Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.

As I reflect today on the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and the progress America still needs to undertake, I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes from MLK, which goes, “One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” As someone in the legal field, this quote, in particular, has always struck a chord with me. As someone who is fascinated by and adores studying law, this quote reminds me that the study of law is far from black and white.

It seems unbelievable to think that gay marriage wasn’t legal in all 50 states until the 2015 Supreme Court case. How could it be that such a glaring inequality was not amended in our courts until 2015? It wasn’t until the early 2000s that protests for legalization started to catch the public’s attention. Now, I have to wonder what laws will be passed or struck down years from now that future lawyers will look back and ask, “How could that have ever been so?”

If you would like to learn more about the history of inequality in the American legal system, I cannot recommend the book Just Mercy enough. Bryan Stevenson, a Harvard educated Lawyer, who travels to Montgomery, Alabama to work pro bono for poor clients, many of whom are on death row. If you are not a reader, his memoir was turned into a film as well.