It would be a difficult task to find someone who has had more influence than Martin Luther King in initiating change within our nation. For the past few years, on Martin Luther King weekend, I have decided to read, “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” arguably his most famous written works. The letter was penned in response to criticism he received from eight white clergymen who released a public statement denouncing King's peaceful resistance entitled, “A Call for Unity” in which they denounced King’s efforts arguing that the Civil Rights Movement should be fought in the courtroom.
The letter is a beautiful and well-articulated argument toward non-violent protest in the face of injustice. I am always particularly moved toward the end of the letter by King's indictment of a church sitting idly by as freedom is assaulted. Unfortunately his words seem as relevant today as they did when the letter was first written.
Below, in bold, I have pulled 5 quotes I find to be both challenging and moving. Beneath each quote is the entire paragraph from which they were pulled. If you haven’t read the letter in its’ entirety, you certainly should and can find it by clicking the button below...
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
"I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider."
"Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection. "
"I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the last few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizens Councillor or the Ku Klux Klanner but the white moderate who is more devoted to order than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says, "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can't agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically feels that he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by the myth of time; and who constantly advises the Negro to wait until a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection."
"We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people."
"I had also hoped that the white moderate would reject the myth of time. I received a letter this morning from a white brother in Texas which said, "All Christians know that the colored people will receive equal rights eventually, but is it possible that you are in too great of a religious hurry? It has taken Christianity almost 2000 years to accomplish what it has. The teachings of Christ take time to come to earth." All that is said here grows out of a tragic misconception of time. It is the strangely irrational notion that there is something in the very flow of time that will inevitably cure all ills. Actually, time is neutral. It can be used either destructively or constructively. I am coming to feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than the people of good will. We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people. We must come to see that human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts and persistent work of men willing to be coworkers with God, and without this hard work time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation."
“...all too many others have been more cautious than courageous and have remained silent behind the anesthetizing security of stained-glass windows."
"I had the strange feeling when I was suddenly catapulted into the leadership of the bus protest in Montgomery several years ago that we would have the support of the white church. I felt that the white ministers, priests, and rabbis of the South would be some of our strongest allies. Instead, some few have been outright opponents, refusing to understand the freedom movement and misrepresenting its leaders; all too many others have been more cautious than courageous and have remained silent behind the anesthetizing security of stained-glass windows."
“But now I must affirm that it is just as wrong, or even more, to use moral means to preserve immoral ends."
"I'm sorry that I can't join you in your praise for the police department. Letter From Birmingham Jail. It is true that they have been rather disciplined in their public handling of the demonstrators. In this sense they have been publicly "nonviolent." But for what purpose? To preserve the evil system of segregation. Over the last few years I have consistently preached that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek. So I have tried to make it clear that it is wrong to use immoral means to attain moral ends. But now I must affirm that it is just as wrong, or even more, to use moral means to preserve immoral ends."