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  • 2023-01-16 (xsd:date)
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  • Is MLK's 'Disobey Unjust Laws' Quote Real? (en)
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  • One quote that commonly appears in memes with attribution to Martin Luther King Jr. reads, One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. In truth, yes, this is a real quote from King. Here are three of the many memes we found being posted on Facebook on the Martin Luther King Jr. Day federal holiday in January 2023: As can be seen in the last meme above, the quote is sometimes lengthened to show more of King's thoughts. It read, One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that 'an unjust law is no law at all.' This quote has been authenticated and referenced by a number of publishers and institutions, including The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute at Stanford University, and others. The quote from King was part of his letter known as Letter from Birmingham Jail, which he wrote on April 16, 1963. Brittanica.com told the story of King ending up in jail: Within the letter, King addressed it to, My Dear Fellow Clergymen. The relevant part of the letter that contained the quote is below. Readers can also listen to King read these five paragraphs from an audio recording that was posted to YouTube, beginning at the 16:31 mark: The Africa Center at the University of Pennsylvania published the letter in full on its website, as did a number of other websites. Note: The caption for King's mugshot from Gado and Getty Images said that the image had been digitally colorized using a modern process and that colors may not be period-accurate. (en)
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