When writing this letter, Martin Luther King Jr. was detained at Birmingham Jail because he participated in a peaceful protest. He explains the circumstances under which the protest was organized and his disappointment with his fellow clergymen who criticized his involvement. They claimed that such means of gaining public support for a cause was “extremist” and unwise, to which King responded thoroughly and in length. In this letter, he tells the underlying mentality of the African-American population, how peaceful protests are the only way to reach true justice, and expresses hope for the future. He uses many narrative and writing strategies to describe his position, including metaphors, while eloquently rebutting his colleagues.
First of all, he speaks of the reason he is located in jail, the protest itself, and how the reasons for it. The Alabama Christian movements affiliate asked King and his supporters to organize a non-violent protest in Birmingham. Police forces ambushed this same protest, and its members and the author of the letter were arrested. King (1963) expresses that his arrest is not because he has broken any law but because “there is injustice” (p. 2). The injustice is the various ways the government and its people have treated African-Americans of the United States. He describes this treatment by addressing the reader directly, using phrases like “your daughter, you son, your brother” (King, 1963, p. 6). This writing strategy is persuasive; it puts the reader in the shoes of a black person, making it more likely that they will empathize with them.
There are two types of laws – just ones and unjust ones. When an unjust law is passed, the citizens have a moral duty to break it. Segregation is a sin; therefore, laws that allow segregation are immoral and should be overturned. “So I can urge them to disobey segregation ordinances because they are morally wrong” (King, 1963, p. 7). The United States has upheld this law for decades, and it caused great trauma for all black people living in the country. Such pent-up frustration from ones helplessness and constant despair must be released in a peaceful march; otherwise, it will turn to violence. King manages to condense centuries of oppression and convey it accurately to the reader. However, the letter also conveys hope that all men will stand on equal grounds socially and economically in the future.
A heavily emphasized point is the tireless effort and strives toward peace. Jesus Christ was crucified for the sins of humanity and preached justice and peace, and these values also stand at the heart of the Civil Rights movement. When King described peace, he often employs metaphors, comparing it to a light, sometimes incorporating words such as brotherhood, faith, hope, etc. (Imani, 2022, p. 3). He uses these phrases to ignite a sense of hope after explaining such negative concepts as racism and segregation. Pelclová (2018) writes about the importance of metaphors when writing or giving a persuasive speech (p. 9). These metaphors frame the fight for civil rights as a journey from darkness to light, promising a hopeful ending.
King, in his letter, manages to express clearly and descriptively the frustration of African-American people with white America and its system of unjust laws. He justifies the peaceful protests based on this frustration and makes it very easy to empathize with their fight for equality by using specific examples and directly addressing the reader. Despite the negative experience, the letter ends on a hopeful note with a longing for a symbolic light, giving a reader a sense of solace for the future. In my Portfolio Project, I plan to use these highly effective and persuasive strategies, like metaphors for framing and comparisons.
References
King, M. L. (1963). Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Letter.
Imani, A. (2022). Perception of ‘Peace’ From A Religious Perspective: A Metaphorical Analysis of Martin Luther King Jr.’s Nobel Prize Speech. Journal of Peace Education and Islamic Studies, 5(1), 1-7.
Pelclová, J., & Lu, W. L. (2018). Persuasion in Public Discourse: Cognitive and functional perspectives (Volume 79). John Benjamins Publishing Company.