what is the tone of the text

A group of white clergymen argued that King and his nonviolent demonstrators should stop what they were doing and wait for the courts to settle the issues connected to segregation.  King, essentially, wrote a persuasive essay in which he, step by step, argued against the points of view the white clergymen put forth.  The tone is reasonable and respectful; he does not, however, back off from the plan that he and the demonstrators used to put their demonstration on the streets of Birmingham.