King also claims that he, Reverend Shuttlesworth and other activists negotiated in good faith with Birmingham`s public and private authorities, only to see that the agreements were betrayed. Among the commentaries that most dramatically frame the tension between law and justice are Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.`s „Letter from Birmingham Jail“ (1963), one of the most famous writings of the Second Reconstruction, and subsequent criticisms from jurists, including future Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell. Jr. „A Lawyer Looks at Civil Disobedience“ (1966). Interestingly, despite Powell`s rejection of King`s argument that action should be based on a „higher moral law,“ the protests undertaken by King`s movement did not contradict federal law. Many observers link the theory of civil disobedience that King put forward in the letter to the entire direct action of the civil rights movement. However, Burke Marshall usefully noted that racial dissidents who opposed Jim Crowism after 1954 most often acted not against the law, but with it. They may have resisted local segregationist orders, but they usually did so with the support of a higher legal authority – the Federal Constitution. For example, there have been many arrests by sit-ins. However, convictions were often overturned when appellate courts found that local police had acted erroneously under federal constitutional law. The protest program, Marshall notes, generally included „nothing that was illegal in the last sense.“ Participants expected to be arrested and imprisoned.

But they did not expect it because they intended to break constitutional laws. They generally acted under federal constitutional law, and their legal prognosis was often correct. Notes: This quote was not found in Thomas Jefferson`s papers. It has been suggested that this is a paraphrase of Jefferson`s statement in the Declaration of Independence: Whenever any form of government destroys these goals, it is the right of the people to change or abolish them and install a new government. „, although such a paraphrase seems to remove some radical liberties with the original version. The quote is much more similar to Martin Luther King Jr.`s comment in his famous letter from Birmingham Prison: „One has not only a legal but also a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. [1] Powell had ample opportunity to condemn racial segregation and other manifestations of racial abuse.

He was a nationally renowned statesman-lawyer; From 1952 to 1961, he was president of the Richmond Board of Education and president of the American Bar Association. He could speak on many issues. However, Powell was reluctant to condemn white supremacism. While he noted, for example, that Southern legislators and officials may have initially flouted the law by refusing court-ordered school integration, this observation is only a passing digression. Powell`s main point was that the United States, for all its faults, is a democracy that morally justifies the obedience of all its citizens, including blacks. Martin Luther King Jr. is a symbol of peace, justice and non-violence, but it is often misquoted, misunderstood and invoked for nefarious purposes that have nothing to do with its legacy. While many like to talk about King`s „dream“ and his commitment to peace, part of remembering him is understanding his belief that society has a responsibility to disobey unjust laws. And right now, we in America have become the land of unjust laws and policies — from suppressing voters to banning race and racism. As for the claim that the SCLC`s disruptive protests were „extreme“ measures, King boldly takes the charges: Martin Luther King Jr.[3] referred to Augustine and Thomas Aquinas in Letter from Birmingham Jail, saying that Jim Crow`s laws were unjust and should be avoided to justify his justification of the goodness of civil disobedience.

Thomas Aquinas says that disobedience itself should not harm or lead people to evil. He refers to Isaiah, who declares that it is always permissible to avoid oppression. „. The weather is neutral. It can be used in a destructive or constructive way. More and more, I have the impression that the sick have used time much more effectively than people of good will. We will have to repent in this generation, not only for the hateful words and actions of bad people, but also for the horrible silence of good people. Human progress never rolls on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of people who are willing to be co-workers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation. We need to use time creatively, knowing that now is always the time to do the right thing.

Internationally, he referred to Germany, writing: „We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was `legal.` It was „illegal“ to help and comfort a Jew in Hitler`s Germany. First, King denied his allegation that he was an intruder, pointing out that his Southern Christian Leadership Conference had a branch in Birmingham and that it was indeed the head of that branch, the Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, who had invited King to the city.