Martin Luther King 's Civil Rights Movement

King uses this similarity between himself and great leaders to show that even though the clergymen believe King’s beliefs are

Dr. King repeatedly used the first theme, religion, to support his arguments throughout the letter. For instance, he used a religious comparison to explain his presence in Birmingham, saying “just as the Apostle Paul left his little village of Tarsus and carried the gospel

He is not simply a hypocrite who wished to complain about all that is being done wrong; he is speaking as one who truly has a care and concern for the church and is involved in it. Furthermore, King portrays his use of ethos when he expresses, “We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation, because the goal of America is freedom.” The majority of Americans will respond greatly to this statement because of how proud they are of America’s freedom, and it will appeal to their pride. Altogether, King builds trust in his readers and continually convinces them of his worthiness to speak on behalf of this issue because of the ethos he intermingled throughout his letter.

First, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. addresses the problems the church is facing during the segregated times. Throughout this letter Dr. King restates

Another thing Dr. King uses in his letter that is very effective is his use of biblical allusions and analogies. These allusions that spreads throughout his letter make him look like a smarter man because he knows his faith, they make him look like an honest man who believes in Jesus, and it connects with many people who are reading because a lot of them were some sort of Christian. Near the beginning of his letter he writes about how the prophets of the eighteenth century B.C. left their cities to spread the word of God and how Paul left Tarsus to spread the word of Jesus. He then writes that he is doing the same as all of these prophets did by him spreading the word of freedom. This allusions makes his cause seem better and more moral because he compared it to the works of very holy people that everyone respects. Another religious example he uses is St. Augustine's quote “an unjust law is no law at all.” He uses this line extremely well because it

King continues to say that some of the preachers of God have understood the need for justice, but some have suppressed the blacks themselves. He believes that the preachers have to break the traditional, unjustified rules of the society to allow for the freedom of the children of God. The true meaning of the Bible lies in justice and co-existence. He wants moral justice to overcome the traditional norms which were unjust in nature. He conveys this message well in his letter. He further writes: “One day the South will know that when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters, they were in reality standing up for what is best in the American dream and for the most sacred values in our Judaeo-Christian heritage” (King 6).

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

Throughout the text King both clearly and subtly justifies the reliability of his explanation through the positions he has held in society, his knowledge of both current and past events, and his control over his writing. At the beginning of the letter, King informs the audience of his standing as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). This not only connects him with the audience, who are also Christians, but also places King in a position of authority with whom society generally views as trustworthy and honest. However, to keep the audience open-minded, King addresses his readers as “My Dear Fellow Clergymen”, which places King at the same status and shows that King sees the clergymen as equals to himself.

Topic Sentence-King knew he could not lead the fight on injustice alone so he reached out to the clergy in the Birmingham area and eventually across the South for help in hopes they would stand with him. King longed for the time when churches stood strong, but he said modern church is weak. Christians were known for suffering for what they believed in. Battles had been fought by Christians who stood strong as they were “called to obey God rather than man” (389). Their numbers had always been small but their commitment to a cause never wavered. He sought that kind of Christian support but was sadly disappointed in the response he received from the leaders of the churches. He responded to being called an extremist by the same leaders whom he sought

King criticizes, “the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today’s church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as irrelevant social club…” (King 58). This statement warns the church to make a difference or it will become irrelevant. This draws fear, as the phrase “judgment of God” refers to God’s wrath and the consequences placed upon those who cause injustice. By calling the Church, “an irrelevant social club,” King criticizes the church for becoming a club where people joke rather than follow Christ’s word. Lastly, King uses pathos by describing the injustice done to African Americans during their peaceful protests, “I don’t believe you would have so warmly commended the police if you had seen its angry violent dogs literary biting six unarmed, nonviolent Negroes”(King 59). This example awakens emotion, and urges the reader to help those in need.

King used ethos to establish and support his logic behind segregation. Throughout King’s letter, he used biblical events, so both him and the behind segregation. Throughout King’s letter, he used biblical events, so both him and the clergymen could connect on a deeper level which created hopeful tone on King’s behalf. “Was not Jesus an extremist….Was not Amos….

King brings in examples from his religion to further his argument that one must oppose unjust laws using nonviolent direct action. King is accused of being an extremist, to which he responds: “Will we be extremists for hate or for love?” (King 26). A bold statement, phrasing action as having two distinct sides. King strongly disavows the white moderate who stands to the side and waits for justice to come with time, instead of fighting for justice in the moment. He is quick to refer to the Bible when addressing the clergymen: “Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel?” (King 25). Using a rhetorical question with a biblical reference to make those who consider him an extremist, rethink if being an extremist is such an ill position to be in. He continues to use biblical imagery to support his point, citing that he is an extremist for love as so many were before him, including several prominent figures from Christianity. Even Jesus Christ, he states “was an extremist for love, truth and goodness” (King 26). By using this symbolism King is able to converse with his fellow clergymen in a way that is familiar to them all, pointing out the flaws in their

Martin Luther King is an extraordinary man who has accomplished great thing in his fight against injustice and segregation. like Selma and other cities it was clouded in a storm of racism but Martin Luther King came and reduced it to ash. “I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” (Martin Luther King) and I think of that wondering if I can live up to those words. Back in the 20’s through 60’s racism was at it’s strongest and it got worse. Martin Luther King had a role model that shaped Dr.King into the man he is and that was his father. Dr. King has achieved many accomplishments and fought many political fights to get Civil Rights.

In the year 1963, the Civil Rights movement really took off due to demonstrations by activist groups. These events took places in Southern cities that would later be historical to future generations. One of these cities was Birmingham, Alabama. In 1963, Civil Rights activist started The Birmingham Campaign, which was a series of protests against segregation laws. (PBS) At this time Martin Luther King Jr, one of the greatest and most influential leaders of all time, was involved in Civil Rights movements across the board. He knew about the conditions of living for colored people in Birmingham and went on to call it “the most segregated in the nation.” (Rothman) The mayor at the time, Eugene “Bull” Connor was a police commissioner and segregation

In April and May of 1963, Birmingham, Alabama was a focal point for the civil rights movement. Birmingham was home to one of the most violent cells of the KKK and violence against black people was so commonplace (especially in the form of explosives) that it was referred to as “Bombingham.” It was these conditions that lead Martin Luther King to arrive and organize a series of non-violent protests in the city. These protests were relatively low key and weren’t very well attended. This was due to the fact that political rivalries between King’s organization, the SCLC, and other civil right’s organizations like CORE and the NAACP. However, the Birmingham protests soon became headlines due to the response of the city’s police