Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter From Birmingham Jail

In a land that promises life, liberty, and prosperity, the spirit of the African American people had been ridiculed and relentlessly robbed of these freedoms as exposed in Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter From Birmingham Jail. Even though our Founding Fathers established these rights to all of the people in 1787 and slavery had been abolished in 1865, a negro’s life did not fall under this covenant of freedom. Hostility and intolerance plagued these times, and someone needed to put an end to the oppression. Too much scarlet red had oozed out of the lives of innocent negro men, women, and children. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of those individuals who rose up and fought for justice and freedom. His letter, Letter From Birmingham Jail, paints
As King wrote, “One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty” (King 3). Most people agree with this statement. Here, King explained the correct way to go about an unjust law. He stated that when a law is unjust, it must be broken for the sake of the good. He also mentioned that everyone must take responsibility for his or her actions, and everyone must also do this in a nonviolent manner. With this said, society must also support these protestors. “Society must protect the robbed, and punish the robber” (King 4). This is yet another statement from King that screams logic. Unfortunately, parts of society back then did not possess the logical capacity to comprehend this concept. In the days when segregation ran rapidly, society decided to throw innocent African American victims away in a putrid jail cell while allowing the real criminals to walk freely. King saw the major flaw in this logic, and marked it down in his letter. In sum, he insisted that society should assist those in need, and punish those who harm others in the name of