"Radiant Stars of Love and Brotherhood, Scintillating Beauty" - Dr. King's Letter From A Birmingham Jail

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Simon Rosenberg

Some may celebrate this important day by reading Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” speech from the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in August, 1963. My preference is to come back to something he wrote earlier in 1963, his celebrated “Letter From A Birmingham Jail.” Here’s some background on how Dr. King ended up in that Birmingham jail and what prompted him to write this historic letter.

May these remarkable words from this extraordinary man help make today a bit better and inspire us for the hard, necessary work ahead - Simon

16 April 1963

My Dear Fellow Clergymen:

While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities "unwise and untimely." Seldom do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas. If I sought to answer all the criticisms that cross my desk, my secretaries would have little time for anything other than such correspondence in the course of the day, and I would have no time for constructive work. But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms.

I think I should indicate why I am here in Birmingham, since you have been influenced by the view which argues against "outsiders coming in." I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. We have some eighty five affiliated organizations across the South, and one of them is the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights. Frequently we share staff, educational and financial resources with our affiliates. Several months ago the affiliate here in Birmingham asked us to be on call to engage in a nonviolent direct action program if such were deemed necessary. We readily consented, and when the hour came we lived up to our promise. So I, along with several members of my staff, am here because I was invited here. I am here because I have organizational ties here.

-more-

https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/radiant-stars-of-love-and-brotherhood

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1. I re-read it in lieu of listening to the Felon-Elect's verbal vomit.

It was a great antidote to that toxic sludge.