Summary Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, author of “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (1963), suggests that people have the control to follow just laws and have the responsibility to break laws that are clearly unjust. Dr. King supports this by giving personal anecdotes, bringing up past evidence of unjust laws, and uses an assertive tone by highlighting his disappointment with the white church and leadership. His purpose is to explain why peaceful protests and actions are more effective than the use of violence in order to protect not only African Americans, but other minority groups. He establishes an informal relationship with the white religious leaders, specifically the eight who tried to end protests for civil rights. First, he gives personal events showing how he experienced unjust laws. He was arrested for parading without a permit (17). There is not anything …show more content…

King brings up other instances where laws have been considered unjust. For instance, in Nazi Germany, everything Hitler did was technically “legal”, and helping and aiding the Jews was “illegal” (19). He states that if he lived in a Communist country, he would have advocated for Christianity and supported the disobedience of anti-religious laws (19). He gives an example in the Bible where Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are caught breaking a Roman law by worshiping and praising God (18). All of these examples he gives suggest illustrations of laws that do not define morally acceptable behavior, or social more, like not giving them their human rights, as in worshiping the god they want. Ultimately, Dr. King uses an assertive, frustrated tone when expressing his disappointment with the white church, leadership, and community. First, he explains what an unjust law versus a just law is: an unjust law is when the majority is greater than the minority, meaning that the law does not apply to the majority, and on the opposite side, a just law is when the majority and minority are equal, meaning the law applies to both

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