Introduction
“The Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. was mainly written as a response to the Birmingham clergymen who published an open letter vehemently challenging and criticizing the actions of Martin Luther King and The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). However, when one further scrutinizes the contents of the letter, one realizes that Martin Luther was targeting an even larger audience. He is addressing people with a higher social status who appear to be supporting the ideology of justice for all, but their deeds and actions suggest otherwise. Martin is reiterating the importance of the clergymen and those with power in the society to lead by example and participate in the war against racial segregation and discrimination. He is also encouraging the African Americans to rally their efforts in one accord and fight for their God-given and constitutional rights and freedoms. Martin Luther is challenging the white community to abandon their misleading ideologies and negative prejudice pegging the black man as being inferior and undeserving.
Historical Context
There exist numerous historical incidences that prompted Martin Luther King Jr. to pen the Birmingham letter. First, there was the refusal of African Americans to be registered as voters hence the denial of voting rights. Of the 80,000 registered voters in 1963 at Birmingham, only 10,000 (12.5%) were African Americans (Fierro, 45). This is even though the blacks made up about 39.6% of the city’s total population. Secondly, there was a less political representation of the blacks in the political arena. This, therefore, resulted in their issues of concerns and plights being disregarded. They were viewed as inferior beings there to be seen but not to be heard. Thirdly, the prevalent racial segregation openly practiced by the residents of Birmingham also caused Martin Luther to write this famous letter. It is claimed that every young generation of the whites in the South had been brought up with instructions that blacks were diseased, dishonest, contented with segregation and generally inferior beings. African Americans were prohibited from shopping in convenient stores present in the city. There was also rampant racial segregation in social amenities such as learning institutions, i.e. schools and health facilities, i.e. hospitals. Police brutality on the blacks is also another factor that caused Martin to jot down the letter. He was tired of the police violence exerted upon the blacks. They were ruthlessly battered and killed as if their lives did not matter. The prevalence of all these historical injustices motivated Martin to voice his concerns via the letter.
Author's Goal
The author’s goal in writing the letter to Birmingham was to defend his strategy and approach of the use of non-violence resistance to fight oppression and racism in the south. King’s supporters were angry because of his arrest and the continuous mistreatment and hatred exercised on the blacks. They, therefore, were opting to employ violent means to enforce change. Through the letter, King reaffirmed to his supporters that civil obedience and non-violence were the best alternatives to be used to bring about the change the country desperately needed. He was also answering a local newspaper article in which eight white clergymen from the city hand denounced his actions by claiming that the court was the best body to address the societal issues, not individuals going to the streets to voice their sentiments.
Effectiveness of Author's Elements and Devices
Yes, the author’s elements and devices served their purpose because the members of the society adhered to his intended message. The African American’s resorted to the use of peaceful demonstrations and picketing to advocate for their constitutional rights. The whites gradually began shunning racial segregation and accepting blacks as being equal to them and not lesser beings. First, he employs the use of pathos to evoke the emotions of the reader. An example is when he talks about how one’s tongue becomes twisted when their daughter asks them why she cannot visit the amusement park and see tears well up in her eyes when she is told that Fun Town is only exclusive to the whites. Such sentiments arouse the feelings of the reader. One can almost vividly picture the situation and realize the need to curb the racial segregation menace threatening the society. Secondly, the author has employed the use of ethos to strengthen his credibility. There are sections in the letter where he establishes himself as being part of the Negro Community by using the term “we.” Using such words helps in strengthening his argument against the clergymen because he is showing them he understands the array of issues his fellow black people are facing because he is part of the community being discriminated against. He also starts the letter with the phrase, “My Dear fellow clergymen” showing the clergymen that he does not consider himself as being superior to them. His intended message is that we are all equal in the eyes of the Lord.
Affective Literary Devices
The literary devices employed in the essay denote that the letter was coined in an authoritative yet pleading tone. King is telling the clergymen that the African Americans are justified to demand their freedoms and rights by employing non-violent alternatives because negotiation has failed. He is informing them that the blacks will not rest until justice is served to them. At the same time, he is pleading with the clergymen to hasten their efforts towards social justice because the African Americans are undergoing torture at the hands of their counterparts. He is begging the whites in the society to stop racially segregating blacks because we are all the same regardless of our origins or skin color.
Influence of Subject Matter and Office of the President
The subject matter and the office of the president greatly affect the choice of elements used in the letter. The social issues being addressed in the letter are of very high importance and, therefore, the choice of words used have to evoke the emotions of the readers. The office of the president, on the other hand, is an office of high status thus the words chosen have to show authority and finality in the correct proportions. The letter from Birmingham jail assumes an essay/ pamphlet like structure. It is an essay since it contains a clear message and specific rhetorical goal and it may also serve as a pamphlet because it aims at gathering political support and action from its target audience. It is, therefore, effective in its purpose because the structure employed aids in conveying the intended message of shunning racial discrimination and advocating for equality.
Impact of Word Choice
If the author had used other words and sentences in the letter the intended message would not have been passed. This is primarily because the exact words used by King are accurate and precise and a different wording could have distorted the message. It could thus be hard to evoke the audience’s emotions and bring about change.
Works Cited
Fierro, Rita S. "Letter from the Birmingham Jail." Encyclopedia of Black Studies,
