Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote the “Letter From Birmingham Jail” as a means to reach out to the nation, as a whole, to address the issue of cruelty and injustice caused by racism in Birmingham. It is also intended directly for the eight clergymen who criticized his actions in Birmingham. It was there where Martin Luther King was arrested for protesting the mistreatment and segregation of African Americans within the community. While in jail he expressed his passion for change and defended his actions of non-violent protesting by writing “Letter From Birmingham Jail”. In this letter Martin Luther King, Jr. uses emotion, ethical and logical appeal to form support for his desire for racial justice and equality in our country in the 1960’s.
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Much like this organization, the letter he wrote was built on Christianity. At the time over 90% of the United States population identified themselves as Christians, that was including all races. This is why Martin Luther King uses biblical allusions to connect with the majority of the nation. For example, he uses biblical stories such as the mentioning of “early Christians who willingly faced hungry lions and the excruciating pain of chopping blocks rather than submit to certain unjust laws of the roman empires” and examples of Paul’s conversion from an extremist of Christin gospel to bearing the marks of Jesus. Martin Luther King uses this technique to relate to present day injustice, and he sees his actions as a means to fore fill the will of God in hopes that other Christians no matter skin color will want to thrive to doing Gods …show more content…
A fear going all the way back to slavery time when whites slave owners where scared of their slaves becoming over whelmed with rage and anger that they would lashed out uncontrollably. Therefore, he avoids the tone of white shaming and avoided inspiring hate words white people. This letter isn’t intended to rally African Americans for change but to show the nation as a whole that justice has no race or color and American should be built on equality for all. His goal being to encourage those who read it to listen to his argument and the points he is making that they previously may not have considered. He even starts by addressing the clergymen who imprisoned him as “My Dear Fellow Clergymen” saying that he respects them and like them he is their equal since he is a clergyman
Much like this organization, the letter he wrote was built on Christianity. At the time over 90% of the United States population identified themselves as Christians, that was including all races. This is why Martin Luther King uses biblical allusions to connect with the majority of the nation. For example, he uses biblical stories such as the mentioning of “early Christians who willingly faced hungry lions and the excruciating pain of chopping blocks rather than submit to certain unjust laws of the roman empires” and examples of Paul’s conversion from an extremist of Christin gospel to bearing the marks of Jesus. Martin Luther King uses this technique to relate to present day injustice, and he sees his actions as a means to fore fill the will of God in hopes that other Christians no matter skin color will want to thrive to doing Gods …show more content…
A fear going all the way back to slavery time when whites slave owners where scared of their slaves becoming over whelmed with rage and anger that they would lashed out uncontrollably. Therefore, he avoids the tone of white shaming and avoided inspiring hate words white people. This letter isn’t intended to rally African Americans for change but to show the nation as a whole that justice has no race or color and American should be built on equality for all. His goal being to encourage those who read it to listen to his argument and the points he is making that they previously may not have considered. He even starts by addressing the clergymen who imprisoned him as “My Dear Fellow Clergymen” saying that he respects them and like them he is their equal since he is a clergyman