The Logos behind “Letter from Birmingham Jail”

      Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” appeals to logos in the sense that it enumerates exactly why “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”  The text does this by explaining harmful trends that result from unjust laws.  Even though unjust laws violate the rights of many, there are those who still find need for them.  King is disillusioned with white moderates who refuse to stand against prejudice and passively accept unjust laws.  King states that white moderates support these laws in order to maintain status quo.  Even though the laws establish a sense of short-lived racial peace, King believes injustice is implemented through them.  The laws degrade the human person.  King believes that any unjust laws have the power to inhibit society from seeking equality and long-term peace.

      Through the use of historical parallels, King explains that civil disobedience is necessary to implement when “a higher moral law [is] involved” that supersedes unjust laws.  King reasons that some laws inhibit honorable behavior and that what is legal is not always moral.  As King suggests, Hitler’s behavior in Germany was completely legal, even though comforting and providing aid to Jews was illegal.

      From King’s speech, we can draw parallels between Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” in the sense that the song suggests there is something wrong with the way southern blacks were treated under laws that did not protect them.  “Strange Fruit,” like “Letter from Birmingham Jail” provides examples that support the fact that there is a need for just laws that defend life and human dignity.   For the reason that just laws are necessary to preserve human dignity, King suggests that he would rather be an extremist who fights for justice, rather than one who harbors “lukewarm acceptance” in the face of evil.

-Tylar