Letter from Birmingham Jail Rhetorical Analysis

Christofer Smith • October 29, 2025 • 711 Words

Introduction

In his letter and response to the Clergymen of Birmingham, Alabama, Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. employs relevant personal examples, concessions to the clergymen, and the tying of his argument to religious values to assert that segregation laws are unjust and that their removal is urgent.

Tone

In the second paragraph of his response, Reverend King begins to enumerate a series of events that help characterize the unjust nature of segregation laws. He opens the paragraph with a direct, unobscured tone, citing “vicious mobs lynch[ing his] mothers and fathers at will,” (King 17) and “hate filled policemen curs[ing], kick[ing], and even kill[ing his] black brothers and sisters” (King 19). Here, Reverend King uses these unadulterated, weighing examples to elicit an emotional response in the writers he is responding to, choosing to focus on the violence and suffering that segregational practices in Birmingham and similar areas have caused. Dually, these hardships are a result of the hands of citizens and law enforcement during the Civil Rights Movement that King was a participant and advocate of — the very same parties that the A Call to Unity writers praised in their letter. After this countering of the clergymen, Reverend King builds further onto this series, recounting examples of explaining to his daughter the products of segregation, stating that he “[saw] the tears welling up in her eyes” (King 26) as his daughter learned that a local amusement park was segregated. Here, Reverend King shifts the tone away from highlighting the violence caused by segregation laws, but instead, focuses on the emotional impact that they enforce upon children. Through this tone shift, he cements the dreariness and importance of the situation, arguing that children are suffering at the hands of segregation laws, thus bolstering his thesis that desegregation is just and urgently needed.

Concession

Following Reverend King’s emotion-evoking examples, he begins appealing to the logic of clergymen through a concession to their stance. He addresses a question that they may hold regarding how he could argue for breaking some laws and obeying others with the notion that “there are two types of laws: just and unjust” (King 60). Here, Reverend King directly calls back to his overall thesis — that segregation is unjust — to allow for him to begin thoroughly examining his line of reasoning, opening up a discussion between him and the clergymen. In doing so, he disarms the clergymen, demonstrating that he understands their points and is not simply antagonistic towards them. He further appeals to their anxiety towards disobeying laws by explaining how segregation is unrepresentative. He asserts that no one can be certain that “the legislature of Alabama… was democratically elected” (King 96). This allows him to counter the idea that segregation is just, tying back to his claim that a “law is unjust if it is inflicted on [those]... denied the right to vote” (King 93) — a minority which he has reiterated repeatedly throughout his document.

Religious Appeal

In the fourth paragraph of this excerpt, Reverend King begins utilizing references to religious history to support his stance on segregational laws being unjust. He cites St. Thomas Aquinas, who posits that “an unjust law is a human law not rooted in eternal… and natural law” (King 70). In doing so, Reverend King appeals to the religious background of his audience — the Clergymen of Birmingham — with a figure that they were likely familiar with, challenging their position as figures who align with their religious affiliation. This exposes the dichotomy of their stance against desegregation protests as inferior to their Christian values while also subverting the expectation that King is unsophisticated in argumentation — serving to both elevate his own authority on the matter while placing the clergymen below. Reverend King adds to this argument, questioning “is not segregation an… expression… of man’s… terrible sinfulness?” (King 82). This final line allows King to explicitly lead the clergymen to his thesis, concluding his line of reasoning: that segregation, intrinsically, is sinful — an act which the clergymen themselves should be vehemently against.

Conclusion

Throughout his response to the Clergymen of Birmingham, Reverend King urges the clergymen to realize the violence and distorted childhoods that was elicited by segregation. He consistently demonstrates his awareness of the clergymen’s points and their shared religious background to assert that segregation is unjust.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse