Summary of Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail".
Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" strives to rationalize the desperate need for nonviolent direct action, the absolute immorality of unjust laws together with what a just law is, as well as, the increasing probability of the "Negro" resorting to extreme disorder and bloodshed, in addition to his utter disappointment with the Church who, in his opinion, has not lived up to their responsibilities as people of God. King's justification to the eight clergymen for protesting segregation begins with a profound explanation of their actions, "Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue". The actions of the Negro people are overdue and very planned as King explains. Their quest is to force the white politicians to negotiate and actually heed the request for desegregation. King explains past promises have been broken by the politicians and merchants of Birmingham and now is the time to fulfill the natural right of all people to be treated equal. Merchants negotiated to remove racial signs from some stores but promises by merchants were not kept. In order to bring about negotiation direct action had to be used. Violence is not what King wants; he simply wants unjust laws to change and the Supreme Court 1954 ruling to be upheld.
King describing two types of laws, just laws and unjust laws. King goes into great detail defining his versions of just and unjust laws. "Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust". After establishing his reasoning, King defends his actions by pointing out that when he and the others broke laws they believed to be unjust, they did it "openly, lovingly" and accepted all penalties. King reasons that a person breaking an unjust law that willingly accepts punishment in order to inform the community about the issue is actually showing great respect for the law.
