What law did Martin Luther King violate?

Southern police arrested civil rights protesters—including, on multiple occasions, King—for violating practically every criminal code provision: disturbing the peace, marching without a permit, violating picketing or boycott laws, trespassing, engaging in criminal libel and conspiracy.

How did MLK justify breaking the law?

One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust.

What laws did MLK change?

King’s actions helped pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The law ended the legal separation of people by race in public places. The act also banned job discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion or national origin. King and other activists watched the president sign the law.

How does MLK distinguish just from unjust laws?

“A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law,” King responded.

What is Dr King’s perspective on laws?

In his letter, MLK asserts that while one has a legal and moral duty to obey just laws, “one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws,” for, referencing St. Augustine, “an unjust law is no law at all.” MLK refers to Aquinas for the principle that allows one to distinguish between an unjust law and a just one.

How long did it take for the Civil Rights Act to pass?

The House of Representatives debated H.R. 7152 for nine days, rejecting nearly 100 amendments designed to weaken the bill. It passed the House on February 10, 1964 after 70 days of public hearings, appearances by 275 witnesses, and 5,792 pages of published testimony.

Under what conditions does King say it is permissible to break the law?

Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” defends an odd position: You may morally break an unjust law IF you make no effort to evade the legal punishment for the unjust law you break.