Here and throughout the rest of this chapter, we will be analyzing “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr., which can be found online.

In 1963, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. organized a series of nonviolent demonstrations to protest the climate of segregation that existed in Birmingham, Alabama. He and his followers met opposition not only from white moderates but also from some African-American clergymen who thought that King was a troublemaker. During the demonstrations, King was arrested and jailed for eight days. He wrote his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” on April 16, 1963, from the city jail in response to a public statement by eight white Alabama clergymen titled “A Call for Unity.” This statement asked for an end to the demonstrations, which the clergymen called “untimely,” “unwise,” and “extreme.” (Their letter was addressed to the “white and Negro” population of Birmingham, not to King, whom they considered an “outsider.”)

King knew that the world was watching and that his response to the white clergymen would have both national and international significance. As a result, he used a variety of rhetorical strategies to convince readers that his demands were both valid and understandable and that contrary to the opinions of some, his actions were well within the mainstream of American social and political thought. Today, King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” stands as a model of clear and highly effective argumentation.