There can be no gainsaying the fact that racial injustice engulfs this community. Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States. Its ugly record of brutality is widely known. Negroes have experienced grossly unjust treatment in the courts.
—“Letter from Birmingham Jail,”
Martin Luther King Jr.
How does Martin Luther King Jr.’s word choice achieve a particular effect?
It stresses the personal and emotional nature of his protest.
It emphasizes the overwhelming nature of injustice in the community.
It explains the reasons for discrimination and injustice in Birmingham.
