Please read two documents, which are available in the “Articles & Videos for Discussion” tab:
(1) Public Statement by Eight Alabama Clergymen, in which eight clergymen denounce Martin Luther King, Jr.
organizing a nonviolent resistance campaign to challenge public segregation in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963
(2) Letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s response, written in jail after being arrested for en
protest, in which he justifies the use of civil resistance.
Then please respond to the following questions:
(1) On what grounds do the clergymen denounce nonviolent resistance? Does MLK adequately justify the use
nonviolent resistance? On what grounds?
(2) Are MLK’s justifications for the use of nonviolent resistance relevant today? Why or why not?
(3) MLK describes two types of law, just and unjust. How does he define each? Can you give examples in the
unjust laws that you feel a moral obligation to disobey?
Sample Solution
