Running Head: LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL

Letter from Birmingham Jail; Rhetorical Analysis

Zayra Mojica

University of Texas at El Paso

Running Head: LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL

Martin Luther King Jr.s, Letter from Birmingham Jail, is an open response for a, call

of unity, by several clergyman. He defends his rights and moral grounds by using nonviolent

protests. By doing this, he furthers the civil rights of African Americans while bringing

awareness to the injustice that is discrimination. Throughout this letter he uses various examples

of appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos to persuade the reader about the reality of how cruel and

unjust segregation actually is.

The use of ethos appears first at the beginning of the letter; King displays his credibility

by stating that he has the, honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership

Conference. By being the leader of an organization, he shows credibility, trustworthiness,

responsibility, and morals. He continues to show these characteristics by addressing the audience

in a respectful manner, for example, My dear fellow clergymen.

Throughout the letter, Martin Luther King Jr. compares himself to historical individuals.

For example Apostle Paul, Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid.

Just like Paul had carried Jesus Christ to every hamlet and city of the Greco-Roman world, he

too took on the responsibility of carrying the gospel of freedom from his hometown to other far

away towns. By using examples of religious history, his credibility as a religious leader, is able to

make the audience understand his actions with his reasoning.

Running Head: LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL

Martin Luther King Jr. questions and answers himself to justify his actions, Why direct

action, why sit-ins, marches, and so forth? Isnt negotiation a better path? He explains that

direct actions bring more attention to the problem at hand then a simple negotiating would. By

using nonviolent actions, he brings tension to the community, which cannot be ignored or

avoided until fixed. Another question he brings up is, How can you advocate breaking some

laws and obeying others? He argues that there are two types of laws, regular laws, and unjust

laws. Because unjust laws are unfair, and unjustified, they should not be followed. Breaking an

unjust law, should not be the same as breaking a regular law. King validates his actions, with

logic, and reasoning in order to show the reader of this letter that he is indeed a trustworthy

individual.

The use of logos is shown all throughout this letter. King gives the reasoning for his

being there. So I am here, along with several members of my staff, because we were invited

here. I am here because I have basic organizational ties here. His reason for being there involves

his organization; therefore hes only there to bring awareness to the immoral actions involving

segregation.

Later in his letter, he explains the basic steps of holding a nonviolent campaign. For

instance the collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive, negotiation, self-

purification, and direct action. All of these steps were gone through, and Martin Luther King Jr.

admitted that Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United

States. Because it is a city known for its unjust treatments of Negroes in the courts, and

unsolved bombings of churches and houses, segregation is evident there. Especially since
Running Head: LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL

activists against segregation have tried to negotiate with the political leaders there, but they

havent been able to properly compromise.

Martin Luther King Jr. then goes on to compare how Hitler treated the Jews to how the

Ku Klux Klan treats African Americans. He admits that if he lived in Germany at that time, he

would have aided and comforted my [his] Jewish brothers even though it was illegal. Once

again, he admits that he only breaks laws that go against a persons civil rights and his moral

thoughts.

Towards the ending of his letter, King clarifies as to why he believes and preaches that

nonviolent actions of protest must be acted upon as purely as they seek. Hes made it clear, that

its wrong to use immoral means to attain moral ends. Even if the way African Americans are

being treated is atrocious, it is just as wrong, or even more, to use moral means to preserve

immoral ends. Because being the bigger person in this issue, in this case being nonviolent and

upholding integrity will always be looked up upon unlike those who use prejudiced actions.

In terms of using examples of pathos Martin Luther King Jr. uses examples that he has

witnessed throughout his life, or lived through himself. Due to his first hand experience with

segregation he knows how inhumane it could be. His own emotions are what fuel him to fight the

injustice that is segregation.

King gives an explanation as to why he was in Birmingham, I am in Birmingham

because injustice is here. The injustice that is happening in Birmingham is the invitation, and

reasoning for him being there. He is there to fight the injustice for the sake of helping out his
Running Head: LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL

fellow African American brothers and for his own sake as well. The mere action of

discrimination towards a certain race is an invitation for his presence.

An experience of segregation that King has shared within this letter was when his

daughter had asked him, Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?Having

known the disappointment of his daughter from being forbidden to experience normal children-

like things white people are only allowed to do broke his heart. Trying to explain to her the

reason why colored people were segregated would get his tongue twisted and his speech

stammered. Not being able to take his daughter to a newly built amusement park only because it

is closed to colored children, really affected them both.

An everyday experience every colored male, faced was when their first name becomes

nigger and your [their] middle name becomes boy. No matter how old you were, white

people would look down upon colored adults. They would degrade them by holding them up to

the standard of a boy instead of the adults they were. African Americans had to constantly live

their life in fear, not knowing what to expect, or when to expect it. Being repressed as less than a

normal person was very frightening, and frustrating. A person can only take so much oppression,

before they begin to fight back.

By reading Martin Luther King Jr.s, Letter from Birmingham Jail, the use of ethos,

pathos, and logos is evident. Martin uses these appeals to persuade the reader to understand his

reasoning for being a participant in a nonviolent protest against segregation. He uses evidence,

reasoning, credibility and his emotional experiences to convince anyone who reads his letter to

defend his strategy of nonviolence resistance to racism, as well as bringing awareness to the

injustice that is segregation.

Running Head: LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL

Reference:

King Jr. M. L. (1963, August) Letter from Birmingham Jail. The Atlantic Monthly: The

Negros Is Your Brother: Volume 212, No. 2, 78-88