Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Letter from Birmingham Jail or Letter from Birmingham City Jail, is an open letter written on April 16, 1963, by Martin Luther King, Jr., an American civil rights leader. An open letter is a letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience or a letter intended for an individual but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally Events 1178 BC - A Solar eclipse may have marked the return of Odysseus, legendary King of Ithaca, to his kingdom Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Martin Luther King Jr ( January 15, 1929 April 4, 1968) was an American clergyman, Activist and prominent leader The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968 refers to the reform movements in the United States aimed at abolishing racial discrimination against African King wrote the letter from the city jail in Birmingham, Alabama, where he was confined after being arrested for his part in a non-violent protest conducted against segregation. Birmingham (ˈbɝmɪŋhæm is the largest City in the US state of Alabama and is the County seat of Jefferson County. Alabama (formally the State of Alabama;) is a State located in the southern region of the United States of America.

King's letter is a response to a statement made by eight white Alabama clergymen on April 12, 1963, titled "A Call For Unity". Events 467 - Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. " A Call For Unity " was a letter written on April 12, 1963 by eight white clergymen local to Birmingham, Alabama and published The clergymen agreed that social injustices existed but argued that the battle against racial segregation should be fought solely in the courts, not in the streets. King responded that without forceful direct actions such as his, true civil rights could never be achieved. Direct action is political action which happens outside normal political channels via indirect actions such as electing representatives. As he put it, "This 'Wait' has almost always meant 'Never. '" He asserted that not only was civil disobedience justified in the face of unjust laws, but that "one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. Civil disobedience is the active refusal to obey certain Laws demands and commands of a Government, or of an occupying power, without resorting to physical "

The letter was first published as "Letter from Birmingham Jail" in the June 12, 1963, edition of The Christian Century,^[1] and in the June 24, 1963, issue of The New Leader. Events 1381 - Peasants' Revolt: in England, rebels arrive at Blackheath. Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Christian Century is a Christian Magazine based in Chicago, Illinois. Events 972 - Battle of Cedynia, the first documented victory of Polish forces takes place Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The New Leader is a political and cultural Magazine begun in 1924 by a group of figures associated with the Socialist Party of America, including It was reprinted shortly thereafter in The Atlantic Monthly. The Atlantic (formerly known as The Atlantic Monthly) is an American Magazine founded in Boston in 1857 King included the full text in his 1964 book Why We Can't Wait.

The letter includes the famous statement "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," as well as the words of Thurgood Marshall quoted by King: "[J]ustice too long delayed is justice denied. Thurgood Marshall ( July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American Jurist and the first African American "

References

1. ^ Reprinted in Reporting Civil Rights, Part One - (page 777- 794) - American Journalism 1941 - 1963. The Library of America

External links

• Letter from Birmingham Jail pdf format
• "Statement by Alabama Clergymen", referred to above as "Call for Unity"
• Letter from Birmingham Jail article at BhamWiki. com