Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sermon - But If Not

As the prominent leader of the civil rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. constantly preached and espoused the doctrine of civil disobedience.  This doctrine teaches the principle of disobeying civil authorities and laws which conflict with the higher law of God and His sovereignty.  King did this to encourage peaceful protest against the unjust laws of our nation, laws that promoted racial discrimination and segregation. 

In later years, King applied this doctrine in his protest against America's involvement in the Vietnam War, a war which he felt was being fought on unjust and immoral grounds.  Of course, Dr. King's pacifist stance on the war brought him into further disfavor with the status quo.  Nevertheless, Dr. King's advocacy for the cause of civil rights and equal treatment for all citizens regardless of race, creed or color stands unimpugned.