One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, . . . and with a willingness to accept the penalty.

Martin Luther King Jr. wrote this line in 1963 in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” composed while he was imprisoned for participating in nonviolent demonstrations against segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. The letter responds to a public statement by eight white Alabama clergymen who criticized the protests as “unwise and untimely” and urged Black citizens to pursue change through the courts rather than direct action. King defends civil disobedience as a moral duty when laws are unjust, grounding his argument in Christian ethics, the American democratic tradition, and examples from history. The emphasis on acting openly and accepting punishment distinguishes principled nonviolent resistance from lawlessness.

The statement defines civil disobedience as a disciplined, ethical practice rather than mere defiance. To break an unjust law “openly” rejects secrecy and affirms accountability; to do so “lovingly” insists that the aim is reconciliation and the transformation of opponents, not humiliation or revenge. The willingness to accept the penalty underscores respect for the idea of law while exposing the injustice of particular statutes: suffering the consequences dramatizes the moral contradiction and can awaken public conscience. King’s formulation frames nonviolent protest as both a critique of unjust authority and a constructive appeal to a higher moral law.

1) “One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty.”
2) “One who breaks an unjust law must do it openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty.”
3) “One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the punishment.”