In April of 1963, a man by the name of Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) was arrested for unlawfully parading in Birmingham, Alabama. He was a Baptist minister, the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a major rights activists in the 1950s and 60s, and also held a doctorate in philosophy. In the week he spent in jail, he wrote a letter titled "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" addressing eight specific religious clergyman of the area who had published their own letter speaking out about the events happening in their town. Excerpts from this letter were published, without Dr. King's consent, in the New York Post Sunday Magazine on May 19, 1963 but the full letter was first published in the Liberation that June. In it, King simultaneously countered the misguided points of the clergymen and tried to make it apparent that it is a national and God given right for everyone in America to be treated equally: the basis of the Birmingham Campaign. This claim was steeped in his own values and facts; he provides many examples ranging from earlier works of man, personal experience, and religious scripture.

As previously stated, this letter was written as a counterargument to the clergymen's A Call for Unity. Even if King had not addressed it to them, this would still be made apparent by the multiple times he addresses them and their letter throughout it, including: "One of the basic points in your statement is that the action that I and my associates have taken in Birmingham is untimely. (...) In your statement you assert that our actions, even though peaceful, must be condemned because they precipitate violence. (...) You speak of our activity in Birmingham as extreme. At first I was rather disappointed that fellow clergymen would see my nonviolent efforts as those of an extremist." In the very first lines of his letter, he shows that while he may have been upset by the men's letter, he truly notes that they held a different viewpoint on how to change things and later shows in detail how their beliefs are misguided.

King's motivation for writing the piece was mainly to educate and inform. In order to get his point across properly, he uses a tone of voice which I believe encompasses his entire platform: peaceful, educated, and mindful with undertones of deep sadness and the urge to make people understand (some examples are shown below). The man uses words such as "doubt" and "perhaps" instead of "know" to show that he is not infallible despite his vast knowledge, especially when it comes to the workings of the human mind. However, he uses words like "cannot," "never," and "must" more often, not only because most of what he says is factual information, but to show his own resolve and unshakeable ambition. He also uses the word "hope" more than I believe he uses any of these words, showing he is truly a man of optimism, integrity, and faith.

MLK flawlessly uses all three techniques of persuasion that form the rhetorical triangle: ethos, logos, and pathos. Ethos (credibility) and logos (logic) are used readily throughout the piece with his carefully chosen words, the establishment of his background from the start, how well structured the piece is, and the constant use of credible sources – presidents, philosophers, religious figures, etc. He establishes pathos (empathy) with numerous real-life examples of oppression. "...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..." He shows it in the way he begs, not for his message to be heard, but for forgiveness if he has not used his words as correctly as he wishes to get it across. He also shows this in the direct distinction between the beliefs of major figures such as Adolf Hitler and Thomas Jefferson and which sides those two figures speak to. "...Thomas Jefferson: "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal..."" (...) We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was "legal"..."

Despite the fact that I believe this is a very effective piece, there will always be those that disagree with it. All of these arguments, I believe, come from a place of values, beliefs, or assumptions instead of facts. The clergymen may continue to trust more in their beliefs and assumptions than the facts from MLK. The white moderates may still argue that things are working fine the way they are or that all of the protesting will create unrest which is immoral; black moderates could argue that protests would only make things worse. The people of the white churches may argue falsely interpreted scripture or use the separation of church and state as an excuse to not get involved in racial problems. Members of the KKK (and other white supremacists/racists) would fight tooth and nail against anything pertaining to people of color obtaining more power. The police and government would obviously oppose the notion that they are in any way inciting violence or would say it's within their rights. They would also try and state that the judicial system has to be trusted and that's the way America works. White business owners being boycotted and losing sales would argue that it's wrong and immoral to take from one person just because something has been taken from you.

I highly enjoyed reading this piece. Prior to reading it, I believed this was going to be an assignment that dragged on and the reading would take forever. While it did take a while to get through, it wasn't because I was bored or because my attention constantly wavered, it was simply because it's a long piece and I was trying to ingest as much of it as possible. There were parts that brought tears to my eyes, nearly six decades after it was written. King obviously took his time and paid a great deal of attention to the way in which he spoke and the stories he told. I believe this letter would have changed, or at least rattled, people's beliefs and I feel like many Americans would end up reading it over and over because it sticks in your mind. I believe it may have gotten more people – disregarding those that would simply get angry – to stand up for the movement. In particular, what stood out to me most about this piece was all the knowledge MLK had stored in his brain and the truly harrowing examples of what the people of color were going through. Overall, I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought and would recommend for everyone to read this eloquently written letter.