One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a…

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Open letter · Letter

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 · 1963

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Other tags relating to this quote

Topic

Civil disobedience Breaking the law Fighting injustice

Medium

Open letter Letter

Time

1963

Person

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Provenance

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.

Original citation

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

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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.

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Laws were made to be broken.

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Non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as is cooperation with good. But in the past, non-cooperation has been deliberately expressed in violence to the evildoer. I am endeavoring to show to my countrymen that violent non-cooperation only multiples evil and that evil can only be sustained by violence.

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I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

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I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low; the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

I Have a Dream · 1963

Another quote byPerson·Martin Luther King, Jr.

One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to… — Martin Luther King, Jr.

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