Letter from Birmingham Jail Background Info English 2

Purpose We will read a selection from a letter by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We will analyze it for its use of “logos,” or “logical appeal.”

Logical Appeal Author writes to persuade you using… Facts Statistics Research Logical reasoning Tradition / precedent Cause & effect Effective metaphors

Example

Before we get started… A little background information!

Segregation

Civil Disobedience Breaking the law as a form of peaceful protest

Sit-In

Marches

March

Integrating Buses

Occasion Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested while in Birmingham. He was jailed for 8 days because he was a leader in a planned protest of segregation in Birmingham’s downtown businesses and city government.

Occasion Eight white clergyman from Birmingham published “A Call for Unity” in the local newspaper. They argued: The Civil Rights protests were “unwise” and “untimely.” Civil Rights activists should stop demonstrating in the streets and use the courts to argue for their rights. African Americans should be patient if their rights are slow to come. MLK is an outsider. The negotiations for rights should be led by local citizens. They disapproved of Civil Rights demonstrators’ willingness to break segregation laws.

Purpose Dr. King wrote “A Letter from Birmingham Jail” as an open letter responding to the ideas expressed in “A Call for Unity.” He explains why African Americans cannot wait for equal rights and defends the tactics of civil disobedience, or “nonviolent resistance.”