Final Draft: A Look at Martin Luther King Jr.'s Persuasive Abilities in A Letter From Birmingham Jail

When one thinks of world peace, names like Gandhi and Mother Theresa come to mind. Another name that is never forgotten is Martin Luther King Jr.. During the time that A Letter from Birmingham Jail was written, African Americans faced a daily struggle to fit in with society. Dr. King, however, did not feel this was fair or morally right, and he was not afraid to speak his mind. King was effective at getting his opinion across in a peaceful, nonviolent way that people could relate to. The reason King was such a powerful figure, and is still remembered as such today, is because he knew how to use logos, ethos, and pathos to make a true connection with the audience not matter their views on the issue he was arguing.

In King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, he does a good job of addressing his audience, eleven clergymen, while also trying to get the general population of the South to see segregation is wrong. This was a difficult task because the direct audience, the clergymen, had criticized him in a previous letter, which meant they already had a disagreement with him. Also, the indirect audience members were already set in their ways of separation. While writing this letter, King is on the defense and is considered inferior by these white clergymen and the white people of America. Knowing this, King must try to find a common ground. He does so by saying the following, “I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms(154).” This really helps King because he is able to let the audience know that he recognizes them as good men and that he is not trying to be irrational. Another way King makes a connection to his audience is through his tone. He knows the audience is not going to be open-minded right away and this affects his tone and word choice. His tone is not hateful or angry, but instead, it is very respectful and calm. His voice is very strong and he uses word choice that shows he is educated and not ignorant. When people are in disagreement they generally do not take well to someone who is being disrespectful, condescending, or illogical. For this reason it is crucial that King made the connection the way that he did.

After King acknowledges and establishes a common ground with his audience, he eases into his claim. He says, “It is unfortunate that demonstrations are taking place in Birmingham, but it is even more unfortunate that the city’s white power structure left the Negro community with no alternative (155).” King is basically saying blacks have no other choice but to make themselves heard through protest because nothing else has worked.

To support this claim, King goes on to list four basic steps to a nonviolent campaign. They include “Collection of the facts to determine whether injustice exists, negotiation, self-purification, and direct action (155).” After this, King goes on to state how he has been through all of these steps and, finally, has had to resort to direct action. King also brings pathos into play here. He provides examples such as bombing of Negro churches and homes, refusal from whites to take down racial signs outside of stores, failure of fair negotiation from city fathers, and repeatedly putting off direct action until it could no longer be ignored(156). King’s use of pathos allows him to really draw the audience in on a level that cannot be achieved through logos and ethos because emotion often gets the best of people.

Another reason King uses to support his claim is that blacks have been forced to wait and wait, but have gotten nothing from this waiting. He said, “This ‘Wait’ has almost always meant ‘Never’ (158).” He also points out that blacks have waited over 340 years for their “God-given” right (158). He also points out that through all this waiting, small things, such as being able to get a cup of coffee at the same lunch counter as a white man, is not allowed. After this, King uses pathos once again. He goes on about how blacks are constantly being killed by policemen and lynched or drown by mobs of white men. Then he talks about how his children cannot seem to grasp the concept of racism. His six-year-old daughter does not understand why she is not allowed to go to the amusement park like the white kids, and his five-year-old son does not understand why whites are mean to blacks (158-159). This really illustrates that racism is something that must be taught to children for them to learn it and that it does, in fact, go against human nature. It also creates a vivid image for many people because no one can argue the innocence of a child, no matter what their race. Dr. King finishes his point that blacks have had to wait for too long by saying, “I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience (159).” The words “legitimate” and “unavoidable” show that he feels his actions could not wait any longer.

King uses logos to showcase his point that the laws dealing with segregation are unjust. He states that he has no problem abiding by a just law, but a law that is unjust is not legitimate and, therefore, does not need to be obeyed. He categorizes an unjust law as “a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law and that degrades human personality (159-160).” Then he defines a just law as, “Any law that uplifts the human personality (160).” After this he uses deductive reasoning and states that segregation degrades the soul and damages personality; therefore, it is unjust. King not only uses logos to prove this law is unjust, but he also makes good use of ethos to establish credibility. He talks about the early Christians defying the Romans, Socrates practicing civil disobedience, and people rebelling during the Boston Tea Party. Most people would agree that, although these acts were technically wrong or illegal, they were actually for a greater good (161). The reference to the early Christians was King’s most effective example because he is writing to religious leaders. Another credible source he uses is St. Augustine who said, “An unjust law is no law at all (159).” King’s final example talked about Hitler’s genocide on Jews and how it was technically legal, but anyone in their right mind would see this as inhumane. The examples Dr. King uses make it hard for anyone to argue against him.

Finally King uses the idea that being an “extremist” is not always a bad thing as long as you are being an extremist for love. This is another good example of King’s use of logos. He points out that Jesus, Paul, Amos, Abraham Lincon, and John Bunyan were all considered extremists of their time, but they were not wrong in their doings. King goes into greater detail about how Jesus was crucified with two other men who were also considered extremists, but for hate, and that one could not categorize Jesus and these criminals as being the same kind of extremist (165-166). This also would have appealed strongly to the clergymen who cannot argue that Jesus was wrong in anything that he did or that he would have done anything hateful. This allows a parallel to be made between Jesus and King as extremists of love.
At the end of King’s essay, he goes back to reestablish a connection with his audience. He says if the clergymen found him unreasonable and impatient, he would like their forgiveness. He also tries to find common ground and establish credibility by pointing out that they are all clergymen and Christian brothers (172). This shows he is sincere and also leaves them to think about their Christian values over society’s status quo.

A letter from Birmingham Jail is a great example of how an author can use rhetorical appeals to persuade an audience. Through his tone, logos, ethos, and pathos, King was able to connect to the audience and make them see the other side of things no matter their original view. Even if the audience was not completely persuaded, King presented his opinion in a way that got readers to at least give his ideas a second thought which is just as satisfying.

King, Jr., Martin Luther. “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” The Seagull Reader: Essays. 2nd ed. Ed. Joseph Kelly. New York: Norton, 2008. 153–172.