Martin Luther King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail”
“… what else can one do when he is alone in a narrow jail cell, other than write long letters, think long thoughts and pray long prayers?” – Martin Luther King Jr., 16 April 1963
Martin Luther King’s 1963 “Letter from Birmingham Jail” remains a classic document of the Civil Rights movement and is certainly an appropriate read for Martin Luther King Day.
The “Letter” is a response to a public statement of criticism of MLK’s methods of protest and resistance. In defense of a policy of non-violent resistance, King suggests that one is morally bound to resist unjust laws; indeed, drawing on the likes of Augustine, he wants to suggest that “an unjust law is no law at all.” The “Letter” was important enough to King for him to have included the full text in his book, Why We Can’t Wait.
“Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.”