Question

ALABAMA CLERGYMEN'S LETTER TO DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
April 12, 1963
We the undersigned clergymen are among those who in January, issued "An Appeal for
Law and Order and Common Sense," in dealing with racial problems in Alabama. We
expressed understanding that honest convictions in racial matters could properly be
pursued in the courts but urged that decisions of those courts should in the meantime
be peacefully obeyed.
Since that time there had been some evidence of increased forbearance and a
willingness to face facts. Responsible citizens have undertaken to work on various
problems which caused racial friction and unrest. In Birmingham, recent public events
have given indication that we all have opportunity for a new constructive and realistic
approach to racial problems.
However, we are now confronted by a series of demonstrations by some of our Negro
citizens directed and led in part by outsiders. We recognize the natural impatience of
people who feel that their hopes are slow in being realized. But we are convinced that
these demonstrations are unwise and untimely.
We agree rather with certain local Negro leadership which has called for honest and
open negotiation of racial issues in our area. And we believe this kind of facing of issues
can best be accomplished by citizens of our own metropolitan area white and Negro,
meeting with their knowledge and experience of the local situation. All of us need to
face that responsibility and find proper channels for its accomplishment.
Just as we formerly pointed out that "hatred and violence have no sanction in our
religious and political tradition." We also point out that such actions as incite to hatred
and violence, however technically peaceful those actions may be, have not contributed
to the resolution of our local problems. We do not believe that these days of new hope
are days when extreme measures are justified in Birmingham

Letter From Birmingham City Jail - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. April 16, 1963
My Dear Fellow Clergymen,
While confined here in the Birmingham City Jail, I came across your recent statement
calling our present activities "unwise and untimely." Seldom, if ever, do I pause to
answer criticism of my work and ideas...But since I feel that you are men of genuine
good will and your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I would like to answer your
statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms. (1)
I think I should give the reason for my being in Birmingham, since you have been
influenced by the argument of "outsiders coming in." I have the honor of serving as
president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating
in every Southern state with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. We have some 85
affiliate organizations all across the South...Several months ago our local affiliate here in
Birmingham invited us to be on call to engage in a nonviolent direct action program if
such were deemed necessary. We readily consented, and when the hour came we lived
up to our promises. So I am here, along with several members of my staff, because I
have basic organizational ties here. Beyond this, I am in Birmingham because injustice is
here. Just as the eighth century prophets left their little villages and carried their "thus
saith the Lord" far beyond the boundaries of their home towns; and just as the Apostle
Paul left his little village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to practically
every hamlet and city of the Graeco-Roman world, I too am compelled to carry the
gospel of freedom beyond my particular home town. Like Paul, I must constantly
respond to the Macedonian call for aid. (2)
Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot
sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham.

Both the Alabama Clergymen and Dr. King write from clear perspectives. Analyze how bias, evidence, and assumptions shape the credibility of each letter. Which argument is more reliable, and why?

Your response must be at least one paragraph. (type in the text box)

Requirements:

-State a clear claim about credibility

-Use evidence from both letters (quote or paraphrase)

-Explain misconceptions

-Maintain a consistent active voice

Answer 1

I find Dr. King’s letter more credible because he responds to the clergymen’s criticisms with specific evidence, corrects their factual assumptions, and grounds his moral claims in concrete organizational ties and clear reasoning, whereas the clergymen rely largely on broad appeals to order and unexamined assumptions. The Alabama clergymen reveal a bias toward preserving local order and judicial process: they urge that court decisions “should in the meantime be peacefully obeyed,” call the protests “unwise and untimely,” and assert that demonstrations have been “directed and led in part by outsiders,” but they offer no concrete evidence that negotiation channels would succeed or that local leaders actually represent the powerless. Those claims assume that existing local institutions have the will and ability to remedy entrenched injustice and mistakenly conflate technically peaceful direct action with things that “incite to hatred and violence,” a mischaracterization that ignores nonviolent protest’s documented role in forcing change. King, by contrast, directly rebuts the “outsiders” charge—explaining that he serves as SCLC president, that the SCLC has “some 85 affiliate organizations all across the South,” and that Birmingham’s local affiliate invited outside assistance—thereby turning an accusation of illegitimacy into verifiable organizational connection. He further explains his moral rationale (“I am here…because injustice is here”) and the interrelatedness of communities (“I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham”), showing why local negotiation had already failed and outside support mattered. The clergymen’s concerns about order represent a legitimate value, but their letter lacks supporting evidence and rests on misconceptions about who leads the movement and how change occurs; King supplies evidence, addresses counterarguments, and makes explicit assumptions, so his argument carries greater reliability.