A Rhetorical Analysis Of Dr. King's Letter

In Dr. King’s letter, his primary audience, in my opinion, is not targeting a specific race or culture, but people of the Christian church as a whole. His audience is to people who have not taken a stand or awareness in the segregation of the south. Although his audience is mostly towards Christians, Dr. King avoids writing about religion, but rather focuses on a more broad audience. However, the letter is directed towards Alabama clergymen, and King approaches this letter with a coexistence mentality. The fourth principle best fits Dr. King’s response because he has absorbed what the clergymen’s beliefs are and is creating a “dialogue” with his response from a “listening” and then a “speaking” perspective (The Pluralism Project).

The two key differences between a just and an unjust law is that, an unjust law, the superior group can/will force a minority to follow certain rules, while the superior group does not have to follow

King raises, regarding white churches, is that King has witnessed the white clergymen as bystanders to desegregation with sly and condescending remarks. The second, is that King has watched and overheard ministers believe that desegregation is a social issue and not a gospel issue, therefore, the churchmen do not feel obligated to help the situation. A third issue King presents is that the church has reprimanded individuals who decide to agree with desegregation laws, instead of promoting that desegregation is “morally right”.

In my opinion, Dr. King’s calls in Christians and even other religions to join the movement and see the struggle because King phrasing every statement with power and a dialogue. King’s response is creating an awareness, an awareness to unify as a Christian community and become one religion rather than a segregated church. I believe Dr. King’s message is also promoting a dialogue between the majority and the minority, and the potential opportunity people have to unify as one