“Letter From a Birmingham Jail” by M. L. King, Jr.

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Who is King’s explicit audience? To whom is he addressing his letter?

Martin Luther King Jr. seeks the attention of a larger and universal audience in this letter from Birmingham jail. His audiences are not only the oppressed black minority groups but also the whites who perpetuate the injustices. Luther is addressing the Alabama clergymen in this letter, and he artistically uses his communication skills to view his concerns. Contrary to those who took part in oppressing him, Luther is addressing a greater good that is aimed at uniting his intended audience on a larger magnitude.

King addresses the Alabama clergymen, referring to them as his “dear and fellow clergymen” (King 548), and regard them as “men of genuine will” (548) who are very sincere towards careful responses and fundamental values. Luther captures not only the eight clergymen he is addressing in this letter, but also his entire audience by making biblical references to Jesus and Paul who were oppressed as creative extremists, but was dedicated servants of God. This is one of the most catching parts in his letter since he managed to capture both the clergymen and the audience by establishing this common ground of religion (African Studies Gender 1).

Of what does he claim he wants to convince them? To what conclusions does he want them to come?

Martin Luther claimed that he wanted to convince the eight clergymen who had strongly criticized his work on civil rights. He wanted the clergymen to be convinced of the utility of this noble commitment in the area of civil rights awareness at that particular moment in time. Martin Luther King wanted the clergymen and the entire group of individuals who were opposing them to conclude that he had adequate authority and sufficient commitment to advance the cause of civil rights on his community’s behalf (African Studies Gender 1).

What are his various arguments to support those purposes?

Martin Luther King Jr. uses various arguments to support his civil rights purposes. Luther argued that he was capable of successfully leading his oppressed community in championing their rights. Besides, he wanted to create some rejections to immoral behaviors (Fulkerson 129).

Think about his larger audience once the letter is published across America. Of what must he convince them? To what conclusions does he want them to come?

Once Luther’s letter is published across America, his audience would react towards his support and commitment to liberating them from oppression, and making sure that justice and morality prevail in society. He wanted his audience to conclude that there is a need for peace and unity (African Studies Gender 1). Besides, the audience would conclude that Luther was championing their independence through civil rights.

Where do you find effective strategies for his making this larger appeal?

Effective strategies for his making this larger appeal are evidenced from the letter, that is, in the second paragraph, where he stated that he had “the honor of serving in the position of a president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference” (African Studies Gender 1). Arguably, the readers of Martin Luther’s letter can be strongly convinced that he has skillfully borrowed from the works of Aristotle on persuasion which involve the use of logos, pathos, and ethos (Oppenheimer 820). This is evidenced in the first appeal to his wisdom as well as reputation, then careful arousal of sympathy and emotions in the audience plus the readers. Eventually, Luther is appealing to logic in the sense that this is supported by citations as well as evidence from some of the most influential thinkers.

Where is the appeal to facts? Where to belief systems?

King is appealing to facts in the second paragraph where he affirmed that he is indeed the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (African Studies Gender 1). This is a fact used by Luther to remind his opponents about his leadership position in that religious society, which offers him the best qualification to be at the same standing as the eight clergymen. This supports his belief system in recognition of one’s potential and fairness in the community.

Works Cited

African Studies Gender.”Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.]”. Upenn Education. 2010. Web.

Fulkerson, Richard. “The public letter as a rhetorical form: Structure, logic, and style in King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail””. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 65.2 (1979): 121–136. Print.

King, Martin Luther. “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”. Quarterly Journal of Speech 51.3 (1995): 518–634. Print.

Oppenheimer, David. “Martin Luther King, Walker v. City of Birmingham, and the Letter from Birmingham Jail“. U.C. Davis Law Review, 26.4 (1993): 791–833. Print.

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