Dr King Letter From Birmingham Jail

Letter from Birmingham Jail The Letter from Birmingham Jail by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is important to understanding American history because it explains that even if blacks followed the laws provided for by the Constitution, they still were not treated as equals to whites. At the time, Dr. King was President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a civil rights group. In 1963, he was asked to bring his group to Birmingham, Alabama for a peaceful protest against the segregation and racism that existed in Birmingham. Dr. King was determined to speak out and speak up and ignored the orders to stop the demonstration by police. The Letter from Birmingham Jail is significant in our history because Dr. King explains why he stood by his principles,

Dr. King’s letter is filled with powerful statements and information to assist people in understanding the injustice and discrimination impacting blacks in Alabama and in other states. Although many northerners believed that the racism in the south was not important to them, Dr. King emphasized, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice anywhere” (King). Dr. King urged northerners not to stand silent and instead understand that what was going on in the south easily could spread to the north. Dr. King’s letter also addressed whether all laws must be followed. King stated, “A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a mode that is out of harmony with the moral law” (King). Dr. King emphasized that there are certain laws that people should follow, while there are others that people should not follow because they are morally wrong. For example, Americans should follow the Brown v. Board of Education ruling because it is morally right. However, the country should not follow segregation because it is morally wrong. His words emphasized his beliefs about what should be the foundation of our country given the rights