Letter From A Birmingham Jail By Martin Luther King Jr.

In 1891, Irish author Oscar Wilde observed, “Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is man’s original virtue, it is through disobedience that progress has been made, through disobedience and through rebellion.” I believe that this rings true, because most, if not all, social progression that has been made throughout the course of American history, has been a result of rebellion, usually against something that a group of people felt was unfair. A prime example of this is Martin Luther King Jr. He was, at the time, seen as disobedient in the eyes of the law, but as a result, made major progress for African Americans. Martin Luther King Jr. was disobedient in terms of laws he felt were unjust, and led an African American rebellion against them. His rebellion helped to make major social progress, especially for this race of people. In his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, King says, “In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; self purification; and direct action.” Later in the letter he includes that in
His leadership in various protests ultimately led to the passing of legislation against discrimination. He led the Montgomery Bus Boycott, in which he and many others spent time in jail, but the boycott was ultimately successful, as it ended discrimination against African Americans on this vital form of public transportation. King led the equal rights march in Washington D.C. in which his “I Have A Dream” speech gained national attention from people everywhere, including John F. Kennedy. It encouraged many across the nation, including the president himself, to support the movement for civil rights. Furthermore many laws to increase the equality of African Americans were passed during King’s era; these include: the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of