1.0 Overview
Martin Luther King faced resistance from his colleague clergymen as a result of conducting demonstrations in Birmingham. In particular, there were actually eight clergymen seeking to challenge his resistant activities against segregation in Birmingham. The eight white clergymen had sought to deliver a statement of concern to the general public terming these demonstrations as being unwise and badly timed. Now, whereas King rarely responded to such critics, he found it necessary to make a rejoinder based on the fact that he deemed the clergies as people of good will and the right intentions.
Claims
Essentially, the letter brings out many attributes regarding Martin Luther based on the arguments he presents. Indeed, it is understandable that different people would have diverse perceptions about these convictions. As such, the assertions that would be made in regard to the argument of Luther King in that letter should rightly be treated as claims. There are three claims that can be made in light of this letter.
A. Claim: Birmingham was essentially the one that faced the severest level of segregation in US.
Support:
1. The black people that lived in Birmingham were subjected to police brutality, judicial injustices, and bombings.
2. The promises made by the economic community during the negotiations were ignored. This shows how the black people were looked down upon. (7)
3. The demonstrations that he wanted to start in Birmingham were postponed severally.
Use of structure and emotional appeal:
1. King uses a structure that shows different kinds of injustices directed towards the black people all in one paragraph. This raises the emotion of the reader to agree with him that actually the black people in Birmingham are segregated.
Choice of Words:
1. King uses strong and effective selection of adjectives to show the deplorable status of Birmingham as far as the lives of Negros are concerned. In this case, he uses clauses such as “thoroughly segregated”, “ugly records”, and “notorious reality” to explain this situation.
B. Claim: Laws that do not serve justice are not laws whatsoever.
Support:
1. King argues that any law that supports the degradation of human lives is fundamentally flawed. As such, it cannot be considered as lawful because it contributes to the suffering of the mind and heart of people. (19)
2. A law that helps the majority to oppress the minorities cannot be considered as justifiable because they actually create a different between humans and legalize it. (20)
3. When conjuring the segregation laws in Alabama, the black people were disregarded such that their opinions were not taken into consideration. As such, the law is structure in an undemocratic manner and should not hold. (21)
Use of Logics to convince:
1. King uses logical reasoning to bring his argument to light and convince the critics that laws are only just if they follow the due democratic process and serve the right purpose. At this point, he brings in the issue of undemocratically made laws and rules that are used to serve the comfort of the majority. This creates a strong logical implication that a law can only be considered as one if it takes care of the rights of all people in the society.
C. Claim: King felt that the church was disappointing and insensitive
Support:
1. The church acted in a cautious, silent, and withdrawn manner all through the freedom movement for the Negros. Importantly, the church did not stand by him during the landmark bus protest. (40)
2. He expressed his concerns that the church was being biased and unscrupulous in their pursuit to analyze the actions of Martin. The church only took time to condemn the demonstrations, but ignored the inherent vices that had led to these resistances. (5)
3. Ministers of the white race advanced the argument that there was no correlation between gospel and social issues in the society. This was evident and clear hypocrisy of the church which disappoints Martin. (42)
Analytical Logic:
1. King clearly presents an analytical revelation of the four stages that had been passed through before reaching demonstrations as required. In that regard, he reveals that all those stages were considered exhaustively to arrive at the decision. These steps included factual determination that segregation existed, engaging in negotiations, pursuing self purity and taking direct action. He bring to their attention that Birmingham was bedevilled by severe brutality of the police towards Negros, judicial injustices, and statutory segregation. At that level, therefore, he was satisfied that Birmingham was facing segregation and injustice especially against the Negros. (6) Further, he indicated that they had met and discussed these issues with the economic community as part of negotiations. Whereas the negotiations arrived at the decision to remove racial signs, the compromise was never implemented. Since the promises were never kept, Martin Luther and his team had conducted workshops for purifications purposes. As a result of this process, they decided not to conduct violent demonstrations, but rather nonviolent ones. King, therefore, appeals to the readers using the power of analytical logics to show how the church was insensitive and unconcerned (7).
3.0 Conclusion
King was right in his decision to conduct demonstrations in Birmingham bearing in mind that the entire process had been followed. In addition, he uses effective language and structure all through the letter to convince the leaders and water down the arguments of his critics. This is perhaps one the reasons as to why this letter still remains very popular even in the 21st century.
Works Cited
King, Luther. "The Negro Is Your Brother." The Atlantic Monthly 212.2: 78-88. Web. <http://www.uscrossier.org/pullias/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/king.pdf>.
