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Rhetorical Analysis Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

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“ I have a dream that one day little black boys and girls will be holding hands with little white boys and girls. - Dr. Martin Luther King It’s crazy how society was during the civil rights movement and the issues that were radically going on such as blacks being arrested, being oppressed by the whites but so little was done to help. Dr. King was trying to do whats right for his people and the nation but he was getting negative feedback and racist acts towards him. No matter what happened in the south and the hatred that was going on he kept going and believing in himself. Doing the right thing sometimes doesn’t lead to happy endings or an impact on the people. King was protesting in the streets of Birmingham, Alabama for black rights, anti-segregation …show more content…

He wrote this letter in order to explain blacks intents of nonviolent protests during the civil rights movement. Martin Luther King speaks with a personal and educated tone, addressing the clergymen who criticized him and his participants peaceful protest against segregation in …show more content…

According to King, the “white moderate” poses a very real threat to justice by their refusal to recognize the rectitude of disobeying unjust laws. They are supposed to be people who understand the law and uphold it. King is disappointed with the “white moderate” because he felt that they “would understand that the law and order exists for the purpose of establishing justice and that when they fail in this purpose there becomes a dangerously structured dam that block the flow of social progress.” The segregation law caused a lot of conflict between both King and the “white moderate.” Therefore in order to understand King’s concept of justice, we examined his distinction between just and unjust laws, his disappointment in the church, and the danger of the “white moderate.” King advised the clergyman of the issues he saw and were told about in Birmingham. He explained why is visit was in fact not “unwise and untimely”, but very much needed. Kings visit was to help them was to help them see what they were trying to ignore and decided to turn their backs on. Dr. King’s claim is obvious and present, clearly presenting the main point of the argument as being in Birmingham because of the injustice toward the Negro community. Quoted directly from the letter, Dr. King states,

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