MLK's "Letter from Birmingham Jail": Paraphrased Excerpt

Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) begins this section of "Letter from Birmingham Jail" by asking the question: what is the difference between a law that is considered just, and a law that is considered unjust? What are the criteria against which a law is to be judged? Man deems a law to be just if it aligns with moral or divine law. Conversely, a law is unjust if it is not found to align with moral or divine law. To emphasize this point, MLK quotes St. Thomas Aquinas, who said, "An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law." Laws that impart a positive influence on human character should be considered just, while unjust laws serve as the antithesis; they weaken human character.

To this effect, segregation statues can be accurately categorized as unjust, because they reflect the weakness of character and result in the degradation of humankind as a whole. This degradation is rooted in the fact that such statues cast widespread societal delusion. Those passing the laws believe that they have the right to do so based on their own supremacy—a falsehood that is transferred on to those who are afflicted by segregation. It is because of these laws that man then operates according to a baseless fallacy, one that results in the debasement of other human beings to the point that they are no longer treated as such. Segregation is therefore unjust, as it does not align with moral or divine law. Martin Luther King Jr. concludes by stating that, to this end, he is justified in encouraging men to be complicit to "the 1954 decision of the SupremeCourt." Additionally, because segregation ordinances are unjust—at odds with moral and divine law—he advises that men defy them.

Work Cited

King Jr., Martin Luther. Letter from Birmingham jail. Philadelphia: American Friends Service Committee, 1963. Print.