The suffocating pressure of bias and prejudice has caused immeasurable harm to people of color. I am sure that each of you would want to go beyond the superficial social analyst who looks merely at effects and does not grapple with underlying causes.'īefore we focus on the misguided violence perpetrated by a few, it is important to examine the cause. But I am sorry that your statement did not express a similar concern for the conditions that brought the demonstrations into being. 'You deplore the demonstrations that are presently taking place in Birmingham. Our discomfort is a small price to pay for centuries of the hurt and the lived experiences of racism.

'But I must confess that I am not afraid of the word 'tension.' I have earnestly worked and preached against violent tension, but there is a type of constructive nonviolent tension that is necessary for growth.'Ĭhange is forged through tension. As we search for answers and contemplate action, we can draw strength and wisdom from these quotes from the Letter from Birmingham Jail. He challenges well-meaning citizens who advocate patience to look carefully at the pattern of racial injustice, oppression, pain and hurt that has gone unattended. King’s letter kindles the conscience, exhorting us to peaceful action. The recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade and countless others before them, who for centuries have lost their lives because of the color of their skin, are a grim reminder. Though much has changed in five decades, racism remains. King responded to the clergymen with a letter that is every bit as relevant today as it was 57 years ago.

The clergymen discouraged protest and believed that the solution ought to be forged through courts and negotiations. Eight well-meaning clergymen, sympathetic to the struggles of the civil rights movement, published an editorial urging restraint. was arrested and sent to jail in Birmingham, Alabama for organizing a nonviolent protest.

Letter from a birmingham jail king jr