Justice is a civil dispersion of limited resources, respect for people's rights, and respect for morally acceptable laws. Martin Luther King Junior states "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" What King means when he says this is that we cannot assume of ourselves as separate from all the other people in the world. As king says he can't sit in Atlanta and think that things in Birmingham do not affect him. Instead, he says, we all have to understand that we are connected to all the other people of the world. This is true because we are all part of the same "garment of destiny".
In the United States there are two types of laws. We have just laws and unjust laws. Martin Luther King Jr. thinks that we the people of the United States
King Jr.'s definition of social justice within his essay is civic equality between Caucasians and those of African and African American descent. This form of civic equality includes equitable access to facilities and to rights that all Americans allegedly have. Moreover, King Jr. also is alluding to and end of segregation and a full-fledged integration of the races (King Jr., 1963). He certainly advocates an end to the violence African Americans had to endure while simply asking for, and demonstrating their need to access, civic rights.
Martin Luther King, Jr. sat in Birmingham jail not because he committed a crime but because he took part in a non-violent demonstration. King received an invite to a nonviolent demonstration by a local church and was later jailed for his actions (King 1). While in jail, King reflected on the injustice in not only Birmingham, but the world as well. King addressed injustice as a universal wrong which can only be undone by people themselves and not by action forced by the government. He quickly announced that keeping the peace and obeying the law are not the same, the people ahead do not simply relinquish their role because of the selfishness of the human nature. Those who are oppressed will seek to leave injustice behind. Martin Luther
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
King then differentiates between just laws and unjust laws. By quoting St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, he states that unjust laws are not considered laws.
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
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 justice? Is it a fitting punishment for a crime? Or a court or officer of the law? Is it the law itself? It has many definitions and interpretations, depending on various people. Some interpret it very simply, saying that it is fairness in every situation. Others give the word more complication, saying that it is doing what is morally right and fair. Oxford Dictionary defines it as many things, including, “Just behaviour or treatment...The quality of being fair and reasonable.” Black’s Law Dictionary defines justice as, “The constant and perpetual disposition to render every man his due.” All are various meanings and interpretations of one, single, word, that has been explored in many books and novels, including one by Harper Lee. In her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the characters of Atticus and Mr. Raymond to show the meaning of true justice and how it transcends prejudicial divisions.
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
Martin Luther King, Jr. disobeyed the law to try and end segregation for minority groups so they could be treated fairly and be equal to the non-minority group. Mr. King states,
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.
“Racism still occupies the throne of our nation,” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pronounced just before his assassination. Almost fifty years later, we are still faced with the same unchanged threat that makes the words of Dr. King true. As individuals, communities, and a proud nation we have made an everlasting fingerprint for the children of our future, yet we lack the strength of acknowledgment to alter the course of racial discrimination and conquer prejudice. Has the formation of structural discrimination rooted itself too deeply into our subconscious that hope for rehabilitation seems unattainable? As a nation, we voted a man with a white mother from Kansas and a black father from Kenya as the first multiracial President of the United States. Racism has not been eradicated because of the racial background of President Barrack Obama and we have not accomplished victory because of his African decent because prejudice has been too deeply fixed within our society. Social circumstance and the insinuation of race continue to change over time, precisely because race has become a social construct that serves political ends. The prior and present leaders of our nation organize, generate, and endorse the laws and public policy that ensure racism continues to maintain itself against people of color. Our historically racist foundation, the rising effects of structural discrimination, and the view of modernized racism all actively participate in shaping our structural
Justice is the process result of using law to fairly judge and punish a crime or a criminal. Injustice is the lack of fairness and justice. Martin Luther King Jr. led the civil rights movement. This movement was a mass popular movement to secure equal access and opportunities for the basic privileges and rights of U.S. citizenship to all the people living in America. The act was active between 1955 and 1968. King was famous for using nonviolent resistance to overcome injustice, and he never got tired of trying to end segregation laws. In 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested and sent to jail because he and others were protesting the treatment of blacks in Birmingham, Alabama. A court had ordered that King could not hold protests in Birmingham. While King was in jail, he wrote a letter, “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, to the newspaper explaining why he had broken the law. In the book, “Antigone” by Sophocles, similar events had happened to the main character, Antigone. Creon, the king of Thebes, had ordered for no one to mourn over the death of Polynices, son of Oedipus (the former king of Thebes who unwittingly killed his father and married his mother), there was to be no type of burial or prayers for him. If anyone was to try and touch the body of Polynices there was to be sentenced to death. Antigone played a bigger role than Creon in that she defied the law and started the whole play’s chain of events, eventually leading to nearly everyone’s death. Regardless Ismene’s, her sister, warning to listen to the king’s edict, Antigone gave her brother a burial, prayers and poured ritual wine on the corpse. Martin Luther King Jr. and Antigone both had fought for something they believed in, something that went against the law and both were punished for their ‘crime’.
Martin Luther King and Henry David Thoreau both believed that one should stand up for what he believes in, as wells as accepting the consequences for his actions. Even though they also had different views about what makes law just or unjust. First of all, Martin Luther King believed that a law that is just should be square with the moral law or the law of God. This basically means a law should pertain to the Ten Commandments according to the bible. He also thought an unjust law was one that was inflicted on to a minority who did not even have the right to vote for this law in the first place.
The term justice is used in some of America's most treasured and valued documents, from the Pledge of Allegiance, to the Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence. Everyone wants to be treated justly whether it's in the courtroom or the local bar. Most people would feel confident giving a definition for justice, but would it be a definition we could universally agree to? Given that justice is a very common term, and something we all want, it's important to have a precise definition. For hundreds of years philosophers have argued, debated, and fought over this topic. Justice can clearly be defined as the intention to conform to truth and fairness. This is true justice.
I believe that the statements and ideas listed herein this quote, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (Martin Luther King Jr.) relates to how if one country is allowed to abuse, mistreat and terrorize their citizens that countries all over the world will fall like a domino and will eventually allow themselves to give similar treatment to their countries. I understand this quote as being a statement given by Martin Luther King Jr. against communism, fascism, civil rights abuses and unjust treatment in general because of the brutal and horrible lives that some people during his time had to experience and suffer under. The quote also states that injustice to any person of this planet is wrong and that regardless of rhyme or