Birmingham

The letter written by Martin Luther King, Jr. titled Letter from Birmingham Jail, is written to put forth a message. Throughout the letter written, King is diving into the concern surrounding just and unjust issues towards the African American community in Birmingham. This argument is addressed when Martin Luther King, Jr. states "One may well ask, 'How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?' The answer is found in the fact that there are two types of laws: there are just laws,…

“Letter from Birmingham Jail”: King’s Stand Against Social Injustice In “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr.’s use of biblical references served its purpose in making the clergymen realize the injustice they were really exhibiting. They may have claimed that King and his protestors were actually doing the morally wrong thing in their nonviolent protest that, according to them, instigated violence, but they were simply turning a blind eye from the truth of their actions. Since…

“Letter from Birmingham Jail” is a correspondence from notable civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr. to area members of the clergy who had criticized his manner of advocacy (King 1300). While pointing out he does not make a habit of responding to criticism, King nonetheless indicates he is responding to the pastors because they are level headed and mean well (King 1302). King articulates the purpose for which he is in the Birmingham jail by illustrating ideas of justice and instances of…

of Activism “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are”. These were the wise words of the reputable, Benjamin Franklin. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” to address the horrendous issue in not only Birmingham, but the United States as a whole as well. Throughout this letter, King exploits many different rhetorical devices such as imagery, while portraying a multitude rhetorical questions all through this letter, and to…

King's use of ethos and allusion in "Letter From Birmingham Jail" proves effective as a method of advocating for the credibility of his cause and civil disobedience. King writes, "Isn't this like condemning Socrates because he's unswerving commitment to the truth and his philosophical delvings precipitated the misguided popular mind to make him drink the hemlock," (paragraph 18, line 3). In writing this, King uses allusion to plead his case for the peaceful protests and their effectiveness.…

In his letter to the clergymen, King discusses the injustices happening toward the Black community in Birmingham. He even states, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (800). This quote is in response to people telling Dr. King to leave Birmingham because he is not from Alabama and has no right protesting in Birmingham. However, his letter explains the reason for his involvement in the non-violent, direct-action demonstrations. King alludes to the leaders of major movements in…

In Letter from Birmingham City Jail, the attempts to assert the direct action of a peaceful civil rights demonstration in Birmingham, Alabama was wholly necessary, justified and long overdue. This is a response to an open letter written by “eight prominent ‘liberal’ Alabama clergymen” (46). The clergymen argued that the decision was badly timed and that the participants should let the fight for integration continue only in the federal courts. Martin Luther King JR’s defense begins with his…

Analysis on Letter from Birmingham Jail In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr to his fellow clergymen. King aimed to persuade the clergymen as well as the other readers of his dedication to the civil rights movement and his work. His expert use of pathos, logos, ethos, and other literary devices reflect Kings’ intelligence, and credibility on the matter of segregation, injustice and discrimination. King was and continues to be one of the most quintessential…

Martin Luther King Jr. was born in 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. King was a Baptist minister, activist, humanitarian and civil rights leader on behalf of African Americans. Dr. King’s arrest took place in 1963 while leading a line of demonstrators in Birmingham, Alabama. From his jail cell Dr. King eloquently writes a timeless piece of American rhetoric that will be heard for centuries to come. Dr. King read a paper in which white clergymen were speaking out on the black movement, asking the…

Jackie Rios Ms. Thompson AP Language and Composition 16 October 2015 Rhetorical Precis: Letter from a Birmingham In the letter Letter from a Birmingham (1963), Martin Luther King Jr., an American Baptist minister, activist, humanitarian, and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement who is known for his usage of nonviolent civil disobedience, asserts that those who have never experience segregation easily say to wait and to not fight back, as they don’t know what it feel like to be…