How Did Martin Luther King Use Of Justice

“The time of justice has now come. I tell you that I believe sincerely that no force can hold it back. It is right in the eyes of man and God that it should come. And when it does, I think that day will brighten the lives of every American (Johnson).” African Americans during this time period are in the process of having their rights and equality. These individuals experienced hardships and obstacles which led up to this. They suffered in different ways, additionally, some of them got killed. When Martin Luther King, the leader, stood up for what he believed in with a group of black people right behind him, he was put in jail and got severely bruised. King did not stop fighting for these rights and equalities and even through thick and

Martin Luther King Jr. was in jail because he took direct action to show all the unjust laws’ that were taking place. He showed civil disobedience by exercising rights that everyone had but, because him and his people were “black” they were treated differently under the same laws. For example, when he said “I have been arrested on a charge for parading without a permit… such ordinance becomes unjust when it is used to maintain segregation and to deny citizens the First-Amendment privilege of peaceful assembly and protest” (King, 4). By stating

A lot of acts happened during the civil rights movements. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the main host of most of the acts that happened during this time. He dedicated a decade of his life to see if he could pursuit racial equality and social justice. He fought for what he believe in and that’s what I think most of us individuals need to do for change to

When injustice is in place we as citizens must react, and this is exactly what Martin Luther King Jr. did. “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is a letter written by Martin Luther King Jr. while he was in jail. King was in jail for partaking in protests against segregation. King’s clergymen have recently called him out for his actions, stating that they are unwise and untimely. King then goes on to state why he thinks his actions are wise and timely. He then goes on talking about the unjustness in Birmingham at the time. King at the beginning tried to negotiate with the Birmingham community to stop segregation, but it ended up going nowhere. He ended up using nonviolent direct action which this started to make a difference. Martin Luther King Jr.’s reasoning and evidence of his actions are very persuasive.

King realizes the impact of allusion of the holy bible to his clergymen counterparts and uses it as leverage to exemplify his argument. King continues to state that "One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that "an unjust law is no law at all." (Letter From a Birmingham Jail p.91). This statement further pushes kings argument of resisting the unjust laws that are oppressing his people onto the clergymen and with the help of his allusion of St. Augustine, his argument is laid out with power and conviction. King supplements this argument with yet another religious allusion in which an ethical appeal is given off to his audience, the clergymen, as King states, "To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any Law that degrades human personality is unjust." (Letter From a Birmingham Jail p.91). Through this quote, King is showing his fellow clergymen that they are going against their own teachings and that these laws passed against his people aren't just an unfavorable law passed by the government, but an immoral law according to the guidelines set out by St. Thomas Aquinas

Dr. King's effort to make non-violent campaign and to end racial segregation led Negroes to protest together for equal rights. Appeal of emotions in letter the King use have shown anger and sadness from broken promise and injustice law. The King clearly stated that disease of segregation will never end after all suffer, “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 275).

Martin Luther King Jr once said “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. He enforced this belief that Americans need to stand up to injustice. Even when African Americans weren’t receiving the same opportunities given to their fellow white Americans. To illustrate, some of the significant inequalities were in job income, voter turnouts, education, and societal norms. As one could imagine, quite a bit of Americans stood up against this inequality to secure a better future for the African American populations. One man in particular was named Martin Luther King Jr, who gave outstanding speeches across the United States, and gave a voice to the suffering Americans. At one of his events in Birmingham, Alabama, he decided to assemble and protest for their rights against the opposition who desired to take away their momentum on obtaining equality. Furthermore, because King decided to assemble a protest, without obtaining a permit, resulted in him ending up in the Birmingham Jail. While in jail, Martin Luther King decided to write a letter to the clergymen in one of his famous writings. During King's time in the Birmingham Jail, he refuted specifically to the clergymen’s criticism with a letter known as the Letter From Birmingham Jail to prove his actions were just and that they made an impact among the American people.

In April 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. was imprisoned for his participation in nonviolent demonstrations against segregation. He was placed in jail for eleven days during which he composed the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” which was in response to an open letter that declared his efforts for racial justice as being “unwise and untimely.” In this letter, he defended the tactic of nonviolent resistance to racism. The letter also stressed that people have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws as well as to take immediate action preferably than to wait endlessly for the courts to bring about justice. King’s understanding of justice is best summed up when he states that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” In other words,

Until the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., his life’s work was dedicated to the nonviolent actions of blacks to gain the freedoms they were promised in the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 by Abraham Lincoln. He believed that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (King, 1963). These injustices had become so burdensome to blacks that they were “plunged into an abyss of despair” (King, 1963). The nonviolent actions of the sit-ins, boycotts, and marches were so the “individual could rise from the bondage of myths and half-truths…to help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism” and ultimately lead to “inevitably opening the door to negotiation” (King, 1963). Not only was King’s approach effective

History is indisputably dense with revolts and uprisings against forms of oppression and injustices. Whatever the reason for the insurrection, it was likely violent and involved someone’s overthrow, possibly accompanied by their death. In staunch contrast to any rebellion, Dr. King advocated and led a revolt of peace against segregation of blacks and whites, specifically in the American south. In the troubled American civil rights era, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. conveyed to the world that when one recognizes unjust law based on moral conscience, resists peacefully, and replaces it with love and just moral law, their civil disobedience results in a better society.

Dr.Martin Luther King jr vs Unjust laws & Fellow Clergymen “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” Dr. Martin Luther King jr believes that laws are unjust if they only apply to certain groups and the way he personalized his argument for the clergymen was very convincing. Laws in Birmingham were not fair to every race and only targeted mostly minorities even if the minority made up the majority of the population. He was non-violently protesting to change these unjust laws so that every man, woman and child could have the same opportunities and rights. He also wanted to stop the flow of injustice into other states as it had infected Alabama.

Even though slavery was abolished many years ago, racial segregation continued to flourish. I have recently had the privilege of reading a powerful letter written by Martin Luther King Jr titled “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. The letter details Dr. King’s ongoing mission to seek justice and equality for all member society regardless of race and color across America. In my eyes, Dr. King was a strong and heroic man who sought these equal rights. He enlightened others, not with an iron fist, but with well planned peaceful events, thought invoking intellect and mutual comradery. What sparked this letters creation was the injustice Dr. King encountered while pursuing his dream of equality

Throughout history, we have seen many examples of civil disobedience that has positively affected our society. Of these examples, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was one of the most impactful cases known to the American people. While in the Birmingham Jail, he wrote a letter to the clergymen justifying his then recent endeavors. Words like peaceful, genuine good, and nonviolent all can be quoted from this letter. He stood for the African American people and their equality. He was ready to take the consequences for his actions and gracefully promoted his cause: segregation! We all know that through this, he got what he wanted accomplished. Now, every American citizen can live in equality and equilibrium.

In 1954, with Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court struck down the “separate but equal” doctrine, legally (but not practically) ending segregation. Buses, schools, theaters… they were to be desegregated, but the fight wasn’t over. African Americans, under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., utilized nonviolent means and civil disobedience to protest their unequal treatment. In his “Letter From a Birmingham Jail” and “I Have a Dream” speech, Dr. King inspired citizens to stand up and fight for equality. From a jail cell in Birmingham, he famously wrote: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one

Furthermore, Mr. King believed that rules have to be followed only if they are just morally and ethically. He did not hesitate to brake laws when he found them offensive or umiliating. Doing so, he "educated" his followers to doubt the current situation and find the way to change