Observation 4: MLK Letter from Birmingham

In Martin Luther King Jr.'s letter from Birmingham, he uses the appeal to reason. Some examples of him using this method are:

1) He states that he went to Birmingham because there was injustice there. He feels that although he went outside of his hometown to restore justice, he was considered an outsider. He claims that "anywhere who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds". His justification for going outside of Atlanta was because he should lawfully never be considered an outsider
2) The reason that the demonstrations are happening in Birmingham is because the power the whites hold over black people left them with no alternative option to fight for justice and the brutality has gone too far
3) King uses nonviolent direct action as his way of creating tension or crisis because it forces the white community to negotiate. It was the only type of action they would react to
4) King feels that there has never been a gain in civil rights that did not include nonviolent tension or pressure
5) He says he and others are impatience with the disrespect and belittlement that blacks are receiving; being called names like "boy" even if your old or not having "Ms." as part of your title
6) "Any law that degrades human personality is unjust"; the only laws that are just are ones that uplift a personality
7) Injustice has to be exposed fully and openly before it can be fixed; you cannot continue hiding or trying to cover up the unjust acts that have been going on
8) Oppressed people can't stay oppressed forever; eventually further frustration will break through and the acts against unjust laws will not be as nonviolent
9) Jesus was an extremist for love, he believed in loving your enemies

King is using the appeal to reason in all of the above statements. He is trying to justify the acts of African Americans during the civil rights era by giving these reasons