On April 16, 1963, the honorable Dr. Martin Luther King was imprisoned in a Birmingham jail, and wrote a letter to the clergymen to justify his actions and to answer the statements claiming his actions were unwise and untimely. To develop the argument, King uses rhetorical devices and appeals. He first established credibility by stating he had organizational ties in Birmingham. He writes, "So I, along with several members of my staff, am here because I was invited here. I am here because I have organizational ties here." This conveys that he is nowhere near a stranger, that he has left a lasting mark in Birmingham with his organizational ties. He emphasizes that if there is any injustice, he will be there. He also alludes his duties to the …show more content…
Augustine, he writes, "I would agree with St. Augustine that "an unjust law is no law at all." By using this allusion, he strengthens his argument about unjust laws. Further in the letter, he details the differences between just and unjust laws. He says, "To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law." When King uses this it shows that the laws that are in place are not natural. He wants the clergymen to understand that what they are allowing to happen to his people is something out of the "ordinary" and that they have a right and duty to act upon …show more content…
He goes into the thoughts of his own mind and the efforts he has made for the movement. He says, "I have traveled the length and breadth of Alabama, Mississippi and all the other southern states." This illustrates what he has gone through for a change in his rights. Then he goes to ask himself questions about the people in the churches and what they have done as people of God for the civil rights movement. He asks, "What kind of people worship here?" Who is their God? Where were their voices when the lips of Governor Barnett dripped with words of interposition and nullification? Where were they when Governor Wallace gave a clarion call for defiance and hatred?" He sees that the people in the church haven't done what God has called for all His people to come together and do. He goes on to say that the church is the body of Christ, and that the people have blemished and scarred that body through "social neglect and through fear of being nonconformists." He emphasizes how he feels about the church and its people. He says that he loves the church but is disappointed in the lack of effort the church has displayed in helping the