MLK's Letter from Birmingham Jail: Rhetoric and Nonviolence

Background: The Birmingham Campaign

After an unsuccessful campaign in Albany, Georgia, in the spring of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. and his Southern Christian Leadership Conference planned a major nonviolent campaign in Birmingham, Alabama. King, Fred Shuttlesworth, Wyatt Walker, and other coordinators sent hundreds of protestors, including young children, across Birmingham. Headstrong city officials ordered police to release snarling dogs on the demonstrators and sent firefighters to wash them down the streets with fire hoses. Millions of Americans were shocked when they witnessed these events on television. Hundreds of marchers were arrested, and on Easter Sunday King himself was put in jail.

At the outset of the campaign, eight clergymen in Birmingham published a statement in the Birmingham Post Herald calling for racial harmony and an end to the demonstrations, which the clergy considered unwise, untimely, and extreme. While critical of the role played by outsiders, they directed their statement at both the white and Negro citizenry of Birmingham (Letter From Birmingham Jail, 2010).

The achievement of Martin Luther King's nonviolent movement against segregation and injustice in the American South is largely due to his visionary and inspirational eloquence. While in jail for leading anti-segregation protests in Birmingham, King wrote a letter arguing that individuals have the moral duty to defy unjust laws (Martin Luther King Speeches, 2009). King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was written in response to "A Call for Unity" published by the clergymen. His motivation for writing the letter was to rebut the clergymen's claims and present his own viewpoint. King successfully crafted his counterargument by first directly addressing his audience — the clergymen — and then using logos, pathos, and ethos to disprove his opponents' statements (Jones, 2008).

King's Rhetorical Strategy and Direct Address

After announcing the general purpose of his letter, Martin Luther King Jr. addressed the clergymen in order to establish the foundation for his counterargument. He first identified a flaw in his opponents' argument and built upon it. This direct statement then takes a turn as he gradually develops the notion that the demonstrations were both expected and essential. By utilizing key phrases such as "even more unfortunate" and "no alternative," King was able to stress that there was absolutely nothing else the Negro population in Birmingham could have done at the time.

Having established this compelling premise, King then proceeded into his logical argument concerning the necessary steps of any nonviolent campaign. His analysis of the underlying conflicts fueling the unrest between blacks and whites in Birmingham drew on symbols and explained the reality of injustice — specifically, the intense segregation taking place in the city. By using a logical, ordered, and sequential argument, King appealed to the thoughts and reasoning of an educated audience (Jones, 2008).

Logos, Pathos, and the Case for Nonviolent Tension

Martin Luther King Jr. first identified a portion of his opponents' argument and slowly picked it apart, focusing closely on the word tension. Through a comparison of violent tension, which is undesired, and nonviolent tension, which is positive, he gradually established the concept that constructive, nonviolent tension would help men rise "from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood." King's deliberate word choice — phrases like "dark depths" and "majestic heights" — precisely conveyed his point of view.

He then followed this with a statement that employed both logical reasoning and pathos to evoke feelings of sympathy and remorse. The emotional weight of his words expressed how powerful the preceding years had been for Black Americans and their inability to participate meaningfully in dialogue. There was also a logical appeal present, as he explicitly stated the purpose of their direct-action program: to compel open negotiations with both sides holding authority. King created dialogue through logos while incorporating purposeful word choice and pathos as well (Jones, 2008).

Conclusion: King's Legacy of Language and Justice

Martin Luther King Jr. knew that there was too much violence in the world and worked very hard to settle the race issues in this country in a nonviolent way. He used his intellect and his tremendous gift for language to break down the barriers that existed between white and Black Americans. He understood that responding with violence would do nothing more than escalate the situation to a greater and more destructive level. There was a profound injustice being carried out across the country, and the last thing he wanted to do was add to it. He believed that with hard work and common sense, the injustice would eventually be righted.

Works Cited

Burstein, Stanley M. and Shek, Richard. 2005. "World History Ancient Civilizations." Texas: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Jones, Chris. 2008. "Analysis of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail." Web. 27 April 2010.

"Letter From Birmingham Jail." 2010. Web. 27 April 2010.

"Martin Luther King Speeches." 2009. Web. 27 April 2010.

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Weber, Thomas and Burrowes, Robert J. n.d. Web. 27 April 2010.