Letter From the Birmingham Jail by Martin

¶ … Letter from the Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr., and "A Letter from the Clergy" by some leading spiritual clergy in Birmingham, Alabama. Specifically, it will summarize the two letters. Both of these letters provide compelling reasons for what the authors believe in, and they are both very persuasive and convincing in their own way.

The clergymen believe that King's actions, in creating a march that led to many arrests (including King's own arrest), is the wrong way to attempt to gain civil right for black Americans. They believe that these measures are "extreme" and not necessary for the circumstances. They write, "We also point out that such actions to incite such hatred and violence, however technically peaceful these actions might be, have not contributed to the resolution of our local problems" (Miller 486). This is persuasive for a number of reasons. First, the clergy note that even peaceful marches can end up in violence and hatred, and then they commend law enforcement and the community for handling them effectively. Thus, they use positive and negative in their argument, seeking to convince both sides of their argument, and then they speak directly to the black community to not support the demonstrations and to work peacefully, through the courts, to win their rights.

It is clear these clergymen feel that King is an outside dissident who is bringing trouble to the city of Birmingham. They list their arguments, offer a solution they think works, and write a compelling letter asking for support of their ideas. This is a very persuasive letter, but it did not gain the support they had hoped, largely because of King's lengthy response in his "Letter from the Birmingham Jail."

King's letter is very famous and it gained notoriety from the time it first appeared. The letter is a response to the letter from the clergy, and it directly and eloquently answers the criticisms of the clergy and the community. First, King establishes he is not an "outsider," but affiliated with a human rights group in Alabama, who requested he come and help with their "nonviolent direct-action program." He lists four things that must take place during non-violent campaigns, and cites that the black community had attempted to negotiate, as the clergy suggested, with citizens and lawmakers, and promises were consistently ignored. He also cites passages and events in the Bible and ties them back to his own cause, indicating his knowledge of scripture and his understanding of the situation.

He then goes on to talk about "unjust" laws and justice, and that people have to stand up to injustice when they know it is occurring, and he speaks out against the "white moderates" who he believes are the real problem with the lack of civil rights in the South. He writes, "I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and that when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress" (Miller 494). He writes with compassion and eloquence, which is one reason his arguments are so compelling, but he writes with passion, too, something the clergy letter certainly lacked.