Martin Luther King Jr Letter from Birmingham Jail Essay

Martin Luther King Jr Letter from Birmingham Jail - Essay Example The letter begins with King’s address to his â€Å"dear† clergymen, a group of white moderate preachers who had denounced the activist’s most recent protests – the ones which had landed him in jail – as â€Å"unwise and untimely.† The fact that King deigns to respond to these men, particularly as he goes on to explain that he is inundated with criticism daily, shows several things: primarily that he is not so passionate about his cause as to be blindly angry against those who do not entirely understand it, and who therefore may be converted. King is patient and reasoned, even though (as he explains later in the letter) he has reason enough to be outraged. This politeness extends through what is otherwise a rousing and accusatory epistle. Rather than denouncing the white clergymen for their role in hindering black rights, King refers to them as his friends, and couches his arguments for nonviolent protesting in indirect and passive language: for example, â€Å"Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily.† King understands that the white clergymen expect savagery from him, and responds with a civility which is far more likely to win their minds to the cause of black rights.