Dr. Martin Luther King's Letter From Birmingham Jail

Letter from Birmingham Jail

Why was I arrested in Birmingham? Dr. Martin Luther King wrote this letter after being arrested and during his imprisonment in a Birmingham Jail for participating in a peaceful march without a city permit. This letter was created because of eight white religious leaders of the south expressing their concerns and cautions for his method of a nonviolent expression of inequality. The march was brought to light unfair racial practices against Negros. Since the founding of America, slavery has existed with slow improvements over time. The major improvements have been accomplished by peaceful public demonstrations rather than violent exercises. Dr. King believed in a peaceful approach to changing the minds of community leader’s was smarter than a violent physical exhibition that resulted in death, injury, and increased hatred and resentment between all parties. He had learned and experienced that meeting with community leaders to discuss and resolve problems resulting in
While the 1954 Supreme court decision outlining segregation in public schools improved because of the “Law’ and not because of “moral” acceptance. Dr. King is specific in describing two types of laws: the just laws, and unjust laws. Dr. King referred to St. Augustine that “an unjust law is no law at all”. He connected just laws to moral law or the law of God. He described an unjust law as a man-made code that does not kinship or is out of harmony with the moral law rooted in eternal or natural law. King makes the difference clear by describing an unjust law as not binding on the majority of people or itself. The majority follows a just law and minority as well, equal and distributed