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
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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