“Letter from Birmingham Jail” was written by Martin Luther King Jr. depicting King’s impression of racial inequality in the United States. King masterfully weaves rhetorical devices together to persuade a White audience to acknowledge racism. King attempts to bring to light how Black people are emotionally, lawfully, and ethically abused. In his "Letter from Birmingham Jail," Martin Luther King Jr. uses ethos, pathos, and logos to persuasively urge his audience to act to eliminate racial segregation and injustice worldwide by appealing to the reader's ethics, passion, and reasoning.

In order to elicit an emotional response from his audience regarding his experience and challenges, Martin Luther King Jr. utilizes pathos. Because he was imprisoned, he managed to write his letter with passion, which gave white readers a glimpse into what life as an African American. He was concerned with the many injustices occurring in Birmingham, a city he considered the most thoroughly segregated place in the United States, so he could not stay idle in Atlanta. He accomplished this by appealing to the reader's emotions and desires. For example, he talks about how the black community had to watch “vicious mobs lynch [their] mothers and fathers at will” (11). King knew that through painful experience, freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. He said that Black people were “victims of broken promis[es]” ( 9) because merchants failed to remove humiliating racial signs. He attracted the emotions of parents by giving an example of how Black children had been affected by racial segregation and how parents found difficulty in explaining the situation. They try to find a way to “explain to [their] six-year-old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park, which was advertised on television” (pg 11)  because she is Black. He added that a child will grow up with hatred and preconceptions about White people if given such an explanation. King wanted to reach out to White Americans and their children, which is why he explained what they went through. He wanted them to identify with their suffering and understand the difficulties faced by communities of African Americans. 

Martin Luther King Jr. uses logos to convince his audience through verifiable information. He drafted the letter in the manner of an attorney, describing what was fair and unfair from several viewpoints. Additionally, he used logical reasoning to highlight a few truths that the White clergymen missed throughout this letter. He suggests, for instance, that clergymen are selective in their adherence to the law, “[break] some laws and obeying others?” (no page). King supports his claim that nonviolent protests and civil disobedience are essential to upholding their “constitutional and God-given rights” (11) with real proof. This aids his objective to convince his audience by citing the constitution, which is a country-wide law, providing logic. The nonviolent direct acts are intended to raise tension and open a dialogue. The clergymen thought the demonstrations were foolish and inappropriate, but they failed to show they cared about the Black communities. King mentions that “there have been more bombings…in Birmingham than in any city in the nation” (9). King and the rest of the black community felt that “justice too long delayed is justice denied.” They had waited for more than three hundred and forty years for their God-given and constitutional rights and for the fight against racial segregation to be resolved. The clergymen, however, insisted that they hold off even longer. King was imprisoned as a result of his decision to organize nonviolent demonstrations in Birmingham against laws that prohibited racial mixing. Overall, King's utilization of numbers provides a logical comparison that highlights the inequality. 

King uses ethos to persuade his readers while citing instances from history to support his credibility. King was careful and cautious in his self-description, and as he framed his argument, he showed that he recognized and understood American cultural ideals. At the beginning of his letter, he introduced the clergymen as “fellow clergymen” (pg. 8) implying that they are equal to him. He acknowledged their standing and sincerity in his reply, as well as their credibility as men of goodwill who revered the Bible's teachings. By citing their credibility, he establishes them as men whose teachings and sayings should be listened to. Since great leaders of the past agree with King’s ideas, so should the men in power at that new moment.  Although he identified himself as the “president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference” (pg. 8), he wrote that it was an honor to hold that position and that neither he nor anyone else could claim to be the world's foremost expert on Jesus. 

Martin Luther King Jr. uses pathos to convince his readers that the African American community has been neglected, logos to highlight how laws have been unfair and shouldn't be treated lightly, and ethos to support his logical arguments with examples from historical figures who had similar ideas at the time. Overall, King successfully incorporated Aristotle's three arguments, which led to a persuasive and convincing case.