freedom. In particular the colored people had pent up anger and resentments which is understandably.