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Letter to Martin Luther King from a Group of Clergymen

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Letter to Martin Luther King from a Group of Clergymen

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In response to discovering Martin Luther King's plans to mass protest during the Easter season of 1963, eight white clergymen wrote King a letter urging him to not hold his civil rights demonstrations. The clergymen wrote that his previous demonstrations had not accomplished anything. They also called King's protests unwise and untimely. They suggested that King should peacefully unite in small groups instead of holding mass protests. King received this letter while he was in Birmingham Jail for not following a law that restricted protesting.

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Speaker: Eight clergymen in Birmingham
Occasion: Civil Rights demonstrations had gained lots of attention
Audience: Martin Luther King Jr.
Purpose: To get King to stop the Civil Rights protests in Birmingham
Subject: Civil Rights protests and demonstrations in Birmingham

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Forceful: "We further strongly urge our own Negro community to withdraw support from these demonstrations, and to unite locally in working peacefully for a better Birmingham."

Moralistic: "Just as we formerly pointed out that "hatred and violence have no sanction in our religious and political traditions," we also point out that such actions as incite to hatred and violence, however technically peaceful those actions may be, have not contributed to the resolution of our local problems."

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The group of clergymen show their fair, balanced nature by writing clearly and calmly throughout the whole letter. They also show their authority and credibility by signing their names with their formal titles at the bottom of the letter.

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The clergymen appeal to the audience's emotions by writing that these protests have brought additional violence and hatred to Birmingham. This is mainly seen in paragraph five.

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In the fifth paragraph of the letter, the clergymen appeal to their audience's logic by stating that these demonstrations haven't changed or improved any of the civil rights issues in Birmingham. The clergymen want people to use logic to see that these protests are ineffective, and therefore unnecessary.

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Allusion: The clergymen referred to a book about dealing with race-related problems in Alabama called "An Appeal for Law and Order and Common Sense" in order to appear more educated and understanding of the racial injustices going on at the time.

"We the undersigned clergymen are among those who, in January, issued "An Appeal for Law and Order and Common Sense," in dealing with racial problems in Alabama."

Pronouns: The clergymen use the pronouns "we" and "our" to make all the people of Birmingham feel united and connected as a whole.

"We further strongly urge our own Negro community to withdraw support from these demonstrations, and to unite locally in working peacefully for a better Birmingham."

Parallelism: The clergymen use parallelism by starting many sentences with the word "we." They made these sentences have the same structure to make their point more memorable to the reader.

"We commend the community as a whole, and the local news media and law enforcement in particular, on the calm manner in which these demonstrations have been handled. We urge the public to continue to show restraint should the demonstrations continue, and the law enforcement official to remain calm and continue to protect our city from violence."

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Martin Luther King received the letter from a Group of Clergymen while he was held in Birmingham City Jail. He proceeded to respond by writing a letter while in jail. In this letter, King respectfully tells the clergymen that they don't truly understand the goals of the protests. King writes about the violence caused by the police towards peaceful black people. MLK calmly and politely makes his points so that his intended audience will consider and understand.

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Speaker: Martin Luther King Jr.
Occasion: MLK has received the letter from the clergymen while in jail for protesting
Audience: The group of clergymen who sent the letter to MLK
Purpose: to explain to the clergymen why these protests and demonstrations are important and necessary to attaining civil rights
Subject: The civil rights protests

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Eloquent: "But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms."

Passionate: "I have no fear about the outcomeof our struggle in Birmingham, even if our motives are presently misunderstood. We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over seasons for action; the nation, because the goal of America is freedom."

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MLK shows his authority, credibility, and good nature by writing in a calm and composed manner. He remains respectful and polite towards the clergymen while honestly stating his points throughout the entire letter.

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MLK appeals to the clergymen's emotions by being apologetic in his writing. This can be seen mainly in the seventh paragraph of his letter. Apologizing for anything unreasonable he may have written shows the clergymen that he is a good person and makes them want to understand MLK's point.

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MLK uses logic and facts to show the clergymen that the police are responsible for committing acts of violence towards peaceful black people and treating them inhumanly. This is seen mainly in the third paragraph.

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Allusion: MLK refers to both the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence while writing about how black people would be recognized someday for their contribution to America's dream of freedom.

"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 the best in the American dream and the most sacred values in our Judeo-Christian heritage, and thusly, carrying our whole nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the Founding Fathers in the formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence."

Pronouns: MLK uses pronouns such as "our" and "us all" to unite the audience together.

"Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all of their scintillating beauty."

Rhetorical Question: MLK asks the audience a rhetorical question to make them think about the point he just made.

"It is true that they have been rather disciplined in their publichandling of the demonstrators. In this sense they have been rather publicly “nonviolent.” But for what purpose? To preserve the evil system of segregation."

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Letter from a Birmingham Jail | US government and civics | Khan Academy