Martin Luther King Jr.'s Success with Rhetroric Appeals in A Letter From Birmingham Jail

Martin Luther King Jr. faced some very tough situations in his life. His fight for an end to segregation and, furthermore, racism was not easy. Although segregation and racism are not as prevalent today, they still exist in many places. However, Dr. King made a huge impact on lowering the amount of segregation and racism seen across America. Besides from King’s many nonviolent protests and sit-ins, his letters and speeches also helped in this reduction. Today many of his works are studied and many children across the United States can quote at least a few of King’s memorable words.

In King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, he is writing a letter to elevan clergymen and trying to get the general population of the South to see segregation is wrong. His direct audience is white clergymen who had criticized him in a previous letter, and, more importantly, his indirect audience is the people of America. 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).” Right here King states that he acknowledges these men are good people and tells them he is being as understandable as possible. 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, he is very respectful and calm. His voice is very strong and he uses word choice that shows he is educated and not ignorant.

King’s claim does not come right in the beginning of his letter. He establishes common ground in his introduction instead and then eases into the claim. He said, “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).

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 they 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 do what the white kids are allowed to do, and his five-year-old son does not understand why whites are mean to blacks (158-159). This really illustrates that racism is not something that comes natural 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 off this reason by saying, “I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience (159).” The words legitimate and unavoidable show that his cause is worthy and it could not wait anymore. This statement alone supports his claim.

Another key point King makes is that the laws are unjust. He states he has no problem abiding by a just law, but a law that is unjust is not legitimate and, therefore, does not necessarily 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 goes on to state that segregation degrades the soul and damages personality and, therefore, is unjust. King uses significant references 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, they were actually for a greater good (161). The reference to the early Christians was King’s most effective example because he was 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.

Finally King uses the idea that being an “extremist” is not always a bad thing if you are being an extremist for love. This is one 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 (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. The parallel can then be made between Jesus and King, that they were both 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 once again 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.

Work Cited

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