Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested on April 12, 1963, in Birmingham, for having a protest

The majority of the sentences in King’s letter can be connected to logos, pathos or ethos and his incorporation of appeals is masterful.

On April 16, 1963, from a jail in Birmingham, Alabama, Martin Luther King Jr. composed an extensive letter to eight clergymen who condemned the timing of the civil rights movement. Although the letter was addressed to these eight clergymen, the Letter from Birmingham Jail speaks to a national audience, especially King’s “Christian and Jewish brothers”(King, 29). His peaceful but firm letter serves as a remarkably persuasive voice to an immensely chaotic mess, and is seen as a major turning point in the civil rights movement. King believes that without direct action, the full rights for African Americans could never be achieved. He defends the impatience of people in the civil rights movement, upholding that without forceful

Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested on April 12, 1963, in Birmingham, for protesting without a permit. The same day that King was arrested, a letter was written and signed by eight clergymen from Birmingham and titled “A Call for Unity”. The letter called for ending demonstrations and civil activities and indicated King as an “outsider”. On April 16, 1963, King responded to their letter with his own call, which has come to be known as his “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” King justified the nonviolent measures that sent him to jail and explained why the segregation laws against blacks in the south must be changed (356-371). At the beginning of this letter, King gives

Martin Luther King Jr. wrote this letter from a jail in Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. King’s wrote this letter for eight white clergymen who unapproved of his nonviolent protests for racial equality and segregation. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Dr. King been arrested and is writing to the clergymen about why he felt the need to be protesting also reasons why the clergymen should care. In this letter, Martin Luther King Jr. uses persuasion to show that the clergymen and the church should be ashamed of themselves for discontinuing his nonviolent protest. Throughout “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King Jr. remains calm, although he is in jail for leading nonviolent protest for equality and ending segregation. King believes that if

       Martin Luther King Jr's “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was written during his 8 day sentence in jail in 1963. He chose to travel and protest in Birmingham due to the fact that it was widely known as one of the most segregated city in the U.S. The letter not only addresses the issues of unjustly being arrested for being an "extremist" of his approach to the protest, and of the incompetence of the church but its also an appeal for things to be seen from his point of view.

After being arrested and imprisoned in Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote one of his most famous works to the people of Birmingham, titled “Letter From Birmingham Jail on April 16, 1963. This piece speaks of the evils of the segregation laws and how the blacks had been treated unfairly in Birmingham, in an attempt to get the white people to support the desegregation of Birmingham. He had been imprisoned because of his participation in a civil disobedience protest, and he is arguing that, even though the white people of Birmingham see the black’s way of protesting as wrong, it is a justified way to fight back against the unjust laws. In “Letter From Birmingham

After being arrested in downtown Birmingham on a Good Friday, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his famous letter, “A Letter From Birmingham Jail” responding to the criticism exhibited by eminent white clergyman, this letters’ direct audience was intended for the critical white clergymen, but was also directed towards the people of Birmingham and attracted a worldwide audience. This letter has been found important throughout history because it expresses King’s feelings toward the unjust events. Most importantly, this letter explains current events in Birmingham in 1963 as well as in the rest of America. Dr. King was a very intelligent

Thoreau and King use rhetorical devices repeatedly throughout their writings to help them convey their messages to their audience. A rhetorical device that is utilized most in these writings are three emotional appeals: pathos, logos, and ethos. In King’s letter, his first two paragraphs contain ethos. He is building his credibility as to why he is responding to the clergymen. He states some of the groups he is a part of and has affiliated with while holding his position as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The group has organizational ties in many of the southern

In his "Letter," Martin Luther King Jr.'s ability to effectively use pathos, or to appeal to the emotions of his audiences, is evident in a variety of places. More particularly in paragraph fourteen, King demonstrates his ability to inspire his fellow civil rights activists, invoke empathy in the hearts of white moderates, and create compassion in the minds of the eight clergyman to which the "Letter" is directed.

Martin Luther King started his letter right off placing himself on an equal playing field as the white clergy that was criticizing him when he wrote his salutation “My dear Fellow Clergymen” (King, 2017, p. 1). From those beginning words it is evident that Mr. King was using Rhetorical appeal of ethos, pathos and logos to establish ethical

King begs for a civil and peaceful resolution to the unjust laws and unfair treatment of African Americans. But, as history shows, the clergymen were not going to have anything to do with that. King says that he is trying to do this in the best way possible but it will not seem that way, “In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law… One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty.”(par. 12)

Writing from the heart, expressing feelings, having a strong emotional impact on ones audience, using an appeal to emotion and logic, using facts and presenting arguments in a professional way, to the enlightenment of one's viewers; Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail; consists of three Rhetorical Strategies throughout his letter that is known and taught around the world as ETHOS, PATHOS and LOGOS. An appeal to ethics, a means of convincing someone of the character or credibility of the persuader (ethos), an appeal to emotion, and a way of convincing an audience of an argument by creating an emotional response (Pathos), and finally, an appeal to logic, and is a way of persuading an audience by reason (Logos); these three Rhetorical Strategies are used countless times throughout Martin Luther King’s Letter for Birmingham Jail.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail is a response to a public statement of caution that was issued by several religious leaders of the South. During the midst of the nonviolent demonstrations against segregation in Birmingham, Dr. King was arrested and felt compelled to respond to their statement as he saw these fellow religious men as sincere and of good nature. In this letter he defends the use of nonviolent resistance to the racism occurring. He states that there is a moral responsibility to break unjust laws when taking direct action, in order to further the cause for justice which does not occur on its own.

King demonstrates how his peaceful, non-violent protests do not advocate violence, which is exactly what the clergymen feared from Malcolm. Kings intensity and magnitude of his statements show that he believes both paths he mentions are wrong, as he states, “I have tried to stand between these two forces.” King attempts to stay between the extremes and remind people that he is the middle ground. King emphasizes that he is not an extremist, rather, he is a moderate attempting to find the most favorable solution to both his and the clergymen’s problems. In conclusion, King juxtaposes these two extremist views in order to demonstrate how his practical and non-violent protests should be encouraged.

## Considering Dr. King is writing to clergymen, his emotional appeal may not have only been to elicit sympathy or empathy from his detractors, but cause some shame as well, when he expresses his disappointment with them. He indicates that because of their religious beliefs, they should be taking a proactive stance on the side of justice, rather than supporting the status quo because it is orderly (King, 1963).