Mlk's Letter From Birmingham Jail

MLK was an artist of literature for many reasons. MLK could create a speech to persuade the most stubborn people on Earth, using his beautiful sentence structures and powerful messages, but what was most effective is how he knew his audience and what it wanted. MLK would purposely change the way he wrote, the reasons he gave, and the way he delivered his works depending on his audience. For example, in “I Have a Dream” MLK uses more emotional language to encourage his audience, while in his Letter From Birmingham Jail his language and reasoning is more logical to appeal to the higher class critics he’s speaking to. Once this strategy is noticed, MLK’s linguistic brilliance is shown.

In King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech, he’s talking

to a large group of activists who consider him a leader, and his speaking shows that. “...some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality.” (MLK, 263). Here King taps into the past emotions of his audience to remind them of their struggle and he teaches them how to channel this suffering for change. “Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred… Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.” (MLK, 262). Instead of using these emotions to change hate with hate, he makes people associate peace with higher being, and how it’s the only way to fix prejudice.

In MLK’s Letter From Birmingham Jail, King is now addressing the white clergymen who criticised his recent protest. Instead of have his rebuttal focus on emotions to persuade, MLK relies on facts. “ Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States… There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than in any other city in the nation. These are the hard brutal facts of the case.” (MLK, 273). MLK brings out dark truths about the city of Birmingham to show his critics why he’s doing what he’s doing, and why he’s doing it in Birmingham. King also recognises the rules he’s breaking, but he explains why they deserve to be broken. “...there are two types of laws: just and unjust… One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” (MLK, 276). King is not an anarchist who wants all laws broken, he is logical and precise with his words, and lets his opponents know his reason for breaking the laws he does. Though some people may see King as an extremist, if he is allowed to explain himself, his actions are actually very reasonable.

King is more than a well spoken orator, he is a strategic, informed, and humble reformer. Instead of using the same convincing techniques on every audience, he chooses the correct approach for each audience. When he was speaking to the demoralized but strong African Americans in his “I Have a Dream” speech, he used emotionally connective language to help people understand and side with his views on what actions should be taken to earn freedom. In his Letter From Birmingham Jail his language does a complete 180, using more facts and logic to help his readers understand and agree with his point of view. Not only is MLK a great speaker, he can plan his use of persuasive tactics to appeal to whoever is listening to him.

Works cited:
King, Martin L. "I Have a Dream." 28 Aug. 1963, Washington DC. Address.
King, Martin L. Letter From Birmingham Jail. New York, Pearson Education, 2017, pp. 273-76.