Civil Disobedience in “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr

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Civil Disobedience in “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr
Civil disobedience can be described as an active refusal of citizens to obey the laws of
a given government. It has to be noted that one of the most recurring ideas, which supports
Dr. King arguments in “A letter from Birmingham Jail,” is that group mentality which
supports as well as enables immorality hence people must act for justice despite the group not
sharing a common objective (Hayes 150). Martin Luther King supports civil disobedience
with different rhetorical elements and openly criticizes the church for failing to empower
crusaders (Augustine 243). In this case, for the law to be followed, it must reflect morality
because it might be designed solely to fulfill the conform of the majority. His understanding
of the concept of civil disobedience puts Dr. King in a position to discuss group immorality
which supports the primary purpose of encouraging personal action in the face of injustice
while at the same time using different tone, styles and personal to criticize those who are not
in support of such actions for the fear of distressing the status quo.
On surface value, the indented audience of the letter is the Birmingham clergymen
who had openly criticized the actions of Dr. King through a letter. However, reading the letter
critically, it becomes clear that his focus was on a larger audience. From the general
argument, the audience could be grouped as whites, moderate, as well as the group that is
generally moral and conflicted. Dr. King addresses all the individuals who represent power
but does not support the concept of justice. Even though his concept of based on accepting
the validity of Christian morality, his harsh tone is universal and much wider than criticism of
the clergymen (Foner 4). In moderation, Dr. King address parties high above the strata such

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as the Kennedys to everyday individuals like students and churchgoers who have bared
witness of the changes instigated by the civil right movement but do not admit their moral
responsibility of supporting a quest for a positive change.
The context of the letter plays a part in developing the argument set forth by Dr. King.
The letter was written in a condition that was clearly infused with racial issues, but it was
strangely detached from the racial concept. In his letter, Dr. King managed to avoid the topic
of racism by presenting his ideas with universal terms and abstractions like “justice” (King).
Dr. King argues that the audience of focus should support the cause instead of criticizing it
since it is the perfect and right thing to do. After establishing the idea of morality and justice,
the argument is changed on the surety that African American will succeed even without the
help of white moderators.
It can be argued that the letter is completely restrained in tone if the context of its
creation is considered. Many of the critics argue that Dr. King was too deferential to the
authorities by the whites, which enhanced segregation as well as other racist policies;
however; here, the tone serves various purposes. The letter confirms the purpose of Dr. King
justifying his cause since it is done in the name of justice (Augustine 243). Through his tone,
Martin Luther King avoids validating the fears of the audience that the movement is extremist
hence engendering violence. With restraint, Dr. King manages to earn a sympathetic ear to
which he explains his embrace of tension and extremism. His argument is faultless since he
manages to represent the letter by using logos and pathos. In addition, he used a restraint tone
to reinforce the central theme of the letter, which is the interconnectedness of human beings
(Pierre-Louis et al. 5; Brown, Raymond and Wanda 57). Luther suggests that men are
supposed to be responsible for everyone, which is an idea that is effective considering his
tone but would have loosed meaning with a fiery and confrontational tone.