Luther King's Ethos In Mlk Letter From Birmingham Jail

Martin Luther King Jr. as we know him today is the person who led the American civil rights movement. He is considered a hero by most people and he is the author of one of the most famous speeches in history, the “I Have a Dream” speech. Martin Luther King Jr. is known for his advocacy for nonviolent protests and civil disobedience in the face of injustice. Not only did he condone nonviolence in the face of police brutality, but he also worked to bring justice to black Americans every day until his assassination in Tennessee. For his dedication to justice he is a house hold name around the world today and at 35, he was the youngest man to receive a Nobel Peace Prize. One of the reasons he was able to become the leader of the Civil Rights Movement

is using his own reputation to strengthen his argument. Example of this is when he says “… I was suddenly catapulted into the leadership of the bus protest in Montgomery…” (King 522). While his ethos may not have been completely necessary since he was quite famous already, it helps him establish himself as an authority on his topic. He was the leader of the Civil Rights Movement. His ethos is incredibly useful in this argument and that credibility gives him power over his audience and it makes anyone reading this letter take what he says very seriously. Without establishing a proper ethos, people may not take an argument seriously and thus it is very important. Martin Luther King Jr. is not lacking in his ethos in this letter and he is probably the best person to respond to criticisms of his movement because of

In this letter Martin Luther King Jr. uses logic to try to persuade his audience that his nonviolent protests and civil disobedience is necessary to gain justice from the government. He stresses that he is disappointed in the church, who is supposed to support desegregation morally, because they are not following their holy principles. He is using the logic that Christian teachings implore them to stand by their fellow man for equality and not sit on the sidelines and try to avoid disagreement while maintaining the status quo. He deplores the clergies agreement with the police force in maintain “peace”. He makes the audience think about why the clergy are going against a fellow Christian who is doing nothing but trying to establish equality for his fellow Negro brothers through nonviolent protests and demonstrations. He makes the reader think about the excessive use of force against his protests and how it it logical to use dogs and water hoses against a peaceful crowd. While he is talking about the logics of using excessive force against peaceful protesters, he uses that to segway in to his use of emotions in the use of excessive