Out of the two personal appeals MLK used, I would say he mainly used pathos. This is because if you can reach the good in people you can truly move them. Dr. King realized this and often exploited it. He was a very good persuader and could twist your emotions at will. This is why his speeches were so powerful and why he’s famous.
Birmingham Jail Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the most iconic people of the 20th century. One of the reasons Martin Luther King Jr. was such a great and influential revolutionary in the context of civil rights is because of his mastery of ethos, pathos, and logos. Even today when mentioning King’s name in a conversation commands respect which shows just how great of a character he was, which demonstrates ethos. King also had the ability to connect emotionally with people of all different races and could easily be seen as an embodiment of the civil rights movement. Last, but not least King demonstrated logos through his words, he was a very well educated man who articulated himself well and could appeal to logic with ease.
“Letter from Jail” On April 16, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter to the eight clergymen while he was incarcerated. Dr. King wrote this letter to address one of the biggest issues in Birmingham, Alabama and other areas within the United States. The “Letter from Birmingham Jail” discussed the great injustices that were happening during that time towards the black community. Dr. King wanted everyone to have the same equal rights as the white community, he also went into further details about the struggles that African Americans were going through for so many years, which he felt like it could change. Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, expressed his beliefs and his actions about the Human Rights Movement.
According to the article King, Martin Luther Jr., Gregory L. Kaster states "King 's oratory, courage, and steadfast commitment to nonviolence enabled him to inspire both Southern blacks and many Northern whites in the struggle to desegregate the South" (Kaster). Martin was a big believer in no segregation and equal rights for all. During King 's time, it was against the law for blacks to vote and Martin was very unpleased by this. So Martin recruited people of all colors to march with him from Selma to Montgomery to protest the wrongful law. Also, King fought for desegregation all over the world, he felt it was wrong and very distasteful of people to treat and make people use different vicinities based on their skin color.
“Letter from Birmingham Jail” is a very famous argument that was written by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963 after being arrested for protesting in the streets of Birmingham, Alabama. His letter is a direct response to criticism from southern white religious leaders about King’s actions. Martin Luther King Jr. was a black Minister and one of the most famous activists of the Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Rights Movement is defined as the major protest by blacks to fight unfair laws and promote equal rights for all. “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” was written during a time period of social change in America.
“Letter from Birmingham Jail” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is known as a civil rights movement activist and he is recognized around the world as a symbol of freedom, liberty, and peace. He was the central figure for African –Americans and to speak up for people. He thrives to have a better future for his family and other Africans –Americans. He was the first to protest a boycott and in 1963 of April he was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama for participating in a non-permit march. In his time in jail he wrote a “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, which he uses all the rhetorical appeals.
Dr. King’s way of speech in “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” starts off with, “My Dear fellow Clergymen,” which seems oddly reserved. He had learned that Birmingham clergymen had issued a declaration critiquing him and flattering the city’s narrow-minded police influence, when Dr. King had been in solitary quarantine. Due to this, anyone could agree that Dr. King had every right to write an enraged letter. However, his topic was not to go off on this matter, but to explain himself. Thus, Dr. King starts his letter with “fellow clergymen,” which depicts the main idea of his argument, which is “brotherhood.” Angered by this critique, he maintains a diplomatic tone throughout the letter.
Racism in America has been around for centuries however it was in the 1960's that the attitudes of many Black Americans started to quickly change and they realized they wanted equality. Out of this, The Civil Rights Movement emerged which was a peaceful social movement that strove for equal human rights for black Americans. The leader of the Civil Rights Movement is no one other than Martin Luther King Jr. In his book, Why We Can't Wait, King tries to convince Black Americans to realize their reality, remember their roots and important and mainly, to seek changes to social conditions and attitudes. The intro to King's book can be split into three individual sections, each having its own meaning.
King was the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which was located and enforced in every state in the South. This was an organization for African American civil rights. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” (Page 204) King establishes that when the world opens their eyes into reality and realizes the inequality, there will be a greater problem than before. An increase in protestors, means the greater retaliation will be against the law and when there’s retaliation against the law, then people with justice are afraid. The protestors created workshops in order to help them understand the concept of a nonviolent protest.
He was able to be one the biggest reasons for apartheid change in the lives of the Blacks and in the lives of all American citizens. Martin Luther King’s speech at the “March on Washington” was the spark to a national wildfire of change concerning unity, equality, and