A Letter from Birmingham Jail - Assignment Example

This policy has alarmed the black people since this would hinder them in advocating for racial equality within America. Martin Luther King decided to lead action against it. Thus, there was the popular Birmingham March which took place on April 12, 1963. However, on the same day, King, who led the march was arrested. On the very same day, 8 local clergymen had published an open letter in a newspaper titled "A Call for Unity." In the letter, they criticized King and described the Birmingham march as unwise and untimely.

Meanwhile, King wrote, "Letter from Birmingham Jail" in defense of their action and in response to the open letter of the clergymen. In his Letter from Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King effectively presented his arguments by using "ethos" about the racial discrimination that has been happening. He gave emphasis on the legality and truthfulness of their claims and their actions on racial discrimination or segregation. One of his main points is the aptness of the demonstrations being done by people who condone racial discrimination.

He shared that there are clergymen who tag the demonstrations as "unwise and untimely." But then, he maintained that the Negro community was left with no other option but to prepare for direct action. He also stressed the importance of engaging with "good-faith negotiation" among city fathers of the Negro community leaders.  He was also successful in establishing credibility throughout his letter. One of the pieces of evidence is his response to the clergymen that he was an "outsider coming in"; referring to his entry to the jail.

He answered that he is the president of an organization based on every southern state, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He related their actions against the blatant racial discrimination. The first line of the letter takes advantage of using emotional appeal in order to tap the attention of the readers. He writes: "While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came" (717). He gets the attention of the church leaders about the dungeons of the jail. One would imagine, upon learning from King, that there are crowded rooms with very limited ventilation.

This is actually a symbolic representation of the state of the Negro people during that time. Right from the beginning of King's letter, he was able to tap the sympathy of most of the audience. He used diplomatic criticisms for him to avoid using harsh words against the whites even if the blacks were blatantly oppressed. King's diplomatic tone had actually garnered much support from the whites. The letter used varied emotional appeals directed toward the different sets of audiences. Although it was originally written as a letter of response to "A Call for Unity" written by the 8 clergymen, King took advantage to let his voice be heard by the most number of people Thus, he opted to employ a string of emotional appeals to the audiences who read the letter.

During that time, religion was highly influential among people. Thus, King used the name of God several times to appeal to the emotions of the people.