Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Instead of doing what I normally do and make fun of white people today I'm going to take some time to share some intellect and deliver more of a positive message.  Unfortunately, I went to Public school and in public school all that is really covered about African American History is Harriet Tubman, Abe Lincoln, and Dr. King's "I Have A Dream" speech.  However, in college I signed up for any and every class on African American History and Literature because I knew I was missing something.  This post is for those that feel as though they are missing something.

In the next few paragraphs I will provide you with text directly taken from "The Norton Anthology of African American Literature" by Henry Louis Gates Jr. (one of my prized books from college) about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his "Letter From Birmingham Jail" (remember that?)

"Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was written in 1963 while King was serving a jail sentence for participating in demonstations in Birmingham, Alabama.  The eloquent testimony was in large part a response to eight white "liberal" Alabama clergymen who had collectively drafted an open letter early in 1963 that addressed King's particular engagement in the civil rights movement.  They entreated with King to limit his battle for integration to local and federal courts and cautioned him that his peaceful/pacifist resistance could serve to incite further civil disturbance and rioting.  Dr. King wanted to suggest to such critics that a Christianity that in any way sanctioned racial oppression and prejudice was morally bankrupt and that the demands of the gospel transcended the social mores of the South.

The title of the piece (which was written on scraps of paper provided to King by the jail's black trustees) was chosen to evoke the memory of the apostle Paul, who was jailed many times for the sake of Jesus.  In 1956, Dr. King had preached a sermon titled "Paul's Letter to American Christians."  This sermon contained most of the points found in his own "letter" including the central tenet that the segregation contradicted America's democratic faith and religious heritage.

"Letters from Birmingham Jail" was instrumental in galvanizing U.S. public opinion around issues of black civil rights. King himself believed that it was indispensable in helping him and others to conceptualise the 1963 March on Washington and that is influenced the legislation that allowed the 1963 Civil Rights Bill to come into being.  The Letter was widely circulated by the national and international media; not surprisingly, it shook the conscience of the United States.

With the publication of the "Letter from Birmingham Jail" came an enormous outpouring of support for the civil rights struggle from myriad organizations and individuals.  Finances were suddenly available, and coalitions of a new type were forged.  For instance, soon after absorbing the import of the letter, the leadership of the National Council of Churches urged its thirty-one member denominations to initiate "nationwide organizations against racial discrimination." -Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Quotes from "Letters From Birmingham Jail" by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

"In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collections of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purifications; and direct action."

"But I must confess that I am not afraid of the word "tension".  I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth."

"We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed."

"We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was "legal" and everything in the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was "illegal."  It was "illegal" to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany.  Even so, I am sure that had I lived in Germany at the time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers."

"I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and that when they fail i this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress."

"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 starts of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nations with all their scintillating beauty."

I encourage and challenge you to learn something new about the man that took a chance on this country.  He may not be here today to see what he has done, but we can thank him by actually remembering his work instead of sleeping in and getting an excuse not to go to our job.  Come Get Your Kids and sit them down and tell them the story of a man that had a dream but didn't live long enough to see it come true.