Letter From Biringham Jail

In the essay "Letter from Birmingham Jail," Martin Luther King Jr., the foremost leader of American civil rights and an ordained minister with a Ph.D., strives to justify the need for nonviolent direct action in order to end all forms of segregation and helping the civil rights movement. King wrote there are unjust laws and just laws. He believes segregation laws were unjust because it damages the personality and makes African American lives below the standards given to them by the Constitution. The author believes just laws to be laws that are for everybody and it positively affects the group. King's letter was in response to his fellow clergyman's (eight of them) statement that breaking the law is not how to achieve equality. The author countered that one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. King had hoped that the white moderates would accept the equality of African American people with white society. The author writes this letter to persuade his clergymen to remain strong and keep fighting to end racism and prejudice.

Martin Luther King Jr. was sent to prison for having a direct action parade and protest in order to advance the Civil Rights Movement. The author wrote this letter to his clergymen in order to make them understand that they were breaking unjust laws that needed to be changed, especially after the Supreme Court decision that ended segregation. King wanted everybody to understand that this decision had to be upheld. I believe King's actions truly reflect his belief that all people should be equal. King's actions also show his commitment to the movement and the fact that this man was a leader.