ter all, clergymen, and he has justified
By the fifth paragraph, he has stopped trying to use rhetorical
devices, and is well into stating the cold hard facts about the injustice
of Birmingham. He states facts that were obvious to his audience, but they
were unwilling to admit to themselves. Amongst them were the fact that
"Birmingham [was] probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the
United States.", and that "Its ugly record of brutality [was] widely
known." Not only that, but that "Negroes [had] experienced grossly unjust
treatment in the courts. There [had] been more unsolved bombings of Negro
homes and churches in Birmingham than in any other city in the
nation.".These are the main point of the letter, the injustices that King
He goes on to explain how he could understand how they might be
upset their " . . . willingness to break laws. This is certainly a
legitimate concern.". By saying so, he has express a concern that he really
does care about what they think. So, he goes on to explain that " . . .
there are two types of laws: just and unjust." He also explains that he " .
. . 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.". The
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