Letter From Birmingham Jail

Kian Yuen Mr. Hendricks American Literature 4 March 2024 Unjust Situations Create an Identity Justice is the idea that people should be treated in a fair governing system through the law. Justice is created because certain governments or rulers give their people unfair rules to satisfy their interests. People feel a sense of injustice when they feel stuck or unable to express themselves in society. In Martin Luther King Jr “Letter From Birmingham Jail” he discusses how several people from the black community want change but feel unable to do it due to unjust laws created by the United States government against African Americans. Martin Luther King Jr’s Letter From Birmingham Jail gives readers a sense of identity through the experiences African

There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than in any other city in the nation" (King Jr 59). Based on Dr. King Jr’s facts, the United States Government put these issues aside and wanted to focus on other problems because it dealt with African Americans. King Jr expressed the actions that have been happening to African Americans, forcing the government to focus on the treatment of White Americans and Black Americans. King backs up his argument stating, “For years now I have heard the word “Wait”. It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This “Wait” has almost always meant “Never.” We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that “justice too long delayed is justice denied” (King Jr. 61). When people hear the word wait, they hope to receive news on a situation. However, if they have waited long enough and do not receive an answer, they tend to change their identity by showing spurts of anger or frustration. African Americans at the time, expressed how they wanted the same rights as White Americans but in return did not receive

emphasizes that there are two kinds of laws, just laws and unjust laws. Just laws "uplift human personality" and legally govern everyone (King Jr. 62). Unjust laws "degrade human personality" to create an illusion of superiority (King Jr. 62). The superior society damages lower levels which it is under to create a division between the higher and the lower classes. King Jr. implies that people should recognize laws that are just and unjust and know when to follow the just laws. King Jr describes a situation when going against unjust laws, writing “We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was "legal." It was "illegal" to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany. Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at the time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers” (King Jr 64). Even if a higher superior makes certain rules that do not give another person their humanity, it does not mean anyone can break them. King Jr. wanted everyone to realize that the rules the United States has imposed were inhumane and specifically targeted African Americans. Many Americans at the time were scared of African Americans because of how they acted and where they lived, but their illusions caused a split in