{"id":1450,"date":"2025-11-23T13:22:32","date_gmt":"2025-11-23T18:22:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-introduction-to-american-government-artinian\/?page_id=1450"},"modified":"2025-11-23T13:22:38","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T18:22:38","slug":"module-13-should-the-law-be-always-observed-mlks-letter-from-birmingham-jail","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0501-fall-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/module-13-should-the-law-be-always-observed-mlks-letter-from-birmingham-jail\/","title":{"rendered":"Module 13 &#8211; Should the law be always obeyed? &#8211; MLK&#8217;s &#8220;Letter from Birmingham Jail&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Lesson 13.1 &#8211; Martin Luther King &#8211; &#8220;Letter from Birmingham Jail&#8221;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">People should always obey the law, in a given society, right? Well, Martin Luther King thought that the answer to this questions is more complicated than that, the answer is determined by a person&#8217;s <em>politics<\/em> and their ethical makeup. He asks this question, and we&#8217;ll read his answer in this classic text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">WATCH &#8211; Lesson 13.1. Intro Video<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"POL 100 (OL) Module 13 Intro Video\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/SKEtrAbaYVg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">READ &#8211; Reading 13.1 &#8211; &#8220;Letter from Birmingham Jail&#8221;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here is the letter itself. Read it carefully, then answer the study-practice questions below it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div data-wp-interactive=\"core\/file\" class=\"wp-block-file\"><object data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!state.hasPdfPreview\" hidden class=\"wp-block-file__embed\" data=\"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0501-fall-2024-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3884\/2024\/11\/1605372512-1963_MLK_Letter_Abridged.pdf\" type=\"application\/pdf\" style=\"width:100%;height:600px\" aria-label=\"Embed of 1605372512-1963_MLK_Letter_Abridged.\"><\/object><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-7d3a295a-40ce-4c28-a5c0-f50753e26a1e\" href=\"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0501-fall-2024-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3884\/2024\/11\/1605372512-1963_MLK_Letter_Abridged.pdf\">1605372512-1963_MLK_Letter_Abridged<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0501-fall-2024-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3884\/2024\/11\/1605372512-1963_MLK_Letter_Abridged.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-7d3a295a-40ce-4c28-a5c0-f50753e26a1e\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">COMPLETE &#8211; Module 13 Response Paper<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our Response Paper this module has a number of important review questions, which will prepare our Discussion Board conversation. After reading the letter, do you best to carefully and accurately answer the following questions related to the letter, some of which will appear on the second exam:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">1. Who is MLK writing this letter to?<br>2. Why is he writing the letter?<br>3. How do you understand the sentence: \u201cInjustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.\u201d Do you agree\/disagree? Provide an example.<br>4. Briefly describe the four basic steps in a non-violent campaign.<br>5. What does nonviolent action seek to achieve?<br>6. Define just and unjust laws. How can you tell the difference between the two? Can you think of an example of an unjust law? A just law?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><mark style=\"background-color:#000000\" class=\"has-inline-color has-white-color\">Submit the paper with your answers by clicking on the link below:<\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/request\/poRCVqHs0WxZVXpkCddz\">https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/request\/poRCVqHs0WxZVXpkCddz<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">WRITE &#8211; Discussion Board 13.1<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, let&#8217;s move on to our discussion forum for this module:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-pale-cyan-blue-color has-text-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0501-fall-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/2025\/11\/23\/discussion-board-13\/\">Click here to go to Discussion Board 13.1<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lesson 13.1 &#8211; Martin Luther King &#8211; &#8220;Letter from Birmingham Jail&#8221; People should always obey the law, in a given society, right? Well, Martin Luther King thought that the answer to this questions is more complicated than that, the answer is determined by a person&#8217;s politics and their ethical makeup. He asks this question, and&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":185,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"portfolio_post_id":0,"portfolio_citation":"","portfolio_annotation":"","openlab_post_visibility":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1450","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0501-fall-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0501-fall-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0501-fall-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0501-fall-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/185"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0501-fall-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1450"}],"version-history":[{"count":33,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0501-fall-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12117,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0501-fall-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1450\/revisions\/12117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0501-fall-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}