Eagle Archive: 50 years later, King's letter reminds us of a journey too long

Eagle Archive: 50 years later, King's letter reminds us of a journey too long

By Kevin E. Dayhoff, 8:53 p.m. EDT, April 21, 2013 http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/carroll/westminster/ph-ce-eagle-archive-0421-20130417,0,4791772.story

http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2013/04/eagle-archive-50-years-later-kings.html

Labels: Diversity, Diversity African-American, Diversity Civil Rights, Diversity Martin Luther King, History, History 1960s, History 1960s Westminster, People King Martin Luther

On April 16, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. penned a 7,000-word letter from a jail cell in Birmingham, Ala. The letter came in response to a statement by eight white Alabama pastors on April 12, 1963, titled "A Call for Unity."

King had been arrested April 12 for demonstrating in defiance of an injunction issued against the Birmingham Campaign of marches and sit-ins, which had begun on April 3.

The white clergy members argued that the cause of civil rights was better contested in the courts than the streets of Birmingham.

King's response has become famous in the study of persuasive rhetoric in which, in part, he suggested that the "wait" requested by the white pastors — who argued that 1963 was not the time for King to pursue equal rights — really meant "never."

King also put forth that non-violent civil disobedience was an appropriate response to unjust laws, and that "one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws."

The letter was the origin of the now-famous argument that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," and quotes Chief Justice Earl Warren, "Justice too long delayed is justice denied."

His letter also referenced a few other notables, such as Paul of Tarsus, Reinhold Niebuhr, Socrates, Paul Tillich and Thomas Aquinas.

In addition to being a man of letters, King is, of course, he's best known for speaking — the most famous example being his "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington on Aug. 28, 1963.

Closer to home, we should note that a setback to the cause of King and many of his era occurred on Nov. 14, 1963, at the lunchroom of Sykesville Mayor Bernard McDougall's drug store, where Jean S. Evans and Bailey Conaway were refused service… Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/carroll/westminster/ph-ce-eagle-archive-0421-20130417,0,4791772.story

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