Inspirational_Dev

10/31/2020 HUM-200 - Page 1.3.5 - Reading King

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Applied Humanities

Learning to Read Reading King By Eric Steineger 1 Module One: Introduction to the Humanities / Page 1.3.5 Reading King On this page: 0 of 5 attempted (0%) | 0 of 2 correct (0%) Objective: Recognize the ways in which a specific, persuasive letter can be as rich, revealing, and artistic as poetry or any other type of literature.

Our exercises in literary analysis thus far have focused on works of poetry, but now let’s turn to prose. Below you will study a classic piece of persuasive writing—the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Black-and-white photograph of two black men being arrested by a white policeman. There are people kneeling in front of a brick building with a garage door in the background. There are several people standing on both the left and right sides in the background. There is another policeman with a nightstick in his right hand moving toward the people kneeling. There is a motorcycle in the left foreground.

Rev. Ralph Abernathy (left) and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., (right) are arrested by police after leading a line of demonstrators into the business section of Birmingham,

Alabama, on April 12, 1963.

AP Photo

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Analyzing Prose

On this page, you will analyze an essay by Martin Luther King. Read the essay found in the link below, and then answer the questions that follow.

In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” to a group of eight clergymen in Birmingham, Alabama; the piece was then published in local newspapers and later anthologized. In this letter, Dr. King refutes the notion that African Americans’ act of demonstrating in Birmingham is “unwise and untimely.” As the head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), he has business there; moreover, he goes on to cite a litany of injustices perpetrated against African Americans, and explains why men and women of true Christian faith can no longer sit idly on the sidelines.

Although this is not a poem—and it’s substantially longer than the poems we’ve looked at—the same tips and questions apply. Read through it once with an open mind. Note what confuses you. Consider the context, the situation, and the story that’s described through the words of this letter.

To help guide your analysis of this essay, consider the following question:

What kinds of evidence does Dr. King employ in this letter? What makes for “effective” evidence?

Letter from Birmingham Jail

Multiple-Choice Question

According to the letter, what were some of the arguments against people participating in the civil rights movement?

The 14th Amendment is unconstitutional, so the Southern states should secede from the Union and govern themselves as they see fit. Black people are not people, and so they should not be given civil rights. The movement is going too slowly, needs to act more decisively, and needs to present more unity. A few troublemakers are traveling from town to town causing problems, we should wait and let things change in their own time, and negotiation will work better than demonstration.

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Response Board Using only this letter as your source, list five of the things Dr. King identified as problems that needed to be addressed.

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Multiple-Choice Question

Based on the text of this letter, what seems to be its most prominent purpose?

to get Dr. King released from jail to encourage readers to engage in the effort to end injustice and establish equal rights to help people understand the deep injustice of slavery and its longstanding impact on this nation to condemn the city of Birmingham

Response Board Based on the tone of this letter, what can you tell about its author?

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Even though “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is not a poem, let’s recall the tips offered on the earlier page about how to read literature. Just as we would focus on what’s there (identifying characters, looking at specific choices, establishing point of view, etc.) before attempting to analyze a poem, we will do the same for this letter-turned-essay. Consider the following:

In every letter, there is an author and a recipient. Typically, letters are written to inform, persuade, and/or entertain (like most writing). Letters are functional. There is a motive for writing them, even if that motive is unconscious or benign.

We know Dr. King is the author and the eight clergymen are the recipients. Let’s assume he wants them to change their minds about racial relations and the SCLC’s presence in

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Birmingham. That’s not easily done! Remember the context: during the civil rights movement in the 1960s, America was a tinderbox, with most people possessing strong opinions about African Americans’ fight for equality. It makes sense, then, that the forces opposing Dr. King would not bend easily.

Now, in addition to informing his target audience, how does Dr. King attempt to persuade these men to change their minds? He begins by stating the nature of his and his fellow citizens’ mission, their reason for being in Birmingham, and the “interrelatedness” of this mission (declaring that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”). He then goes on to list the tenets of nonviolent protest: “In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self purification; and direct action.”

Similar to the way a thesis sets up an essay, Dr. King outlines his methods for changing minds. Then he touches on each step, explaining how the city of Birmingham has failed African Americans. Here is one example:

Then, last September, came the opportunity to talk with leaders of Birmingham’s economic community. In the course of the negotiations, certain promises were made by the merchants—for example, to remove the stores’ humiliating racial signs. On the basis of these promises, the Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth and the leaders of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights agreed to a moratorium on all demonstrations. As the weeks and months went by, we realized that we were the victims of a broken promise.... We had no alternative except to prepare for direct action, whereby we would present our very bodies as a means of laying our case before the conscience of the local and the national community.

Of course, an outline is not enough, as this is a long letter that addresses many concerns. Just like a long essay, a letter must stay focused and transition smoothly between topics. To listen and absorb Dr. King’s ideas, we might think of topic sentences and supporting details that move from the general to the specific. Let’s scan a few topic sentences and their follow-up sentences (taken consecutively) to witness the letter in motion:

Sometimes a law is just on its face and unjust in its application. For instance, I have been arrested on a charge of parading without a permit.

I hope you are able to see the distinction I am trying to point out. In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law, as would the rabid segregationist.

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Of course, there is nothing new about this kind of civil disobedience. It was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar, on the ground that a higher moral law was at stake.

We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was “legal” and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was “illegal.” It was “illegal” to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler’s Germany.

Moving from the general to the specific, Dr. King seeks to prove his points. Just as a child is rarely satisfied by the standard parental justification of “because I said so,” readers of King’s letter would need to see the rationale behind his argument. So our author provides many answers here. It is up to us to gauge the effectiveness of those answers.

Reflection

Earlier, tone was mentioned. In the four preceding examples, some might consider Dr. King’s tone to be firm, while others would describe it as respectful. Accusatory is probably not the first descriptor.

Used judiciously, repetition (of words, phrases, and symbols or ideas) reinforces subject matter and makes for mellifluous language. Used poorly, repetition comes across as awkward or careless and weakens the bond between author and reader.

Response Board Dr. King’s tone and style contrast with the kinds of political speech we most often hear today. Why do you think that is, and what does it say about his context and ours?

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