Damany Lewis Wrong Answer

Martin Luther King Jr. expresses his views for obeying “Just” laws, while disregarding “Unjust” laws because of moral purposes. In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Dr. King speaks on how he “Urge people to obey laws,” as well as “urge them to disobey segregation ordinances”. “I agree with St. Augustine that “an unjust law is no law at all.” Dr. King’s reason for following certain laws and not others is because he believes there are two types of laws. Just laws are beneficial to all races and “Is the man-made code that squares with the moral law or the Law of God”, unjust laws neglects certain human races needs and personalities and “Is not rooted in eternal law and natural law.” Dr. King does not disapprove Supreme Court decisions, yet if it involves segregation he feels as though it “Distorts the soul and damages the personality.” Dr. King states, “Segregation is not only politically, economically, and sociologically unsound, it is also morally wrong and sinful.” At this point, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is past describing how segregation affects people, but is now saying how segregation for example affects the political system such as denying Negroes the right to vote. “Throughout Alabama all sorts of devious methods are used to prevent Negroes from becoming registered voters.” Negroes make up the majority population in the counties of Alabama “Not a single Negro is

What is law? Law is a system of rules used to govern a society and control the behaviors of its members. In this case, Martin Luther King is charged for breaking a law. King questions the differences between just and unjust laws to justify his actions in Birmingham and the charges of breaking laws willingly. Defending his willingness to break laws, King argues, “How can you advocate breaking laws and obeying other?” He answers to accusation of his willingness to break laws with a well-written argument of what is just and unjust laws. Martin Luther King uses the definition, the categories, and the implication of the law excellently to answer the charges of breaking laws willingly.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a key figure in the civil rights movements that took place in the 1950s and 1960s. The “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” is an open letter written by King defending nonviolent resistance against racism. The letter argued that people have a moral responsibility to break unjust and unethical laws. The letter also stresses themes of unity among brothers in order to overcome racism. I will argue in support of King’s stance that citizens are morally justified in breaking unjust laws and that openly and responsibly opposing unjust laws is itself a duty of every citizen.

In his correspondence to his fellow clergymen entitled “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King, a promoter of peace and brotherhood, analyzes his act of non-violent resistance to clarify the necessitate of producing creative tension. King begins by elucidating the differences between just and unjust laws. According to King, unjust laws are human laws that are not harmonized with the natural laws of God that cause the degradation of personality and damage the soul. According to this ideology, King states that when injustice occurs there is a correct approach to civil disobedience. First, King expects one to collect information regarding the immoral implication of law with the intent of proving injustice. This requires one to be able to distinguish between the laws of man and the laws of good, the immoral laws and moral laws, the unjust laws and just laws. Next, negotiation is used to establish an understanding of the endured injustice; however, this purpose is not to humiliate or defeat the adversary, but to promote friendship through a form of selfless and spiritual love known as agape. As Martin Luther King Jr. points out, “It is an overflowing love which seeks noting in return. And when you come to love on this level you begin to love men not because they are likeable, not because they do things that attract us, but because God loves them and here we love the person who does the evil deed while hating the deed that the person does” (“Non-violence” 2).

As a result of racist laws that forced blacks to be segregated and refused them their right to peacefully protest, Birmingham, Alabama in the 1960’s, was considered the most racist part of the United States and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. worked towards removing segregation laws from being enforced. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. publicly addressed the issue of racism on a religious, political, and social aspect by addressing his letter to the clergymen, disobeying the law through nonviolent civil disobedience, and expressing disappointment when he did not receive support from the white moderate, respectively. Advocating against the extreme racial injustice in Birmingham, Dr. King’s support of St. Augustine’s belief that “an unjust law is no law at all” caused a controversial debate across the country over who has the authority to decide which laws should be disobeyed (King 3). Although Dr. King addressed his letter to the white clergymen, his target audience was to the entire white moderate of the country whom he hoped would help him gain support in order to change unjust laws that promote segregation and refuse citizens of their First Amendment rights to a peaceful protest (King 4). Dr. King was looking for support from other members of society in order to create an effective change in society’s ethics. Moreover, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s large audience and public movement used nonviolent

Martin Luther king through his letter “letter from Birmingham jail” he revealed his ethical thought by enunciating real facts furthermore he did not only consider his own viewpoints rather he considered viewpoints of many other people in relation to churches hypocrisy and unjust laws versus just laws. Despite the fact that martin Luther king was in jail, Luther uses ethical thought to critique the ministers by articulating his beliefs and ideas via displaying descriptive and meaningful illustrations of ethics of law and sensible thinking. In his letter king exceptionally introduces his point of view via observation of multiple people by using coherent thinking and more to that having a mentality that is fair minded.

“Civil Disobedience” is an essay written by Henry David Thoreau in 1848. Thoreau protested many issues at the time such as slavery, the Mexican war, and taxes; he stood for peaceful protests or civil disobedience. Civil disobedience is the act of publicly, peacefully, and conscientiously breaching any corrupt and or unequal law(s) in order to bring about a change in said law or policy. Almost one hundred years later, on April 16th, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr wrote the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail;” a response to a public statement of concern and caution issued by eight white religious leaders of the South. King, in the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” conveys to his readers that the laws set against the African American are unjust and

Martin Luther King Jr., was a civil rights activist who spoke freely about civil disobedience in the Letter from Birmingham Jail while he was locked up for civilly disobeying the law. He was writing to eight white clergymen that also felt that many of the laws were unjust, however they showed agreement with Socrates by stating that he should not disobey the laws. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “one has a moral responsibility to disobey just laws because if we did not disobey them then unjust acts would continue to occur, causing our country to be harmed”. He also stated that “an unjust law is no law at all”. Martin Luther King Jr. did believe that laws were setup and enforced to assist and support the residents of the state however, if a law was unfair or unconstitutional, then the law would

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail is a response to a public statement of caution that was issued by several religious leaders of the South. During the midst of the nonviolent demonstrations against segregation in Birmingham, Dr. King was arrested and felt compelled to respond to their statement as he saw these fellow religious men as sincere and of good nature. In this letter he defends the use of nonviolent resistance to the racism occurring. He states that there is a moral responsibility to break unjust laws when taking direct action, in order to further the cause for justice which does not occur on its own.

Antigone defies the law of King Creon to honor her brother with a proper burial. She willingly goes against the King to follow the law of the gods’ regardless of the consequences, doing what she believes is right. Similarly, Martin Luther King travels to Birmingham to march and protest the injustices towards Black people because he believed it is the right thing to do. Although Antigone was not afraid to die for what she believed in, Martin Luther King’s method of civil disobedience was more effective because Antigone failed to promote negotiations and just accepted her punishment freely. King believed that to properly have a nonviolent approach towards injustice you must be able to speak peacefully to gain understanding for negotiation. Urging people to create tension in the form of civil disobedience to promote awareness of the injustices.

“A very few—as heroes, patriots, martyrs, reformers in the great sense, and men—serve the state with their consciences also, and so necessarily resist it for the most part; and they are commonly treated as enemies by it,” Henry Thoreau claimed in his essay, “Civil Disobedience.” Martin Luther King Jr. indisputably served the people of the state by his own conscience and was definitely treated as an enemy. “We want to be free!” King cried out during his “I've Been to the Mountaintop” speech. It didn't matter that it was seen as an evil act against the men in charge to him. “Civil disobedience” immensely impacted Martin Luther King and supported his views and drive that lead to the Civil Rights Movement.

Martin Luther King jr. justified rebellion and civil disobedience in one statement. The statements King makes can be thought of as being contradictory. He rationalized this by answering this question,““How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?" The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not

Not only were many laws changed and created, but even more were broken in an attempt to better our once unjust society. Martin Luther King Jr., arguably the most influential leader of this movement, was an avid supporter of civil disobedience during this era. He participated in countless sit-ins and protests, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1956, in which he and almost one hundred other activists were arrested for peacefully protesting discrimination in the Montgomery public transit system. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, written in 1963 after he was arrested for partaking in a nonviolent protest, King offers explanation as to why he practices civil disobedience and what he hopes to achieve in doing so. In this letter, King admits, “In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law…that would lead to anarchy. One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty”. However, he also stated that in this fight, it is necessary to “[stand] up for what is best in the American…thereby bringing our nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in their formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence”. In his words, civil disobedience is more than ignorance of law; it is just one of the necessary measures that must be taken to restore equality in a

The aims of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s was to end racial discrimination and segregation. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the leaders of this movement and an advocate for non-violent protests and peaceful resistance. Starting with the Montgomery Bus Boycott, MLK lead a series of non-violent protests, inspired by Thoreau’s essay. Blacks marched, boycotted, and protested for their rights and were arrested in the process. In 1963, the March on Birmingham occurred, to encourage integration and desegregation in Birmingham. Children as young as six years old marched and were arrested. It captured the attention of the nation and employed real social and legal change, as the city was required to integrate and hire African Americans downtown. MLK was a part of the Birmingham Campaign and was arrested and imprisoned, writing his famed “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”. In this letter, MLK expresses his reasons for the protest and his desire for equality. MLK stated “in no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law … I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law” (King). In this passage, he states his willingness to accept his punishment for breaking the law, a small price to pay for the possible change he could make in