Some portions of the letter were written and . One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Stallings, for your Christian stand on this past Sunday, in welcoming Negroes to your worship service on a non-segregated basis. Letter from Birmingham Jail: US History for Kids How does one determine when a law is just or unjust? Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy, and transform our pending national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. It is expressed in the various black nationalist groups that are springing up over the nation, the largest and best known being Elijah Muhammads Muslim movement. Martin Luther King's Birmingham jail letter on sale for $225,000 I'm afraid it is much too long to take your precious time. In the interest of keeping the community informed during this rapidly developing situation, all articles regarding cancellations, closures and other coronavirus-related information with significant public impact will be free to read online without a subscription. As an eternal statement that resonates hope in the valleys of despair, "Letter From Birmingham City Jail" is unrivaled, an American document as distinctive as the Declaration of Independence or the Emancipation Proclamation. This is certainly a legitimate concern. While in prison, King was placed alone . Not only was the President slow to act, but Birmingham officials were refusing to leave their office, preventing a younger generation of officials with more modern beliefs to be elected. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. If you are looking for additional help, try the . Months before. [6], The Birmingham campaign began on April 3, 1963, with coordinated marches and sit-ins against racism and racial segregation in Birmingham. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? In the midst of a mighty struggle to rid our nation of racial and economic injustice, I have heard so many ministers say, Those are social issues with which the gospel has no real concern, and I have watched so many churches commit themselves to a completely other-worldly religion which made a strange, un-biblical distinction between body and soul, the sacred and the secular. His supporters did not, however, include all the Black clergy of Birmingham, and he was strongly opposed by some of the white clergy who had issued a statement urging African Americans not to support the demonstrations. He has to get them out. From the Birmingham jail, King wrote a letter of great eloquence in which he spelled out his philosophy of nonviolence: You may well ask: Why direct action? Can any law set up in such a state be considered democratically structured? More than 225 groups have signed up, including students at Harvard . "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Racism. The other force is one of bitterness and hatred and comes perilously close to advocating violence. Will Pavia, New York. [30] He was eventually able to finish the letter on a pad of paper his lawyers were allowed to leave with him. Reprinted in "Reporting Civil Rights, Part One", (pp. Im sorry that I cant join you in your praise for the police department.