Strengthening The Arguments Of MLK

Martin Luther King Jr. expresses his views for obeying “Just” laws, while disregarding “Unjust” laws because of moral purposes. In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Dr. King speaks on how he “Urge people to obey laws,” as well as “urge them to disobey segregation ordinances”. “I agree with St. Augustine that “an unjust law is no law at all.” Dr. King’s reason for following certain laws and not others is because he believes there are two types of laws. Just laws are beneficial to all races and “Is the man-made code that squares with the moral law or the Law of God”, unjust laws neglects certain human races needs and personalities and “Is not rooted in eternal law and natural law.” Dr. King does not disapprove Supreme Court decisions, yet if it involves segregation he feels as though it “Distorts the soul and damages the personality.” Dr. King states, “Segregation is not only politically, economically, and sociologically unsound, it is also morally wrong and sinful.” At this point, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is past describing how segregation affects people, but is now saying how segregation for example affects the political system such as denying Negroes the right to vote. “Throughout Alabama all sorts of devious methods are used to prevent Negroes from becoming registered voters.” Negroes make up the majority population in the counties of Alabama “Not a single Negro is

King begins the letter formal in his diction, using language such as “sincerely” and “reasonably.” This diction creates a respectful tone and atmosphere for the reader. King remains neutral in his argument and by doing so, he allows himself to get a foot in the door. During this time most people didn’t enjoy these demonstrations against segregation. Due to this, MLK needed to have people listen instead of rejecting his argument. King knows that, and he uses a kind and respectful tone to get his way. This foot in the door is very important because it makes people listen instead of tuning out his argument completely. Without this approach, King would not be able to get people to listen to his more heavy hitting points.

The central claim of Dr. Kings argument is that, he felt as if Blacks were still classified as slaves. The emancipation proclamation was passed one hundred years prior, promised freedom and equal opportunity to all Americans that meant Blacks as well. That was supposed to be the end of slavery, yet Blacks were still forced to live under poor living conditions. Although they weren't actual slaves anymore, still Blacks were subjected to unethical treatment. Some of which were, being limited to resources such as education, good jobs, and good housing. They were segregated for those very reasons so that they could not persevere, in a country with next to no rights as an American citizen; due to the color of their skin and background. Dr. King

RFK made a speech about MLK and he had to tell everyone that MLK had been shot and killed. The central idea of “On the death of Martin Luther King Jr.” RFK wants us to know that we can all come together and instead of acting in riots and anger we can act in peace like MLK wanted us to. RFK wanted us to know that we can act in peace and come together as one and not fight but be at peace to continue the dream of MLK. The most compelling speech was On the death of Martin Luther King Jr.” speech. I said this speech was most compelling because RFK wanted us to know that we should treat everyone equal.

MLK even covers the fact that some laws are just on the surface, but unjust in how they are enforced. The example of his imprisonment proves this statement. He was arrested for parading without a permit, but this is an unjust law because it promotes segregation and denies basic constitutional rights to freedom of speech and assembly (659). He uses these soulful explanations of just and unjust laws trying to appeal to his readers’ emotions, though the notion of just and unjust laws may seem logical to them as well.

MLK Jr. forcefully undermines the clergymen’s criticism by quoting unquestionably correct sources and also by using the clergymen’s own words against them. The Bible, Socrates, and Martin Luther are just a few of the sources quoted in his letter, which subvert any criticism of his actions. The Bible is the most potent of his sources because the clergymen are men of the church and cannot deny the Bible of its truths. Socrates and Martin Luther are both very wise and pious men that people believe.

In Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter, written to the Clergymen from Birmingham Prison, he uses the rhetorical appeal of ethos to establish his credibility on the subject of racial discrimination and injustice. He starts off the letter with “My Dear Fellow Clergymen”. By him saying this, he is putting himself on the same “level” as the clergymen, sending the message that he is no less than them and they are no better than him. He then goes on to say, “I am here because I have organizational ties here. But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here”. He is telling them that he has credibility on the matter of injustice, not because he is the recipient of white privilege, but because he is well researched on the subject. King says, “I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern

when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six year old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five year old son who is asking: "Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?" King demonstrates his ability to inspire his fellow civil rights activists, raise empathy in the hearts of white conservatives, and create compassion in the minds of the eight clergyman to which the "Letter" is directed.Ethos are present throughout the “Letter” but there was one specific example that caught my attention. “Let us consider a more concrete example of just and unjust laws. An unjust law is a code

In Martin Luther King Junior’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, MLK uses ethos, logos, and pathos powerfully and effectively to present his argument that the discrimination of African Americans all over the country is unbearable and should be outlawed forever. King wrote the letter in Birmingham, Alabama after a peaceful protest against segregation which was King’s way of reinforcing his belief that without forceful, direct actions (such as his own), true civil rights could never be achieved.

In her opinion article “50 years later MLK’s work is not done” Donna Brazile, a CNN Political commentator, and Democratic strategist, uses Martin Luther King Jr. day as a platform to speak out against inequality within the nation. Superficially, her purpose seems to motivate us as a nation to change voting laws to allow more individual to vote. Consequently, there exists a strong political colored agenda to smear republicans and sway the nation to put more democrats in office. The article published on CNN, nationally read news site, and was directed to an audience encompassing the entire nation. She fantastically utilizes an event and person that is relatable to her entire audience to connect the audience with her purpose however, her politically heavy focus alienates a large portion of her audience that otherwise would with the overall purpose of correcting voting laws.

Martin Luther King Jr., was a civil rights activist who spoke freely about civil disobedience in the Letter from Birmingham Jail while he was locked up for civilly disobeying the law. He was writing to eight white clergymen that also felt that many of the laws were unjust, however they showed agreement with Socrates by stating that he should not disobey the laws. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “one has a moral responsibility to disobey just laws because if we did not disobey them then unjust acts would continue to occur, causing our country to be harmed”. He also stated that “an unjust law is no law at all”. Martin Luther King Jr. did believe that laws were setup and enforced to assist and support the residents of the state however, if a law was unfair or unconstitutional, then the law would

In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King uses ethos and rhetorical questions to advocate for civil disobedience. For example MLK uses rhetorical questioning in this sentence when he says, “Isn’t this like condemning the robbed man because his possession of money precipitated the evil act of robbery?”(King pg. 8) This question demands no answer but it’s obvious who is right morally.

In both works, Dr. King Jr. adopted techniques of series rhetoric, repetitions, effective use of metaphors and similes in protesting against social injustice and assuring his audience of a hope for a better tomorrow. In the letter to the clergy Dr. King Jr. invoked their thinking of what a just and unjust law was. He explained that the just law is a moral act of God’s will and the unjust law is such act instituted by men. When in conflict, he admonished society to accept the laws of God over those of men and cited instances where society had an obligation to reject unjust laws of segregation. Dr. King Jr. draws inspiration from men of historical significance to ascertain his claim and quotes

Henry Thoreau’s essay influenced MLK immensely. Before Kings untimely death, said, “Fascinated by the idea of refusing to cooperate with an evil system, I was so deeply moved that I reread the work [Civil Disobedience] several times.” This essay really changed his life and paved that way to change led by MLK. “If the injustice is part of the necessary friction of the machine of government, let it go, let it go: perchance it

“The time is always right to do what’s right.” Used today, or tomorrow, or years before even you and I were born, Martin Luther King, Jr. knew what we needed to hear and exactly when we needed to hear it. He knew when we needed to hear someone tell us that it was okay for us to fight even if you think it’s too late or if you're thinking about giving up or it you think that your cause is completely pointless. Still these words will apply today, and tomorrow and years after you and I are dead and when people start to discriminate something that we haven’t thought of yet.Yes. These words will still apply. These words apply to the gays, and the Muslims, and the police, and the blacks, and transgender people all around the world who are considered