Does Martin Luther King Jr Mean In Letter From Birmingham Jail

Birmingham Letter Saint Augustine, an early Christian philosopher, when discussing unjust laws stated “An unjust law is no law at all.” This was from the early 3rd century, yet it is still very relevant in King’s day. Martin Luther King Jr was a pastor and leader in the civil rights movement. He was thrown in jail in Birmingham in 1963. While he was confined in a small cell, he wrote a letter in response to a article the local clergymen wrote about him criticizing his movement. In the letter he provides justifications for his movement. He voices his thoughts on why rights should be given to African Americans by addressing that he has valid reasons for being in Birmingham in the first place. He also states that there is an urgent need to force

He states that he is the president of the Southern Christian Leadership conference and he was indeed invited to be there, and that he is there because injustice is there. He furthered his claim by specifying he was on call to engage in a nonviolent direct action program if deemed necessary. “I am here because I was invited here,”(1) declared King.King gives biblical allusions to Paul about how he left everything he had to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. King says “Like Paul, I must carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town” (1). Furthermore, he vindicates his statement by added that he is not an outsider because the concerns of Birmingham are the concerns of the entire nation. King states “Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its

King asserts it is a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.(4)”. He furthers his claim by stating that an unjust law is one that is “out of harmony with the moral law,(4)”. King says “All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality.” King gives vivid examples of how colored people have been repeatedly ridiculed throughout history. This gives imagery of how dark-skinned men and women have been malevolently treated in an prejudicial