MLK's "Letter from Birmingham Jail"
Argument and Writing Style in this famous essay about civil disobedience.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an influential civil rights leader. He was also a brilliant and charismatic public speaker and an influential writer. Everyone knows his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.
In college English classes, students traditionally read Dr. King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail," a document he wrote in pieces while he was literally in a Birmingham jail, where he had gone to protest civil rights violations.
I taught college English courses for over 10 years, and my students often read Dr. King's "Letter." It's a complex document that uses many forms of argument and powerful figurative language to promote the idea of non-violent civil disobedience. I enjoyed teaching the letter, and my students often admired Dr. King even more because of it.
On today's celebration of Dr. King's birthday, I would like to point out a few components of his masterful writing style.
A Response
On Apr. 12, 1963, eight Alabama clergymen wrote a public statement to criticize the civil rights protest and Dr. King's involvement. They specifically stated that the protest was "unwise and untimely" and that it was "directed and led in part by outsiders" (meaning Dr. King, who had traveled from Atlanta to Birmingham). The clergymen also praised Birmingham police for handling the protesters in a "calm manner."
Dr. King's "Letter" starts as a response to this public statement. First, he introduces himself as a civil rights leader, and he explains that he was invited by Birmingham leaders. He says that he had a right to go to Birmingham because he was compelled to help, when invited, just as St. Paul was compelled to "respond to the Macedonian call for aid." He also points out that Birmingham is an unjust place that needs help.
Next, he responds to the accusation of being an outside agitator by arguing that there is no such thing as "insiders" and "outsiders" within the United States. All Americans are connected together and injustice in one place hurts Americans in other places as well. Dr. King's explanation through metaphor is great: "We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny."
He also responds to the idea that the protest was "unwise and untimely." The civil rights group has carefully evaluated the situation, attempted to resolve the injustices through negotiation, and has now finally planned the protest. Dr. King states that this careful planning "reveals that we did not move irresponsibly into direct action."
Finally, Dr. King criticizes the clergymen for praising the police. He argues that the police are enforcing unjust laws that promote segregation. Instead, Dr. King says the clergy should praise the civil rights protestors who are using non-violent means to oppose this unjust law.
Civil Disobedience
Dr. King's "Letter" is a foundational and influential document that explains the need for civil disobedience. Here are some of his main points.
"Constructive nonviolent tension ... is necessary for growth." It is like a "nonviolent gadfly ... that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood." This statement uses the contrast of dark and light and also of high and low to explain that "understanding and brotherhood" are good while "prejudice and racism" are not.
Civil disobedience is also necessary because people who have power and privilege "seldom give up their privileges voluntary." There may be some individuals who "see the moral light" and voluntarily start to act in more moral ways, but groups do not. As a result, since "freedom is never voluntary given by the oppressor, it must be demanded by the oppressed."
Man-made laws need to be in-line with "the moral law of God." Laws made by a majority group to oppress a minority group are "unjust laws," and they do not conform to God's laws. An unjust law like segregation "distorts the soul and damages the personality," and it needs to be overturned.
"Segregation is not only politically, economically, and sociologically unsound, but it is morally wrong and sinful."
Dr. King also gives examples of civil disobedience practiced by religious leaders in the Bible and Old Testament.
Finally, Dr. King explains the difference between a society that has "peace" and "order" and one that has "justice." He argues that we should not aim for a peace and order that helps those with privilege; instead, we should aim for a true justice that helps everyone.
Figurative and Metaphorical Language
As a previous English professor, I really admire Dr. King's use of language. He often uses metaphors, similes, imagery, and other figurative language to explain his ideas. The example above about light/dark and high/low is one great example. Here are a few others:
Dr. King uses a metaphor and imagery to respond to the idea that civil rights protestors should "wait" for their civil rights instead of protesting now. The idea of waiting, he says, is like a "tranquilizing thalidomide" (a pain killer and sedative) that "relieves the emotional stress for a moment, only to give birth to an ill-formed infant of frustration." This metaphor equates the advice to wait to a pill with tragic side-effects. He also contrasts civil rights in Asia and Africa which "are moving with jet-like like speed" while in the U.S. it "still creeps at horse and buggy pace."
(Here is a story from Northwestern University about birth defects caused by over-consumption of thalidomide during pregnancy in the 1950s and 1960s. Story includes graphic image.)
Dr. King explains the need for civil disobedience by explaining that it is a way to expose injustice. And, once justice is exposed, it can be cured. He explains this idea by referring to injustice as a "boil" that needs be treated by air and light: "We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with. Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up but must be opened with all its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must be exposed, with all the tension its exposure creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured.”
When writing about how "now" is the best time, he uses the contrast of high/low and also of shifting/solid: "Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity."
In a very large part of the "Letter," Dr. King also criticizes the Southern church for not supporting the civil rights movement. Instead, he says these clergymen have given up the fight for justice that is described in the Bible, and they have become comfortable with the unjust status quo. He uses the metaphors of a thermometer and a thermostat the describe the difference between the early activist church and today's complacent church: "In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society."
Dr. King also uses the contrasting image of high/low again near the end when he praises civil rights protestors for "standing up" to injustice when they "sit down" at lunch counters: "One day the South will know that when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters, they were in reality standing up for what is best in the American dream."
Finally, Dr. King ends the "Letter" with several examples of figurative language in one last powerful sentence: "Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty."
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