Letter from Birmingham Jail

Explore 7 quotes from Letter from Birmingham Jail

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Letter from Birmingham Jail

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Topic

Interconnectedness of all people Injustice

Author

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Source

Letter from Birmingham Jail

Medium

Open letter Letter

Language

English

Time

1963 1960s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

King, Martin Luther, Jr. "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." 16 Apr. 1963.

Current Citation

King, Martin Luther, Jr. "Letter from a Birmingham City Jail (1963)." A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches, edited by James M. Washington. HarperOne, 2003.

One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Letter from Birmingham Jail

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More information about this quote

Topic

Civil disobedience Breaking the law Fighting injustice

Author

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Source

Letter from Birmingham Jail

Medium

Open letter Letter

Language

English

Time

1963 1960s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

King, Martin Luther, Jr. "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." 16 Apr. 1963.

Current Citation

King, Martin Luther, Jr. "Letter from a Birmingham City Jail (1963)." A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches, edited by James M. Washington. HarperOne, 2003.

I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Letter from Birmingham Jail

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Read the Letter From a Birmingham Jail at upenn.edu

More information about this quote

Topic

Civil disobedience Breaking the law Fighting injustice

Author

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Source

Letter from Birmingham Jail

Medium

Open letter Letter

Language

English

Time

1963 1960s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

King, Martin Luther, Jr. "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." 16 Apr. 1963.

Current Citation

King, Martin Luther, Jr. "Letter from a Birmingham City Jail (1963)." A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches, edited by James M. Washington. HarperOne, 2003.

"Wait" has almost always meant "Never."

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Letter from Birmingham Jail

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Read the Letter From a Birmingham Jail at upenn.edu

More information about this quote

Topic

Civil rights Social progress Political progress Progress Politics

Author

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Source

Letter from Birmingham Jail

Medium

Open letter Letter

Language

English

Time

1963 1960s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

King, Martin Luther, Jr. "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." 16 Apr. 1963.

Current Citation

King, Martin Luther, Jr. "Letter from a Birmingham City Jail (1963)." A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches, edited by James M. Washington. HarperOne, 2003.

There are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Letter from Birmingham Jail

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Read the Letter From a Birmingham Jail at upenn.edu

More information about this quote

Topic

Civil disobedience Law Justice Legal theory Moral theory

Author

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Source

Letter from Birmingham Jail

Medium

Open letter Letter

Genre

Political literature

Language

English

Time

1963 1960s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

King, Martin Luther, Jr. "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." 16 Apr. 1963.

Current Citation

King, Martin Luther, Jr. "Letter from a Birmingham City Jail (1963)." A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches, edited by James M. Washington. HarperOne, 2003.

We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was "legal" and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was "illegal."

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Letter from Birmingham Jail

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More information about this quote

Topic

Legality and morality

Author

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Source

Letter from Birmingham Jail

Medium

Open letter Letter

Language

English

Time

1963 1960s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

King, Martin Luther, Jr. "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." 16 Apr. 1963.

Current Citation

King, Martin Luther, Jr. "Letter from a Birmingham City Jail (1963)." A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches, edited by James M. Washington. HarperOne, 2003.

The Negro's great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Councillor or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Letter from Birmingham Jail

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Read the Letter From a Birmingham Jail at upenn.edu

More information about this quote

Topic

Civil rights Political compromise American politics

Author

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Source

Letter from Birmingham Jail

Medium

Open letter Letter

Language

English

Time

1963 1960s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

King, Martin Luther, Jr. "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." 16 Apr. 1963.

Current Citation

King, Martin Luther, Jr. "Letter from a Birmingham City Jail (1963)." A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches, edited by James M. Washington. HarperOne, 2003.