Examples Of Rhetoric In Letter From Birmingham Jail

Rhetoric in Martin Luther King Jr’s “A Letter From Birmingham Jail” Civil Rights activist and Baptist minister, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in his open letter, “A Letter From Birmingham Jail,” defends the strategies and practices of nonviolent oppositions to racism. The letter was written during 1963, this is apparent through King’s vocabulary, more specifically, the usage of the word, “negro,” and the topic of freedom for African Americans. The purpose of this letter is to convey to his fellow clergymen that the actions in which they deemed, “unwise and untimely,” was needed and that demonstrations were held because they were absolutely necessary (). Unlike his counterparts, the author feels that the argument needs to be taken to the streets,

King uses an appeal to logic brilliantly when he talks about the “negro” community of Birmingham saying, “I began thinking about the fact that I stand in the middle of two opposing forces,” (). This shows the clergymen that there are two sides to the community, one being, “a force of complacency… so drained of self-respect and a sense of ‘somebodiness’ that they have adjusted to segregation,” and the other, “is one of bitterness and hatred, and it comes perilously close to advocating violence,” (). By doing this, King does not justify his intentions, but rather gives the audience facts so that they can comprehend that his response was, in fact, the most

King begins establishing his credibility as an authority figure by explaining that he has, “the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state,” (). Through this claim, King presents himself and his supporters as insiders instead of the “outsiders coming in,” that the Alabama clergy objectify him as (). By establishing this authority, King is not just someone who elected to protest in an unfamiliar city, but a fellow clergyman and the president of the Conference, which holds a chapter in the state. Ethos is also apparent when he connects himself to Paul the Apostle and other Prophets who passed on the gospels to adjacent villages in the line, “Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian Gospel,” (). King even demonstrates the extent of his education though the usage of such a wide range of historical examples that exhibited needs for action. Some of which is well known like Hitler, others not as well known like Buber and Paul Tillich, and others ancient like Socrates. Through this variety audiences are able to see the extent and depth of his