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When physical action fails to achieve a purpose, rhetoric is often considered the most compelling “weapon” to employ because of its power to persuade. During the Civil Rights Movement, despite promises of desegregation, African-American communities across the nation faced countless obstacles on their way toward true equality. Martin Luther King Junior, the renowned leader of the movement, led his fellow African-American brothers against the inequalities of segregation and racial prejudice of the South. In the famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King responds to a public statement made by eight white clergymen while he was arrested for engaging in violent public demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama. In his letter, King refutes the clergymen’s criticism and garners support for the Civil Rights Movement by discrediting the clergymen’s claims, justifying his action, and arguing for the preservation of a unified country.
In his response to the clergymen’s criticisms and his characterization of white moderates, Martin Luther King discredited their assertions and denounced their actions. In the public statement directed to King by the eight Alabama clergymen, they accused King’s demonstrations as “unwise” and “untimely.” In response, King asserts that “time itself is neutral” and human progress only “comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co-workers with God” (26). As King characterizes the efforts of the African American community as righteous actions that are in alignment with God’s will, he also suggests that the white moderates’ reluctance to act in the face of injustice is the cause of social stagnation. By presenting his argument as an undeniable truth, King manipulates his audience to feel obligated to accept his point of view. To refute the clergymen’s accusation of untimeliness, King demonstrates the four basic steps taken in a nonviolent campaign: “collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action” (6). His demonstration of the systematic approach emphasizes that they have taken careful consideration and numerous attempts to negotiate with the state government. However, their efforts are futile as they are forced to take the last resort due the Alabama’s state government’s refusal to negotiate. King’s portrayal of himself and his fellow African Americans in Birmingham as victims of a broken promise serves to win empathy from the audience as their hopes and efforts have been cruelly blasted. King’s direct refutation of the clergymen’s arguments is particularly persuasive because the juxtaposition of opposite arguments not only impels the reader to side with King’s arguments but also leads the readers to his following points.
After addressing the two direct criticisms of the clergymen, King furthers his argument by providing justifications for his actions. King structures his argument logically and objectively, which is not only conclusive but also incontrovertible. He proceeds by defining the difference between a just law, which “uplifts human personality,” and an unjust law, which “degrades human personality (16). Through the basic definitions of terms, King introduces a sense of morality in his audience and sets the ground for his later argument. He makes a clear distinction between anarchy and civil disobedience by stating that the latter is the act of breaking an unjust law “in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice” (20). By reassuring that he is not advocating the defiance of law but rather, uplifting humanity, King draws on the audience’s strong sense of morality as they are obliged to support his argument. In addition, instead of aiming to provoke a sense of agitation as the clergies have suggested, King’s purpose is to “merely bring to surface the hidden tension that is already alive” (24). Rather than artificially covering up the illness and letting it rotten inside, King chooses to expose the ugliness, and in doing so, he grants a voice to the victims of the oppressed race. Furthermore, King asserts that if peaceful actions must be condemned because they precipitated violence, it would be equivalent to condemning “Jesus because his…never-ceasing devotion to God’s will precipitated evil” (25). King compares the work of the African American community to that of God and thus establishes the righteous ground for their actions. Throughout the letter, King employs similar biblical allusions to suggest the credibility of their work as well as to establish the authority of their message; since the focus of his targeted audience is Christians, his argument is particularly effective. King also acknowledges that his fellow African Americans have faced years of oppression and that if their pent-up resentments and latent frustrations are not released in nonviolent ways, they will “seek solace and security in black-nationalist ideologies” which would “inevitably lead to a frightening racial nightmare”(29). His understanding of his audiences’ predicaments not only enhances his credibility but he also justifies the nonviolent approach as a helpful way to minimize possible damages that may occur.
As public demonstrations are mainly organized to gain publicity, King also aims to garner public support as he advocates the preservation of a unified country. Although the white moderates may not concur with the approach that he employs, King reminds them of the inevitability of an egalitarian society as the “yearning for freedom [will] eventually [manifest] itself” (30). King’s reference to America’s westward expansion “manifest way” evokes a sense of nationalism and implies the prophetical success of their movement. The notion that they will inevitably achieve their goal as a unified nation is both glorious and exhilarating. Additionally, as the most prominent figure of his people, King not only exemplifies an understanding of the predicaments of the African American community, but he also demonstrates his own bitterness when he finds his “tongue twisted and…speech stammering” as he fails to answer his daughter’s inquiry of why they are restricted to go to the amusement park (14). King’s personal, firsthand experience allows him to be a more accessible leader as his audience is able to relate their experience with his. Furthermore, he addresses the destructive effect of segregation on children as he sees “her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people” (14). King asserts segregation has not only tormented their generation but also their children as they have been misguided at a young age to accept inferiority as the norm. As different races are segregated, the country is being pulled further apart as well; therefore King implies an urgency to act in order to preserve a unified country for later generations. As he unifies his audience into a single entity rather than distinct individuals, the confidence of a united nation to overcome segregation is greatly enhanced.
In the letter from Birmingham jail, Martin Luther King initiates a response to the clergymen’s public statement in which he justifies his actions and garners support for the Civil Rights Movement. Despite the fact that King was in no position of power, his compelling arguments were able to bring public acceptance to the nonviolent demonstration in Birmingham, Alabama. Although he is physically confined in a tiny cell, his influence is able to reach out to countless places in the world, and even to this day, his work is still considered an exemplar for countries that are still fighting for racial equality.
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