letter from birmingham jail thesis

A Summary and Analysis of Martin Luther King’s ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’ is Martin Luther King’s most famous written text, and rivals his most celebrated speech, ‘ I Have a Dream ’, for its political importance and rhetorical power.

King wrote this open letter in April 1963 while he was imprisoned in the city jail in Birmingham, Alabama. When he read a statement issued in the newspaper by eight of his fellow clergymen, King began to compose his response, initially writing it in the margins of the newspaper article itself.

In ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’, King answers some of the criticisms he had received from the clergymen in their statement, and makes the case for nonviolent action to bring about an end to racial segregation in the South. You can read the letter in full here if you would like to read King’s words before reading on to our summary of his argument, and analysis of the letter’s meaning and significance.

‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’: summary

The letter is dated 16 April 1963. King begins by addressing his ‘fellow clergymen’ who wrote the statement published in the newspaper. In this statement, they had criticised King’s political activities ‘unwise and untimely’. King announces that he will respond to their criticisms because he believes they are ‘men of genuine good will’.

King outlines why he is in Birmingham: as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, he was invited by an affiliate group in Birmingham to engage in a non-violent direct-action program: he accepted. When the time came, he honoured his promise and came to Birmingham to support the action.

But there is a bigger reason for his travelling to Birmingham: because injustice is found there, and, in a famous line, King asserts: ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ The kind of direction action King and others have engaged in around Birmingham is a last resort because negotiations have broken down and promises have been broken.

When there is no alternative, direct action – such as sit-ins and marches – can create what King calls a ‘tension’ which will mean that a community which previously refused to negotiate will be forced to come to the negotiating table. King likens this to the ‘tension’ in the individual human mind which Socrates, the great classical philosopher, fostered through his teachings.

Next, King addresses the accusation that the action he and others are taking in Birmingham is ‘untimely’. King points out that the newly elected mayor of the city, like the previous incumbent, is in favour of racial segregation and thus wishes to preserve the political status quo so far as race is concerned. As King observes, privileged people seldom give up their privileges voluntarily: hence the need for nonviolent pressure.

King now turns to the question of law-breaking. How can he and others justify breaking the law? He quotes St. Augustine, who said that ‘an unjust law is no law at all.’ A just law uplifts human personality and is consistent with the moral law and God’s law. An unjust law degrades human personality and contradicts the moral law (and God’s law). Because segregation encourages one group of people to view themselves as superior to another group, it is unjust.

He also asserts that he believes the greatest stumbling-block to progress is not the far-right white supremacist but the ‘white moderate’ who are wedded to the idea of ‘order’ in the belief that order is inherently right. King points out both in the Bible (the story of Shadrach and the fiery furnace ) and in America’s own colonial history (the Boston Tea Party ) people have practised a form of ‘civil disobedience’, breaking one set of laws because a higher law was at stake.

King addresses the objection that his actions, whilst nonviolent themselves, may encourage others to commit violence in his name. He rejects this argument, pointing out that this kind of logic (if such it can be called) can be extended to all sorts of scenarios. Do we blame a man who is robbed because his possession of wealth led the robber to steal from him?

The next criticism which King addresses is the notion that he is an extremist. He contrasts his nonviolent approach with that of other African-American movements in the US, namely the black nationalist movements which view the white man as the devil. King points out that he has tried to steer a path between extremists on either side, but he is still labelled an ‘extremist’.

He decides to own the label, and points out that Jesus could be regarded as an ‘extremist’ because, out of step with the worldview of his time, he championed love of one’s enemies.

Other religious figures, as well as American political figures such as Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson, might be called ‘extremists’ for their unorthodox views (for their time). Jefferson, for example, was considered an extremist for arguing, in the opening words to the Declaration of Independence, that all men are created equal. ‘Extremism’ doesn’t have to mean one is a violent revolutionary: it can simply denote extreme views that one holds.

King expresses his disappointment with the white church for failing to stand with him and other nonviolent activists campaigning for an end to racial segregation. People in the church have made a variety of excuses for not supporting racial integration.

The early Christian church was much more prepared to fight for what it believed to be right, but it has grown weak and complacent. Rather than being disturbers of the peace, many Christians are now upholders of the status quo.

Martin Luther King concludes his letter by arguing that he and his fellow civil rights activists will achieve their freedom, because the goal of America as a nation has always been freedom, going back to the founding of the United States almost two centuries earlier. He provides several examples of the quiet courage shown by those who had engaged in nonviolent protest in the South.

‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’: analysis

Martin Luther King’s open letter written from Birmingham Jail is one of the most famous open letters in the world. It is also a well-known defence of the notion of civil disobedience, or refusing to obey laws which are immoral or unjust, often through peaceful protest and collective action.

King answers each of the clergymen’s objections in turn, laying out his argument in calm, rational, but rhetorically brilliant prose. The emphasis throughout is non nonviolent action, or peaceful protest, which King favours rather than violent acts such as rioting (which, he points out, will alienate many Americans who might otherwise support the cause for racial integration).

In this, Martin Luther King was greatly influenced by the example of Mahatma Gandhi , who had led the Indian struggle for independence earlier in the twentieth century, advocating for nonviolent resistance to British rule in India. Another inspiration for King was Henry David Thoreau, whose 1849 essay ‘ Civil Disobedience ’ called for ordinary citizens to refuse to obey laws which they consider unjust.

This question of what is a ‘just’ law and what is an ‘unjust’ law is central to King’s defence of his political approach as laid out in the letter from Birmingham Jail. He points out that everything Hitler did in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s was ‘legal’, because the Nazis changed the laws to suit their ideology and political aims. But this does not mean that what they did was moral : quite the opposite.

Similarly, it would have been ‘illegal’ to come to the aid of a Jew in Nazi Germany, but King states that he would have done so, even though, by helping and comforting a Jewish person, he would have been breaking the law. So instead of the view that ‘law’ and ‘justice’ are synonymous, ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’ is a powerful argument for obeying a higher moral law rather than manmade laws which suit those in power.

But ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’ is also notable for the thoughtful and often surprising things King does with his detractors’ arguments. For instance, where we might expect him to object to being called an ‘extremist’, he embraces the label, observing that some of the most pious and peaceful figures in history have been ‘extremists’ of one kind of another. But they have called for extreme love, justice, and tolerance, rather than extreme hate, division, or violence.

Similarly, King identifies white moderates as being more dangerous to progress than white nationalists, because they believe in ‘order’ rather than ‘justice’ and thus they can sound rational and sympathetic even as they stand in the way of racial integration and civil rights. As with the ‘extremist’ label, King’s position here may take us by surprise, but he backs up his argument carefully and provides clear reasons for his stance.

There are two main frames of reference in the letter. One is Christian examples: Jesus, St. Paul, and Amos, the Old Testament prophet , are all mentioned, with King drawing parallels between their actions and those of the civil rights activists participating in direct action.

The other is examples from American history: Abraham Lincoln (who issued the Emancipation Proclamation during the American Civil War, a century before King was writing) and Thomas Jefferson (who drafted the words to the Declaration of Independence, including the statement that all men are created equal).

Both Christianity and America have personal significance for King, who was a reverend as well as a political campaigner and activist. But these frames of reference also establish a common ground between both him and the clergymen he addresses, and, more widely, with many other Americans who will read the open letter.

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"Letter from Birmingham Jail"

April 16, 1963

As the events of the  Birmingham Campaign  intensified on the city’s streets, Martin Luther King, Jr., composed a letter from his prison cell in Birmingham in response to local religious leaders’ criticisms of the campaign: “Never before have I written so long a letter. I’m afraid it is much too long to take your precious time. I can assure you that it would have been much shorter if I had been writing from a comfortable desk, but what else can one do when he is alone in a narrow jail cell, other than write long letters, think long thoughts and pray long prayers?” (King,  Why , 94–95).

King’s 12 April 1963 arrest for violating Alabama’s law against mass public demonstrations took place just over a week after the campaign’s commencement. In an effort to revive the campaign, King and Ralph  Abernathy   had donned work clothes and marched from Sixth Avenue Baptist Church into a waiting police wagon. The day of his arrest, eight Birmingham clergy members wrote a criticism of the campaign that was published in the  Birmingham News , calling its direct action strategy “unwise and untimely” and appealing “to both our white and Negro citizenry to observe the principles of law and order and common sense” (“White Clergymen Urge”).

Following the initial circulation of King’s letter in Birmingham as a mimeographed copy, it was published in a variety of formats: as a pamphlet distributed by the  American Friends Service Committee  and as an article in periodicals such as  Christian Century ,  Christianity and Crisis , the  New York Post , and  Ebony  magazine. The first half of the letter was introduced into testimony before Congress by Representative William Fitts Ryan (D–NY) and published in the  Congressional Record . One year later, King revised the letter and presented it as a chapter in his 1964 memoir of the Birmingham Campaign,  Why We Can’t Wait , a book modeled after the basic themes set out in “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”

In  Why We Can’t Wait , King recalled in an author’s note accompanying the letter’s republication how the letter was written. It was begun on pieces of newspaper, continued on bits of paper supplied by a black trustee, and finished on paper pads left by King’s attorneys. After countering the charge that he was an “outside agitator” in the body of the letter, King sought to explain the value of a “nonviolent campaign” and its “four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action” (King,  Why , 79). He went on to explain that the purpose of direct action was to create a crisis situation out of which negotiation could emerge.

The body of King’s letter called into question the clergy’s charge of “impatience” on the part of the African American community and of the “extreme” level of the campaign’s actions (“White Clergymen Urge”). “For years now, I have heard the word ‘Wait!’” King wrote. “This ‘Wait’ has almost always meant ‘Never’” (King,  Why , 83). He articulated the resentment felt “when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of ‘nobodiness’—then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait” (King,  Why , 84). King justified the tactic of civil disobedience by stating that, just as the Bible’s Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to obey Nebuchadnezzar’s unjust laws and colonists staged the Boston Tea Party, he refused to submit to laws and injunctions that were employed to uphold segregation and deny citizens their rights to peacefully assemble and protest.

King also decried the inaction of white moderates such as the clergymen, charging that human progress “comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co-workers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation” (King,  Why , 89). He prided himself as being among “extremists” such as Jesus, the prophet Amos, the apostle Paul, Martin Luther, and Abraham Lincoln, and observed that the country as a whole and the South in particular stood in need of creative men of extreme action. In closing, he hoped to meet the eight fellow clergymen who authored the first letter.

Garrow,  Bearing the Cross , 1986.

King, “A Letter from Birmingham Jail,”  Ebony  (August 1963): 23–32.

King, “From the Birmingham Jail,”  Christianity and Crisis  23 (27 May 1963): 89–91.

King, “From the Birmingham Jail,”  Christian Century  80 (12 June 1963): 767–773.

King, “Letter from Birmingham City Jail” (Philadelphia: American Friends Service Committee, May 1963).

King, “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” in  Why We Can’t Wait , 1964.

Reverend Martin Luther King Writes from Birmingham City Jail—Part I , 88th Cong., 1st sess.,  Congressional Record  (11 July 1963): A 4366–4368.

“White Clergymen Urge Local Negroes to Withdraw from Demonstrations,”  Birmingham News , 13 April 1963.

Letter from Birmingham Jail

Martin luther king, jr., ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

Letter from Birmingham Jail: Introduction

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Historical Context of Letter from Birmingham Jail

Other books related to letter from birmingham jail.

• Full Title: Letter from Birmingham Jail
• When Written: April 1963
• Where Written: Birmingham City Jail
• When Published: May 19, 1963 (excerpts) in The New York Post Sunday Magazine and later in 1963 in its entirety in Liberation , The Christian Century , and The New Leader magazines
• Literary Period: Civil Rights Movement
• Genre: Essay
• Setting: Birmingham, Alabama
• Antagonist: The eight white clergymen, authors of “A Call for Unity”
• Point of View: First person

Extra Credit for Letter from Birmingham Jail

A Letter in Pieces. While in the Birmingham City jail, Martin Luther King, Jr. had little access to the outside world, and was only able to read “A Call to Unity” when a trusted friend smuggled the newspaper into his jail cell. King wrote his response in the margins of the paper, in pieces, and they were smuggled back out to a fellow pastor, who had the responsibility of piecing the letter back together again.

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Introduction to academic writing.

The Rhetorical Situation of Letter from Birmingham Jail 

As the Civil Rights movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s unfolded, Martin Luther King Jr. had, perhaps, the most encompassing and personal rhetorical situation to face in American history. In Letter From Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King responds to the subjectivity of law and the issue he paramounts by using precise and impactful rhetoric from inside of his jail cell. While this fight had been raging for nearly 10 years, the release in 1963 was shortly followed  by the Civil Rights Act in 1964.              

Martin Luther leading peaceful Birmingham protest, AP News

Lloyd Bitzer describes rhetorical situation as, “a complex of persons, events, objects, and relations presenting an actual or potential exigence which can be  completely or partially removed if discourse, introduced into the situation, can so constrain human decision or action to bring about the significant modification of the exigence” (6). In sum, all rhetoric has an external situation in which it is responding to. Analysing a rhetorical situation clarifies why a text was created, the purpose in which it was written, and why the author made specific choices while writing it. There are three main considerations to make while analysing a rhetorical situation: the constraints, the exigence, and the audience. Constraints bring light to the obstacles this rhetoric may face, whether it be social, political, economical, etc. and may encompass the audience, as seen while analysing Letter From Birmingham Jail. The audience of a rhetorical piece will shape the rhetoric the author uses in order to appeal, brazen, or educate whoever is exposed. Lastly, the exigence of a rhetorical piece is the external issue, situation, or event in which the rhetoric is responding to. All of these factors influence each other to shape rhetoric, which Bitzer describes as, “pragmatic; it comes into existence for the sake of something beyond itself” (3), with Martin Luther King’s Letter From Birmingham Jail being a shining example. 

In Letter From Birmingham Jail, the exigence is the continued condemnation, segregation, and prejudice afflicted against African Americans since the emancipation of the slaves in 1863. However, the racial divide was legislated in 1877 with the implementation of Jim Crow laws, which lasted until 1950. While the Civil Rights movement superseded the dismantling of Jim Crow, the social ideologies and lackadaisical legislature behind anti-black prejudice continued to rack the country far into the 1960’s. King was the figurehead of the Civil Rights movement, infamous for his “I Have a Dream” speech and substantially impactful rhetoric promoting social and political change, peaceful indignation, and calls to awareness. Martin Luther found himself arrested on the twelfth of April 1963 after leading a peaceful protest throughout Birmingham, Alabama “after he defied a state court’s injunction and led a march of black protesters without a permit, urging an Easter boycott of white-owned stores” (Jr., Martin Luther King). The eight clergymen in Birmingham released a public statement of caution regarding the protesters actions as “unwise and untimely” (King 1), to which Martin’s letter is a direct response. This protest, his subsequent arrest, and the clergymen’s public statement ostensibly make up the rhetorical exigence, but it truly stems from a much larger and dangerous situation at hand: the overwhelming state of anti-black prejudice spread socially, systematically, and legislatively in America since the country’s implementation of slavery in Jamestown, 1619. This exigence is rhetorical because it can be improved if enough people are socially cognizant, whether that be in legislature or the streets of Birmingham, through creation and enforcement of equitable laws and social attitudes. These circumstances lead us to our next rhetorical focus: audience. Who was he truly writing for?

The audience of Letter From Birmingham Jail was initially the eight clergymen of Birmingham, all white and in positions of religious leadership. However, in the months that followed, King’s powerful words were distributed to the public through civil right’s committees, the press, and was even read in testimony before Congress (‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’), taking the country by storm. While his letter was only addressed to the clergymen, it is safe to assume that King had intent on the public eventually reading his letter, considering his position within the Civil Rights movement, use of persuasive rhetorical language, and hard-hitting debates on the justification of law. With this addressed, his audience was truly the population of the United States, especially Birmingham, with a focus on those who withheld and complied with the oppression of African American citizens, even if not intentionally. This audience is rhetorical as the social and political ideologies of the American people fuel democracy and are able to change the system around them through collective effort. His writing is respectful and educated, if not naturally, to invalidate the use of his race against him by the largely prejudiced audience. It’s important to note that his initial readers/supporters greatly impacted the scope of his audience, spreading the letter through handouts, flyers, and press, in the hopes that others would be impacted for the better by the weight of the exigence at hand. His audience ranged between those who his message empowered, a radical positive force, and those who disagreed, made up of southern states, extremist groups, and the majority of American citizens stuck in their racial prejudices. Despite his support, Martin Luther’s audience is one of the largest constraints in his rhetorical situation. 

The constraints surrounding Martin Luther King’s rhetorical situation include the audience, the rhetorical exigence of the situation he is responding to, Dr. King himself, and the medium, all of which are deeply connected. Firstly, and most daunting, is the constraint of the letter’s audience. Initially, the eight Birmingham clergymen are the audience and while they were not overtly racist, King uses rhetoric meant to have them understand his urgency. As mentioned before, the social and political ideologies in America surrounding racial equity at this time, specifically in Birmingham, were extremely poor. While his supporters nation-wide were avid, determined, and hopeful, they were challenged by the opposing, vastly white population, comfortable in their segregated establishments and racist ideologies who would certainly weaponize his viewpoints. Not only was this a social division, but those who opposed King were reinforced by the respective legislature that sought to burden him. Despite his opposition, however, the letter is truly addressed to those who were not against King, but did not understand the urgency of his movement. The letter goes on to explain his choice to act directly and nonviolently, stating, “For years now I have heard the word ‘wait.’ It rings in the ear of every Negro with a piercing familiarity. This ‘wait’ has almost always meant ‘never’ (King 2). King chose to write this for a reason; to resonate with those who were not his enemies but who held back the movement through compliance. It was important for King to address this audience as their support would ultimately make the largest difference in the movement. The biases of the audience go hand in hand with the rhetorical exigence of this letter, another large constraint in the effectiveness of his message. The continuous mistreatment of African Americans for over a century was, at last, deeply questioned and challenged nationwide with the growing popularity of the Civil Rights movement, and the topic of equality for all had divided the country. All of this accumulates into an unwavering social constraint placed on Martin Luther King’s rhetorical text. To minimize the possibility of being deemed invalid due to his race, he must choose what he states and how he states it very precisely which correlates to the constraints Martin Luther himself has on his rhetorical situation. 

As a black man and pacifist-forward figurehead of the Civil Rights movement, the way Martin Luther is perceived is mostly dictated by preconceived biases and is rampant, widespread, and polarized. 

                 Martin Luther in Birmingham Jail, The Atlantic

Furthermore, exterior events regarding the movement could ultimately reflect on his influence and polarize the audience further. Greater importance is placed on his tone, choice of words, choice of argument, and credibility, for better or for worse, and he must carefully make rhetorical decisions, not only because of his race. At this time, he is representative of the Black American population and the Civil Rights Movement as a whole– he is Martin Luther King Jr., and while this is a powerful position to occupy, the constraints imposed are just as dominant. Ultimately, he effectively tackles societal constraints, whether it be audience bias, historical racism, or how he is viewed by using the power of his rhetoric to his advantage. King spins the constraining pressure to properly represent the movement on its head, using his rhetoric to uplift the underprivileged and leave no room in his language for criticism, proven by the continuous adoption of his messages by the public. 

Lastly, King is constrained by his medium. A letter, as a medium, is constraining as there is one definitive original copy, it is addressed to a small specific group, and since it cannot be directly broadcasted widely, opposed to television or radio, it must be printed or passed along analogically. Whether this be by newspaper, flyers, or restated by another in speech, the spread of information is slower and potentially more controllable. The letter was written April third, 1963, it was published for the public in June of the same year, a slower spread than a nationwide address on television or radio. Additionally, personable elements such as tone, inflection, and overall vindication behind the letter are left to be determined by the rhetorical language. There may have been advantages to broadcasting this message similarly to his “I Have a Dream” speech, which touched America deeply, due potentially to the accessible, instantaneous, and widespread coverage in American media. He was able to further interact with the audience; they were able to hear his voice, listen to the intended tone behind his words, see his face, and study his demeanor in the face of adversary. However, this constraint did not ultimately halt the spread of King’s message nation-wide, as it became a persuasive landmark of the civil rights movement, likely due to both his impactful position and persuasive use of rhetoric. 

To truly understand the effectiveness of this letter, one must rhetorically analyse the contents. Martin Luther utilizes powerful rhetoric to define his exigence. He begins strongly by explaining why he is in Birmingham in the first place, stating, “So I am here…because we were invited here. I am here because I have basic organizational ties here” (King 1), after describing his involvement in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference as president. He goes on to add; “I am in Birmingham because injustice is here” (King 1). At the time, Birmingham was one of the harshest places to live in America for African Americans; white supremacy groups would set off bombs to instill fear in the black community and withhold racial integration, and peaceful protests and sit-ins were met with unjustifiable police violence, in addition to the suffocating social qualms surrounding the black community (Eskew). Consequently, Birmingham became the core of the Civil Rights movement, pumping the life-blood of social change into the rest of the country. Being nearly symbolic, King being held prisoner in Birmingham, the most polar racial arena of the United States, made his rhetoric more effective. It elucidated the exigence behind his letter as his presented rationale behind his arrest only made unjust laws appear more asinine and questionable by relation. Martin Luther King then goes on to make an analogy to the Bible, portraying Apostle Paul’s proliferation of the gospel of Jesus Christ in parallel to his own efforts, stating, “I too am compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my particular hometown” (1). These encompass his exigence, at its most simple and precise, and validify the importance behind transforming the country in a positive way. 

The rhetorical choices referenced above are riddled with pathos, also known as language utilized to persuade the audience emotionally. Not only does he use pathos to humanize himself, but he also uses it to humanize his immediate audience, the eight clergymen. He opens with an explanation to his response, stating, “Seldom, if ever, do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas…But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I would like to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms”(King 1). By addressing his respect for the clergymen, feigned or not, he is acknowledging the effectiveness of respect to those in power, whether they may or may not deserve it. King’s decision to compare his efforts to those of biblical figures with shared intent was a deliberate attempt to find common ground with his initial readers, the eight religious Birmingham clergymen, through the faith of a shared religion. His mention of involvement and leadership within a Christian civil rights organization, strength of religious analogy, and general politeness are effective rhetorical choices used to shape how he is perceived despite his critical response, racial setbacks, and arrest: a relatable man of faith, rationale, and initiative. 

Martin Luther King’s Letter From Birmingham Jail is undeniably effective at responding to the rhetorical situation at hand. While there were consistent and impactful efforts made by various groups for equality throughout the civil rights era, the proximity between the public release of the letter, found nation-wide by late 1963, and the passing of the Civil Rights Act in early July 1964 shows the direct impact the letter had on social attitudes following its publicization. The law was written in 1962, but the powerful response pushed the courts to finalize their decision. This period of quiet speculation over the law illuminates the national divide in opinion over the matter, one which King helped persuade positively. To summarize, Martin Luther King’s rhetoric is effective and ultimately changed the course of the Civil Rights movement for the better.                 

Works Cited

Bitzer, Lloyd F. “The Rhetorical Situation.” Philosophy & Rhetoric , vol. 1, no. 1, Penn State University Press, 1968, pp. 1–14, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40236733 .

Glenn Eskew, “Bombingham: Black Protest in Postwar Birmingham, Alabama”, 1997

Jr., Martin Luther King. “Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’.” The Atlantic , Atlantic Media Company, 29 Jan. 2021, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/02/letter-from-a-birmingham-jail/552461/. 

“‘Letter from Birmingham Jail.’” The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute , 29 May 2019, https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/letter-birmingham-jail. 

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Home — Essay Samples — Social Issues — Letter From Birmingham Jail — Rhetorical Analysis Of The Letter From Birmingham Jail

Rhetorical Analysis of The Letter from Birmingham Jail

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Published: Dec 16, 2021

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In Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail," he employs various rhetorical strategies to convey his message and justify the Civil Rights Movement. King establishes his credibility and ethos by referencing his organizational ties and his role as the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He effectively uses pathos to elicit strong emotional responses from the audience, describing the trials and suffering of African Americans, both past and present. Through vivid imagery and emotional language, King paints a compelling picture of the injustices faced by his community.

Furthermore, King appeals to logos by questioning the meaning of a "just law" and providing historical examples of unjust laws and extremist figures who brought about positive change. He uses these examples to challenge the moral compass of his audience and make them reflect on their own beliefs.

King's use of repetition and rhetorical questions enhances the impact of his arguments and engages the audience on a deeper level. By posing questions and repeating key phrases, he encourages his readers to consider the consequences of indifference and the necessity of immediate action.

Table of contents

Rhetorical appeals in the letter from birmingham jail.

• Fulkerson, R. P. (1979). The public letter as a rhetorical form: Structure, logic, and style in king’s “letter from Birmingham jail”. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 65(2), 121-136. (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00335637909383465?journalCode=rqjs20)
• King Jr, M. L. (1992). Letter from Birmingham jail. UC Davis L. Rev., 26, 835. (https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/davlr26&div=31&id=&page=)
• Leff, M. C., & Utley, E. A. (2004). Instrumental and Constitutive Rhetoric in Martin Luther King Jr.’s” Letter from Birmingham Jail”. Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 7(1), 37-51. (https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/26/article/55773/summary)
• Mott, W. T. (1975). The Rhetoric of Martin Luther King, Jr.: Letter from Birmingham Jail. Phylon (1960-), 36(4), 411-421. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/274640)
• Miller, J. (2009). Integration, transformation and the redemption of America: The Fire Next Time and A Letter from Birmingham Jail. European Journal of American Culture, 28(3), 245-262. (https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/ejac.28.3.245_1?crawler=true)

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Dr. Martin Luther King’s letter from Birmingham Jail came as a response to his critics, especially the clergymen who denounced all his activities citing that they tantamount to incitement and unrest in the society. However, King [...]

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• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

"Letter from Birmingham Jail"

Scope and contents.

Items in this listing consist of individual gifts and purchases made following Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s original donations in 1964 and 1965. These include: manuscripts, including a master's thesis and excerpts from a draft of a book about King; printed items; correspondence; audio recordings of speeches and sermons; photographs; a videotape of a televised interview with King at his home; a briefcase that once belonged to King; files from the office of Joan Daves, who had served as his agent from the 1950s until his death and who represented other members of his family in their literary endeavors; and files from the American Israel Committee to Commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr.

• Creation: Majority of material found within 1943 - 2013

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

From the Collection: 84.5 Linear Feet (145 boxes; packages.)

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Additional Description

Component container, general physical description note.

Compact disc of audio recording of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail".

Related Names

• Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change (Organization)

Genre / Form

• Compact discs

Uniform Title

• King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968. Letter from Birmingham jail

Repository Details

Part of the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center Repository

Collection organization

"Letter from Birmingham Jail". Martin Luther King, Jr. Collection, SPE-127. Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center.

Cite Item Description

"Letter from Birmingham Jail". Martin Luther King, Jr. Collection, SPE-127. Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center. https://archivesspace.bu.edu/repositories/9/archival_objects/141928 Accessed May 10, 2024.

• Boston University
• Questions about this site? Email  [email protected] .
• Questions about collections? Contact the repository that houses the collection.

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Course: US history   >   Unit 11

• The Declaration of Independence
• The Articles of Confederation
• The Constitution of the United States
• Frederick Douglass, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?"

Letter from a Birmingham Jail

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