It is the year 1963 and Martin Luther King Jr. was left to sit in the jail of Birmingham, to ponder more about the state of the nation regarding social justice or lack thereof. King traveled to Birmingham for a nonviolent protest against racial segregation, but it was seen as extremist, the result was King being put behind bars. Eight white religious leaders located in the south issued a public statement in relation to the nonviolent protest and their concerns. Their concerns are that the King should negotiate for a difference instead of acting upon it. Martin Luther King Jr’s response is an open letter titled “Letter from the Birmingham Jail”. King discusses the demands and necessities required to take steps and grow towards an integrated society. He believes that nonviolent protests and actions create some sort of tension within society that would eventually get many talking. It creates a platform to open discussion. He hopes that many will see …show more content…
He also further explains that “an unjust law is a code out of harmony with the moral law”. In simpler terms, a just law is for the betterment of human personality and will uplift that, an unjust law degrades human personality. With that being said, any law including segregation is a law that is unjust. It is an unjust law because this can damage the soul, in the sense that it gives the segregator a superiority complex and the segregated an inferiority complex. To go into further detail, a law that is unjust is forced upon a minority, with an example being the denied right to vote. King urges many to disobey unjust laws because of the moral wrongdoing. He does disclose that you must be driven to do it in a “openly, loving and with a willingness to accept the penalty”. King understands that a person who is devoted enough to accept imprisonment in order to entertain society over injustice shows the highest appreciation for the