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Martin Luther King Jr Letter From Birmingham Jail

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What is a law, is person ever morally justified in lovingly breaking a law? For Dr. Martin Luther King JR, the answer could be yes. Dr. Martin Luther King JR will explain this to us in his letter from Birmingham Jail.
One of the most influential leaders of the American civil rights movement through the 1950s and 60s fighting for black and white equality was Dr. Martin Luther King JR. In 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King sat locked up in a Birmingham city jail for holding a peaceful demonstration without a permit. A preposterous charge that Birmingham police pulled from and old ordinance. Dr. Martin Luther King was prompted to write this letter because he wanted to help spread the word of the injustice that was still happing in Birmingham, Alabama, addressing it to fellow Clergymen. “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is an amazing piece of literature showcasing how Dr. Martin Luther King could take a letter and turn it into literature while locked up in the Birmingham city jail in Birmingham, Alabama.
This letter provides an unbeatable argument against injustice “injustice anywhere …show more content…

Martin Luther King goes further to explain the difference between a just and an unjust law. “A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law of the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law”. “Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust”. Here, Dr. Martin Luther King JR defines a law to be not just a legal code, but a moral one as well. While his process for differentiating between just and unjust laws in logical and clear, perhaps a more important piece is the emotional appeal to morality. This ethical side makes it difficult to disagree with Dr. Martin Luther King JR. One could no longer ask another person to follow a law that supports segregation without lack of moral consciousness. Changing is act of breaking the law into something necessary that a moral obligation is the only

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Unjust vs. Just Laws In Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, he addresses the question of, “How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?” To answer this question, we have to understand the two types of laws: just and unjust. A just law typically upholds justice, equality, and the well-being of all individuals. Whereas an unjust law is a law that does not align with moral or ethical principles.

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Leader of the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr., in his letter, known as the “letter from Birmingham Jail,” responds to the letter in Post-Herald, published by the eight clergymen criticizing his presence and strategies in the protests he has lead against segregation by practicing the Gandhian doctrine of nonviolent resistance. Throughout his letter he uses strong appeals of authority, logos and syntax to respond to the clergymen. To begin with, Martin Luther King Jr. begins his contradictions to the letter in Post-Herald by addressing his opposition argument and acknowledging that he stands “in the middle of two opposing forces in the Negro community.”. He appeals to logic that both sides are being oppressed and “drained of self-respect” for years, in contrast, one side has become “insensitive to the problem” of segregation due to profits, academic and economic securities as the other side has become bitter and “close to advocating violence”. He purpose to indicate this is to clarify to the clergymen that his decisions are made in the best way possible for both sides.

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In the article “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King Jr. responds to clergymen who described his civil rights activities as “unwise and untimely”. Dr. King argues that while just laws should be obeyed, unjust laws aren’t binding because they go against decent morality and they degrade human lives. He explains the three-hundred-year struggles by African Americans to gain their basic rights and responds to criticism of being an extremist for trying to force change on this matter. Ultimately his reasoning is that those attempting to find a resolution to the injustice and unequal laws of the land should not be punished if they are doing so nonviolently, even if they break some just laws. I argue in favor of this idea that unjust laws

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In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. led a peaceful movement in Birmingham, Alabama. The purpose of the demonstration was to bring awareness and end to racial disparity in Birmingham. Later that night, King and his followers were detained by city authorities. While in custody, King wrote the famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” This letter voiced out his disappointment in the criticisms, and oppositions that the general public and clergy peers obtained.

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In August 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. one of the most significant leaders of the civil rights movement, was convicted and put in jail in Birmingham after preforming a nonviolent demonstration. This is where he wrote “Letters from a Birmingham Jail” in response to the white religious leaders of the South. By writing this letter, he wanted to explain that by them calling, him “untimely and unwise” in him being in Birmingham during this time was false and to take accountability of his actions for the demonstrations he had performed. His reasoning behind doing so is that King needed to be there because there was a great injustice going on against black people by white people he states this in in the second and third paragraphs. Dr. King

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”(pg.927) This demonstrates that a rule breaker only breaks the rules when needed especially to make the unjust, just. Also in “letter from Birmingham” he states the deference between just and unjust law which is “a just law is a man-made code that squares with moral law or the law of god” while that “a law that degrades a humans personality is an unjust law.”(pg. 927) Martin Luther King fought for civil rights and succeeded.

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In other words, Dr. King didn’t believe that the rights granted to African Americans were morally correct, but he wanted his followers to protest understanding the difference between “just” and “unjust” laws. From segregation

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In paragraph 9 King states “there are two types of laws: there are just laws, and there are unjust laws (6),” and then continues with King stating “Now, what is the difference between the two? (7)” What is the difference between an unjust law and a just law? King goes on to explain that a just law is one that “squares with the moral

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“Letter from Jail” On April 16, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter to the eight clergymen while he was incarcerated. Dr. King wrote this letter to address one of the biggest issues in Birmingham, Alabama and other areas within the United States. The “Letter from Birmingham Jail” discussed the great injustices that were happening during that time towards the black community. Dr. King wanted everyone to have the same equal rights as the white community, he also went into further details about the struggles that African Americans were going through for so many years, which he felt like it could change. Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, expressed his beliefs and his actions about the Human Rights Movement.

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An unjust law, he argues “is any law that degrades human personality. ”(king 545) King believed that people can morally disobey unjust laws depending on the circumstance they found themselves. He specifically pointed out that segregation is an example of an unjust law. Therefore, he nonviolently rejected this law through civil disobedient.

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King brought forth law enforcement, the civil rights movement, and speaks about how it was unjust and just. “An unjust law is a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself. This is difference made legal” (King, 15). An unjust law is simply unfair; it’s a voting criterion and may not be right. [A] just law is a code that a majority compels a minority to follow and that it is willing to follow itself.

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The Civil Rights Movement spanned between 1954 and 1968, which encompassed social movements in the United States aiming to end racial segregation and discrimination against African-Americans. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. played a pivotal role in ending the legal segregation of African-American citizens in the South, relying mainly on peaceful protests and boycotts. Although he was a dedicated activist, King also had a gift for rhetoric: his skillful use of language energized supporters of the civil rights movement to continue to fight for justice. This talent was exemplified in 1963 during his incarceration in Birmingham, Alabama when eight prominent Alabaman clergymen published a statement in local newspapers urging African-Americans to withdraw

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In the eyes of Martin Luther King Jr., Justice within a society is achieved through the implementation of just laws. Furthermore, “just laws are regulations that have been created by man that follow the laws of God for man” (“Clergymen’s Letter”). Any law that does not correspond with the ideals of God and morality are considered to be unjust or a form of injustice. King identifies that injustice is clearly evident within the justice system. This injustice can truly be seen through the misconduct imposed toward the African American community.

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As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. states, "it is rather strange and paradoxical to find us consciously breaking laws;" this statement corresponds with Dr. King Jr.  agreeing with St. Augustine’s statement that "an unjust law is no law at all." In 1954 during the

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Reading this text, it is easy to differentiate between them. Martin Luther King says that a just law connects back to the moral law of the law of God. He said that an unjust law is one that is not at all in balance with the moral law. A just law in his words is one that lifts an individual up instead of degrading them. In other words, Martin Luther King Jr. strongly believes that the citizen has a legal and moral responsibility to obey laws that are just, as well as the moral responsibility to disobey laws that are unjust.

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