From: "Saved by Windows Internet Explorer 8" Subject: Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King, Jr., 1963 Date: Tue, 22 Mar 2011 16:31:27 -0700 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://www.h-net.org/~hst306/documents/letter.html X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.1.7600.16543
Courtesy The King Center, Atlanta, Ga.=20
My Dear Fellow Clergymen:=20
While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your = recent=20 statement calling present activities "unwise and untimely." Seldom do I = pause to=20 answer criticism of my work and ideas. If I sought to answer all the = criticisms=20 that cross my desk, my secretaries would have little time for anything = other=20 than such correspondence in the course of the day, and I would have no = time for=20 constructive work. But since I feel that you are men of genuine good = will and=20 that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to answer = your=20 statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms.=20
I think I should indicate why I am here in Birmingham, since you have = been=20 influenced by the view which argues against "outsiders coming in." I = have the=20 honor of serving as President of the Southern Christian Leadership = Conference,=20 an organization operating in every southern state, with headquarters in = Atlanta,=20 Georgia. We have some eighty-five affiliated organizations across the = South, and=20 one of them is the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights. = Frequently we=20 share staff, educational and financial resources with our affiliates. = Several=20 months ago the affiliate here in Birmingham asked us to be on call to = engage in=20 a nonviolent direct-action program if such were deemed necessary. We = readily=20 consented, and when the hour came we lived up to our promise. So I, = along with=20 several members of my staff, am here because I was invited here. I am = here=20 because I have organizational ties here.=20
But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. = Just as the=20 prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried = their "thus=20 saith the Lord" far beyond the boundaries of their home towns, and just = as the=20 Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus = Christ=20 to the far corners of the Greco-Roman world, so am I compelled to carry = the=20 gospel of freedom beyond my own home town. Like Paul, I must constantly = respond=20 to the Macedonian call for aid.=20
Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities = and=20 states. I cannot sit idly in Atlanta and not be concerned about what = happens in=20 Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are = caught=20 in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of = destiny.=20 Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can = we afford=20 to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who = lives=20 inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere = within its=20 bounds.=20
You deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham. But your=20 statement, I am sorry to say, fails so express a similar concern for the = conditions that brought about the demonstrations. I am sure that none of = you=20 would want to rest content with the superficial kind of social analysis = that=20 deals merely with effects and does not grapple with underlying causes. = It is=20 unfortunate that demonstrations are taking place in Birmingham, but it = is even=20 more unfortunate that the city's white power structure left the Negro = community=20 with no alternative.=20
In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of = the=20 facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; = selfpurification; and=20 direct action. We have gone through all these steps in Birmingham. There = can be=20 no gain saying the fact that racial injustice engulfs this community. = Birmingham=20 is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States. = Its ugly=20 record of brutality is widely known. Negroes have experienced grossly = unjust=20 treatment in the courts. There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro = homes=20 and churches in Birmingham that in any other city in the nation. These = are the=20 hard, brutal facts of the case. On the basis of these conditions, Negro = leaders=20 sought to negotiate with the city fathers. But the latter consistently = refused=20 to engage in good-faith negotiation.=20
Then, last September, came the opportunity to talk with leaders of=20 Birmingham's economic community. In the course of the negotiations, = certain=20 promises were made by the merchants -- for example, to remove the = stores'=20 humiliating racial signs. On the basis of these promises, the Reverend = Fred=20 Shuttlesworth and the leaders of the Alabama Christian Movement for = Human Rights=20 agreed to a moratorium on all demonstrations. As the weeks and months = went by,=20 we realized that we were the victims of a broken promise. A few signs, = briefly=20 removed, returned; the others remained.=20
As in so many past experiences, our hopes had been blasted, and the = shadow of=20 deep disappointment settled upon us. We had no alternative except to = prepare for=20 direct action, whereby we would present our very bodies as a means of = laying our=20 case before the conscience of the local and the national community. = Mindful of=20 the difficulties involved, we decided to undertake a process of=20 self-purification. We began a series of workshops on nonviolence, and we = repeatedly asked ourselves: "Are you able to accept blows without = retaliation?"=20 "are you able to endure the ordeal of jail?" We decided to schedule our=20 direct-action program for the Easter season, realizing that except for=20 Christmas, this is the main shopping period of the year. Knowing that a = strong=20 economicwithdrawal program would be the by-product of direct action, we = felt=20 that this would be the best time to bring pressure to bear on the = merchants for=20 the needed change.=20
Then it occurred to us that Birmingham's mayoralty election was = coming up in=20 March, and we speedily decided to postpone action until after election = day. When=20 we discovered that the Commissioner of Public Safety, Eugene "Bill" = Connor, had=20 piled up enough votes to be in the run-off, we decided again to postpone = action=20 until the day after the run-off so that the demonstrations could not be = used to=20 cloud the issues. Like many others, we waited to see Mr. Connor = defeated, and to=20 this end we endured postponement after postponement. Having aided in = this=20 community need, we felt that our direct-action program could be delayed = no=20 longer.=20
You may well ask: "Why direct action? Why sit-ins, marches, and so = forth?=20 Isn't negotiation a better path?" You are quite right in calling for=20 negotiation. Indeed, this is the very purpose of direct action. = Nonviolent=20 direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension = that a=20 community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to = confront the=20 issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be = ignored. My=20 citing the creation of tension as part of the work of the = nonviolent-resister=20 may sound rather shocking. But I must confess that I am not afraid of = the word=20 "tension." I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type = of=20 constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth. Just as = Socrates=20 felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that = individuals=20 could rise from the bondage of myths and halftruths to the unfettered = realm of=20 creative analysis and objective appraisal, so must we see the need for=20 nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will = help men=20 rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic = heights of=20 understanding and brotherhood.=20
The purpose of our direct-action program is to create a situation so=20 crisis-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation. I = therefore=20 concur with you in your call for negotiation. Too long has our beloved = Southland=20 been bogged down in a tragic effort to live in monologue rather than = dialogue.=20
One of the basic points in your statement is that the action that I = and my=20 associates have taken in Birmingham is untimely. Some have asked: "Why = didn't=20 you give the new city administration time to act?" The only answer that = I can=20 give to this query is that the new Birmingham administration must be = prodded=20 about as much as the outgoing one, before it will act. We are sadly = mistaken if=20 we feel that the election of Albert Boutwell as mayor will bring the = millennium=20 to Birmingham. While Mr. Boutwell is a much more gentle person that Mr. = Connor,=20 they are both segregationists, dedicated to maintenance of the status = quo. I=20 have hoped that Mr. Boutwell will be reasonable enough to see the = futility of=20 massive resistance to desegregation. But he will not see this without = pressure=20 from devotees of civil rights. My friends, I must say to you that we = have not=20 made a single gain in civil rights without determined legal and = nonviolent=20 pressure. Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups = seldom=20 give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral = light and=20 voluntarily give up their unjust posture; but as Reinhold Niebuhr has = reminded=20 us, groups tend to be more immoral that individuals.=20
We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily = given by=20 the oppressor, it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet = to=20 engage in a direct-action campaign that was "well timed" in view of = those who=20 have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now = I have=20 heard the word "wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing=20 familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant "Never." We must come = to see,=20 with one of our distinguished jurists, that "justice too long delayed is = justice=20 denied."=20
We have waited for more that 340 years for our constitutional and = Godgiven=20 rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jetlike speed = toward=20 gaining political independence, but we still creep at horse-and-buggy = pace=20 toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter. Perhaps it is easy = for those=20 who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say, "Wait." = But when=20 you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and = drown your=20 sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen = curse,=20 kick, and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the = vast=20 majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight = cage of=20 poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when you suddenly find your = tongue=20 twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your = six-year-old=20 daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park that has just = been=20 advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she = is told=20 that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of=20 inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her = beginning to=20 distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward = white=20 people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five-year-old son who = is=20 asking, "Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?"; when = you=20 take a cross-country drive and find it necessary to sleep night after = night in=20 the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will = accept you;=20 when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading = "white" and=20 "colored" when your first name becomes "Nigger," your middle name = becomes "boy"=20 (however old you are) and your last name becomes "John," and your wife = and=20 mother are never given the respected title "Mrs."; when your are harried = by day=20 and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly = at=20 tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued = with=20 inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a = degenerating=20 sense of "nobodiness" then you will understand why we find it difficult = to wait.=20 There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no = longer=20 willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair. I hope, sirs, you can=20 understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience.=20
You express a great deal of anxiety over our willingness to break = laws. This=20 is certainly a legitimate concern. Since we so diligently urge people to = obey=20 the Supreme Court's decision of 1954 outlawing segregation in the public = schools, at first glance it may seem rather paradoxical for us = consciously to=20 break laws. One may ask: "How can you advocate breaking some laws and = obeying=20 others?" The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: = just and=20 unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not = only a=20 legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has = a moral=20 responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine = that "an=20 unjust law is no law at all."=20
Now, what is the difference between the two? How does one determine = whether a=20 law is just or unjust? A just law is a man-made code that squares with = the moral=20 law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of Harmony = with the=20 moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law = is a=20 human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law. Any law = that=20 uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human = personality is=20 unjust. All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts = the=20 soul and damages the personality. It gives the segregator a false sense = of=20 superiority and the segregated a false sense of inferiority. = Segregation, to use=20 the terminology of the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber, substitutes an = "I-it"=20 relationship for an "I-thou" relationship and ends up relegating persons = to the=20 status of things. Hence segregation is not only politically, = economically and=20 sociologically unsound, it is morally wrong and sinful. Paul Tillich has = said=20 that sin is separation. Is not segregation an existential expression of = man's=20 tragic separation, his awful estrangement, his terrible sinfulness? Thus = is it=20 that I can urge men to obey the 1954 decision of the Supreme Court, for = it is=20 morally right; and I can urge them to disobey segregation ordinances, = for they=20 are morally wrong.=20
Let us consider a more concrete example of just and unjust laws. An = unjust=20 law is a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a = minority group=20 to obey but does not make binding on itself. This is difference made = legal. By=20 the same token, a just law is a code that a majority compels a minority = to=20 follow and that it is willing to follow itself. This is sameness made = legal.=20
Let me give another explanation. A law is unjust if it is inflicted = on a=20 minority that, as a result of being denied the right to vote, had no = part in=20 enacting or devising the law. Who can say that the legislature of = Alabama which=20 set up that state's segregation laws was democratically elected? = Throughout=20 Alabama all sorts of devious methods are used to prevent Negroes from = becoming=20 registered voters, and there are some counties in which, even though = Negroes=20 constitute a majority of the population, not a single Negro is = registered. Can=20 any law enacted under such circumstances be considered democratically=20 structured?=20
Sometimes a law is just on its face and unjust in it's application. = For=20 instance, I have been arrested on a charge of parading without a permit. = Now,=20 there is nothing wrong in having an ordinance which requires a permit = for a=20 parade. But such an ordinance becomes unjust when it is used to maintain = segregation and to deny citizens the First-Amendment privilege of = peaceful=20 assembly and protest.=20
I hope you are able to see the distinction I am trying to point out. = In no=20 sense do I advocate evading or defying the law, as would the rabid=20 segregationist. That would lead to anarchy. One who breaks an unjust law = must do=20 so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty. I = submit that=20 an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and = who=20 willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the = conscience=20 of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the = highest=20 respect for law.=20
Of course, there is nothing new about this kind of civil = disobedience. It was=20 evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to = obey=20 the laws of Nebuchadnezzar, on the ground that a higher moral law was at = stake.=20 It was practiced superbly by the early Christians, who were willing to = face=20 hungry lions and the excruciating pain of chopping blocks rather than = submit to=20 certain unjust laws of the Roman Empire. To a degree, academic freedom = is a=20 reality today because Socrates practiced civil disobedience. In our own = nation,=20 the Boston Tea Party represented a massive act of civil disobedience.=20
We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany = was=20 "legal" and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was = "illegal." It was "illegal" to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's = Germany. 'Even=20 so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at the time, I would have = aided and=20 comforted my Jewish brothers. If today I lived in a Communist country = where=20 certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I would = openly=20 advocate disobeying that country's anti-religious laws.=20
I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish = brothers.=20 First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely=20 disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the = regrettable=20 conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward = freedom=20 is not the White Citizen's Councilor or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the = white=20 moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a = negative=20 peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the = presence=20 of justice; who constantly says, "I agree with you in the goal you seek, = but I=20 cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically = believes=20 he can set the timetable for another mans freedom; who lives by a = mythical=20 concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro the wait for a = "more=20 convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is = more=20 frustrating that absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. = Lukewarm=20 acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.=20
I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that law and = order exist=20 for the purpose of establishing justice and that when they fail in this = purpose=20 they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of = social=20 progress. I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that the = present=20 tension in the South is a necessary phase of the transition from an = obnoxious=20 negative peace, in which the Negro passively accepted his unjust plight, = to a=20 substantive and positive peace, in which all men will respect the = dignity and=20 worth of human personality. Actually, we who engage in nonviolent direct = action=20 are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the = hidden=20 tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open, where it can = be seen=20 and dealt with. Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is = covered up=20 but must be opened with all it ugliness to the natural medicines of air = and=20 light injustice must be exposed with all the tension its exposure = creates, to=20 the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion, before it = can be=20 cured.=20
In your statement you assert that our actions, even though peaceful, = must be=20 condemned because they precipitate violence. But is this a logical = assertion?=20 Isn't this like condemning a robbed man because his possession of money=20 precipitated the evil act of robbery? Isn't this like condemning = Socrates=20 because his unswerving commitment to truth and his philosophical = inquiries=20 precipitated the act by the misguided populace in which they made him = drink=20 hemlock? Isn't this like condemning Jesus because his unique = God-consciousness=20 and never-ceasing devotion to God's will precipitated the evil act of=20 crucifixion? We must come to see that, as the federal courts have = consistently=20 affirmed, it is wrong to urge an individual to cease his efforts to gain = his=20 basic constitutional rights because the quest may precipitate violence. = Society=20 must protect the robbed and punish the robber.=20
I had also hoped that the white moderate would reject the myth = concerning=20 time in relations to the struggle for freedom. I have just received a = letter=20 from a white brother in Texas. He writes: "All Christians know that the = colored=20 people will receive equal rights eventually, but it is possible that you = are in=20 too great a religious hurry. It has taken Christianity almost two = thousand years=20 to accomplish what it has. The teachings of Christ take time to come to = earth."=20 Such an attitude stems from a tragic misconception of time, from the = strangely=20 irrational notion that there is something in the very flow of time will=20 inevitably cure all ills. Actually, time itself is neutral; it can be = used=20 either destructively or constructively. More and more I feel that the = people of=20 ill will have used time much more effectively than have the people of = good will.=20 We will have to repent in the generation not merely for the hateful = words and=20 actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good = people.=20 Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes = through the=20 tireless efforts of men willing to be co-workers with God, and without = this hard=20 work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of stagnation. We must = use time=20 creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right. = Now is=20 the time to make real the promise of democracy and transform our pending = national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. Now is the time to = lift our=20 national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock = of=20 human dignity.=20
You speak of our activity in Birmingham as extreme. At first I was = rather=20 disappointed that fellow clergyman would see my nonviolent efforts as = those of=20 an extremist. I began thinking about the fact that I stand in the middle = of two=20 opposing forces in the Negro community. One is a force of complacency, = made up=20 in part of Negroes who, as a result of long years of oppression, are so = drained=20 of self-respect and a sense of "somebodiness" that they have adjusted to = segregation; and in part of a few middle-class Negroes who, because of a = degree=20 of academic and economic security and because in some ways they profit = by=20 segregation, have become insensitive to the problems of the masses. The = other=20 force is one of bitterness and hatred, and it comes perilously closed on = advocating violence. It is expressed in the various black nationalist = groups=20 that are springing up across the nation, the largest and best-known = being Elijah=20 Muhammad's Muslim movement. Nourished by the Negro's frustration over = the=20 continued existence of racial discrimination, this movement is made up = of people=20 who have lost faith in America, who have absolutely repudiated = Christianity, and=20 who have concluded that the white man is an incorrigible "devil."=20
I have tried to stand between these two forces, saying that we need = emulate=20 neither the "do-nothingism" of the complacent nor the hatred and despair = of the=20 black nationalist. For there is the more excellent way of love and = nonviolent=20 protest. I am grateful to God that, through the influence of the Negro = church,=20 the way of nonviolence became an integral part of our struggle.=20
If this philosophy had not emerged, by now many streets of the South = would, I=20 am convinced, be flowing with blood. And I am further convinced that if = our=20 white brothers dismiss as "rabble-rousers" and "outside agitators" those = of us=20 who employ nonviolent direct action, and if they refuse to support our=20 nonviolent efforts, millions of Negroes will, out of frustration and = despair,=20 seek solace and security in blacknationalist ideologies -- a development = that=20 would inevitably lead to a frightening racial nightmare.=20
Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for = freedom=20 eventually manifests itself, and that is what has happened to the = American=20 Negro. Something within has reminded him of his birthright of freedom, = and=20 something without has reminded him that it can be gained. Consciously or = unconsciously, he has been caught up by the Zeitgeist, and with his = black=20 brothers of Africa and his brown and yellow brothers of Asia, South = America, and=20 the Caribbean, the United States Negro is moving with a sense of great = urgency=20 toward the promised land of racial justice. If one recognizes this vital = urge=20 that has engulfed the Negro community, one should readily understand why = public=20 demonstrations are taking place. The Negro has many pent-up resentments = and=20 latent frustrations, and he must release them. So let him march; let him = make=20 prayer pilgrimages to the city hall; let him go on freedom rides -- and = try to=20 understand why he must do so. If his repressed emotions are not released = in=20 nonviolent ways, they will seek expression through violence; this is not = a=20 threat but a fact of history. So I have not said to my people, "Get rid = of your=20 discontent." Rather, I have tried to say that this normal and healthy = discontent=20 can be channeled into the creative outlet of nonviolent direct action. = And now=20 this approach is being termed extremist.=20
But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an = extremist,=20 as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of = satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus and extremist for love: "Love = your=20 enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and = pray for=20 them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." Was not Amos an = extremist=20 for justice: "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like = am=20 ever-flowing stream." Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian = gospel: "I=20 bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." Was not Martin Luther an=20 extremist: "Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God." And = John=20 Bunyan: "I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a = butchery of=20 my conscience." And Abraham Lincoln: "This nation cannot survive half = slave and=20 half free." And Thomas Jefferson: "We hold these truths to be = self-evident, that=20 all men are created equal . . . ." So the question is not whether we = will be=20 extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be = extremists for=20 hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of = injustice or for=20 the extension of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvery's hill three = men=20 were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for = the same=20 crime -- the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and = thus=20 fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist = for=20 love, truth, and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. = Perhaps the=20 South, the nation, and the world are in dire need of creative = extremists.=20
I had hoped that the white moderate would see this need. Perhaps I = was too=20 optimistic; perhaps I expected too much. I suppose I should have = realized that=20 few members of the oppressor race can understand the deep groans and = passionate=20 yearnings of the oppressed race, and still fewer have the vision to see = that=20 injustice must be rooted out by strong, persistent, and determined = action. I am=20 thankful, however, that some of our white brothers in the South have = grasped the=20 meaning of this social revolution and committed themselves to it. They = are still=20 all too few in quantity, but they are big in quality. Some -- such as = Ralph=20 McGill, Lillian Smith, Harry Golden, James McBride Dabbs, Ann Braden, = and Sarah=20 Patton Boyle -- have written about our struggle in eloquent and = prophetic terms.=20 Others have marched with us down nameless streets of the South. They = have=20 languished in filthy, roach-infested jails, suffering the abuse and = brutality of=20 policemen who view them as "dirty nigger-lovers." Unlike so many of = their=20 moderate brothers and sisters, they have recognized the urgency of the = moment=20 and sensed the need for powerful "action" antidotes to combat the = disease of=20 segregation.=20
Let me take note of my other major disappointment. I have been so = greatly=20 disappointed with the white church and its leadership. Of course, there = are some=20 notable exceptions. I am not unmindful of the fact that each of you has = taken=20 some significant stands on this issue. I commend you, Reverend = Stallings, for=20 your Christian stand on this past Sunday, in welcoming Negroes to your = worship=20 service on a nonsegregated basis. I commend the Catholic leaders of this = state=20 for integrating Spring Hill College several years ago.=20
But despite these notable exceptions, I must honestly reiterate that = I have=20 been disappointed with the church. I do not say this as one of those = negative=20 critics who can always find something wrong with the church. I say this = as a=20 minister of the gospel, who loves the church; who was nurtured in its = bosom; who=20 has been sustained by its spiritual blessings and who will remain true = to it as=20 long as the cord of life shall lengthen.=20
When I was suddenly catapulted into the leadership of the bus protest = in=20 Montgomery, Alabama, a few years ago, I felt we would be supported by = the white=20 church. I felt that the ministers, priests, and rabbis of the South = would be=20 among our strongest allies. Instead, some have been outright opponents, = refusing=20 to understand the freedom movement and misrepresenting its leaders; all = too many=20 others have been more cautious than courageous and have remained silent = behind=20 the anesthetizing security of stained-glass windows.=20
In spite of my shattered dreams, I came to Birmingham with the hope = that the=20 white religious leadership of this community would see the justice of = our cause=20 and, with deep moral concern, would serve as the channel through which = our just=20 grievances could reach the power structure. I had hoped that each of you = would=20 understand. But again I have been disappointed.=20
I have heard numerous southern religious leaders admonish their = worshipers to=20 comply with a desegregation decision because it is the law, but I have = longed to=20 hear white ministers declare: "Follow this decree because integration is = morally=20 right and because the Negro is your brother." In the midst of blatant = injustices=20 inflicted upon the Negro, I have watched white churchmen stand on the = sideline=20 and mouth pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities. In the = midst of a=20 mighty struggle to rid our nation of racial and economic injustice, I = have heard=20 many ministers say: "Those are social issues, with which the gospel has = no real=20 concern." And I have watched many churches commit themselves to a = completely=20 otherworldly religion which makes a strange, un-Biblical distinction = between=20 body and soul, between the sacred and the secular.=20
I have traveled the length and breadth of Alabama, Mississippi, and = all the=20 other southern states. On sweltering summer days and crisp autumn = mornings I=20 have looked at the South's beautiful churches with their lofty spires = pointing=20 heavenward. I have beheld the impressive outlines of her massive=20 religious-education buildings. Over and over I have found myself asking: = "What=20 kind of people worship here? Who is their God? Where were their voices = when the=20 lips for Governor Barnett dripped with words of interposition and = nullification?=20 Where were they when Governor Wallace gave a clarion call defiance and = hatred?=20 Where were their voices of support when bruised and weary Negro men and = women=20 decided to rise from the dark dungeons of complacency to the bright = hills of=20 creative protest?"=20
Yes, these questions are still in my mind. In deep disappointment I = have wept=20 over the laxity of the church. But be assured that my tears have been = tears of=20 love. Yes, I love the church. How could I do otherwise? I am in the = rather=20 unique position of being the son, the grandson, and the great-grandson = of=20 preachers. Yes, I see the church as the body of Christ. But, oh! How we = have=20 blemished and scarred that body through social neglect and through fear = of being=20 nonconformists.=20
There was a time when the church was very powerful -- in the time = when the=20 early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they = believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that = recorded=20 the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that=20 transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered = a town,=20 the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict = the=20 Christians for being "disturbers of the peace" and "outside agitators." = But the=20 Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were "a colony of = heaven,"=20 called to obey Gad rather than man. Small in number, they were big in=20 commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be "astronomically = intimidated." By=20 their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as=20 infanticide and gladiatorial contests.=20
Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, = ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an = archdefender of the=20 status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the = power=20 structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent -- = and=20 often even vocal -- sanction of things as they are. But the judgment of = God is=20 upon the church as never before. If today's church does not recapture = the=20 sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, = forfeit=20 the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club = with no=20 meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose=20 disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust.=20
Perhaps I have once again been too optimistic. Is organized religion = to=20 inextricably bound to the status quo to save our nation and the world? = Perhaps I=20 must turn my faith to the inner spiritual church, the church within the = church,=20 as the true ekklesia and the hope of the world. But again I am thankful = to God=20 that some noble souls from the ranks of organized religion have broken = loose=20 from the paralyzing chains of conformity and joined us as active = partners in the=20 struggle for freedom. They have left their secure congregations and = walked the=20 streets of Albany, Georgia, with us. They have gone down the highways of = the=20 South on tortuous rides for freedom. Yes, they have gone to jail with = us. Some=20 have been dismissed from their churches, have lost the support of their = bishops=20 and fellow ministers. But they have acted in the faith that right = defeated is=20 stronger than evil triumphant. Their witness has been the spiritual salt = that=20 has preserved the true meaning of the gospel in these troubled times. = They have=20 carved a tunnel of hope through the dark mountain of disappointment.=20
I hope the church as a whole will meet the challenge of this decisive = hour.=20 But even if the church does not come to the aid of justice, I have no = despair=20 about the future. I have no fear about the outcome of our struggle in=20 Birmingham, even if our motives are at present misunderstood. We will = reach the=20 goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation, because the goal = of=20 America if freedom. Abuse and scorned though we may be, our destiny is = tied up=20 with America's destiny. Before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth, we were = here.=20 For more than two centuries our forebears labored in this country = without wages;=20 they made cotton king; they built the homes of their masters while = suffering=20 gross injustice and shameful humiliation -- and yet out of bottomless = vitality=20 they continued to thrive and develop. If the inexpressible cruelties of = slavery=20 could not stop us, the opposition we not face will surely fail. We will = win our=20 freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will = of God=20 are embodied in our echoing demands.=20
Before closing I feel impelled to mention one other point in your = statement=20 that has troubled me profoundly. You warmly commended the Birmingham = police=20 force for keeping "order" and "preventing violence." I doubt that you = would so=20 quickly commend the policemen if you were to observe their ugly and = inhumane=20 treatment of Negroes here in the city jail; if you were to watch them = push and=20 curse old Negro women and young Negro girls; if you were to see them = slap and=20 kick Negro men and young boys; if you were to observe them, as they did = on two=20 occasions, refuse to give us food because we wanted to sing our grace = together.=20 I cannot join you in your praise of the Birmingham police department.=20
It is true that the police have exercised a degree of discipline in = handling=20 the demonstrations. In this sense they have conducted themselves rather=20 "nonviolently" in public. But for what purpose? To preserve the evil = system of=20 segregation. Over the past few years I have consistently preached that=20 nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we = seek. I=20 have tried to make clear that it is wrong to use immoral means to attain = moral=20 ends. But now I must affirm that it is just as wrong, or perhaps even = more so,=20 to use moral means to preserve immoral ends. Perhaps Mr. Connor and his=20 policemen have been rather nonviolent in public, as was Chief Pritchett = in=20 Albany, Georgia, but they have used the moral means of nonviolence to = maintain=20 the immoral end or racial injustice. As T.S. Eliot has said, "The last=20 temptation is the greatest treason: To do the right deed for the wrong = reason."=20
I wish you had commended the Negro sit-inners and demonstrators of = Birmingham=20 for their sublime courage, their willingness to suffer, and their = amazing=20 discipline in the midst of great provocation. One day the South will = recognize=20 its real heroes. They will be the James Merediths, with the noble sense = of=20 purpose that enables them to face jeering and hostile mobs, and with the = agonizing loneliness that characterizes the life of the pioneer. They = will be=20 old, oppressed, battered Negro women, symbolized in a = seventy-two-year-old woman=20 in Montgomery, Alabama, who rose up with a sense of dignity and when her = people=20 decided not to ride segregated buses, and who responded with = ungrammatical=20 profundity to one who inquired about her weariness: "My feets is tired, = but my=20 soul is at rest." They will be the young high school and college = students, the=20 young ministers of the gospel and a host of their elders, courageously = and=20 nonviolently sitting in at lunch counters and willingly going to jail = for=20 conscience' sake. One day the South will know that when these = disinherited=20 children of God sat down at lunch counters, they were in reality = standing up for=20 what is best in the American dream and for the most sacred values in our = Judaeo-Christian heritage, thereby bringing our nation back to those = great wells=20 of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in their = formulation of=20 the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.=20
Never before have I written so long a letter. I'm afraid it is much = too long=20 to take your precious time. I can assure you that it would have been = much=20 shorter if I had been writing from a comfortable desk, but what else can = one do=20 when he is alone in a narrow jail cell, other than write long letters, = think=20 long thoughts, and pray long prayers?=20
If I have said anything in this letter that overstates the truth and=20 indicates an unreasonable impatience, I beg you to forgive me. If I have = said=20 anything that understates the truth and indicates my having a patience = that=20 allows me to settle for anything less than brotherhood, I beg God to = forgive me.=20
I hope this letter finds you strong in the faith. I also hope that=20 circumstances will soon make it possible for me to meet each of you, not = as an=20 integrationist or a civil-rights leader but as a fellow clergyman and a=20 Christian brother. Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial = prejudice will=20 soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from = our=20 fear-drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the = radiant=20 stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all = their=20 scintillating beauty.=20
Yours for the cause of Peace and Brotherhood, Martin Luther King, Jr. =
Last Modified: Feb 22, 2023