An orator from Atlanta, Georgia, Martin Luther King – coincidentally achieving similar standards as his predecessor, Martin Luther, in the Civil Rights World – once wrote a letter, which is at times presented as a masterpiece of rhetoric and development. “Letter from a Birmingham City Jail’ was recognized as a genius retort to Alabama Clergymen, who wished for Martin Luther to leave Birmingham due to his “outsider” title and the “hatred and violence” his peaceful conventions have caused. Throughout his letter, Martin Luther develops a tone that redefines his argument, stabilizing it even, for his purpose – to challenge the ideas of the Clergymen who found his being in Birmingham nonbeneficial to the city’s already stretched-out line of racial tension – of refuting the Clergymen. …show more content…
He attacks each and every argument made towards him, with precision and an act of grace, leaving behind no possibility for the clergymen to refute him once more. His argument gradually builds upon itself, always sticking to a main goal or theme. Martin Luther begins by initializing his onslaught. First, he refutes an idea from the clergymen that he, himself, is an “outsider”. Coming from Atlanta, this is very true, however King immediately notes that he is in an organization that is regionally recognized in the South, and he must peacefully protest in Birmingham to keep up a promise made towards a Birmingham affiliate many months ago. His promise – to “engage in a nonviolent direct action program” – allowed him to protest here in Birmingham, since he had ties to the city that went beyond just his negro