Martin Luther King Jr.'s letter from Birmingham Jail

This week, on famous lettres from history, we feature Martin Luther King Jr.'s letter from Birmingham Jail.

Drafted at first along the margins of a newspaper as that was the only paper available to him while serving time in Alabama's Birmingham Jail, the letter stands the test of time as one of the most pivotal pieces ever drafted by a political prisoner. MLK's letter listed out the injustices inflicted upon black Americans and called on black communities to resist through non-violent civil disobedience, and not wait for justice to be served.

Written on April 16, 1963. In this letter, Dr. King responds to criticisms from a group of clergymen who labeled his activities as "unwise and untimely." He defends the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism and argues that individuals have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws.

The letter would go on to pave the path towards the Civil Rights Movement that would bring about an end to segregation in America.

Here’s the full text:

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Birmingham City Jail
April 16, 1963

Bishop C. J. Carpenter
Bishop Joseph A. Durick
Rabbi Milton L. Grafman
Bishop Paul Hardin
Bishop Nolan B. Harmon
The Rev. George M. Murray
The Rev. Edward V. Ramage
The Rev. Earl Stallings

My Dear Fellow Clergymen,

While confined here in the Birmingham City Jail, I came across your recent statement calling our present activities "unwise and untimely." Seldom, if ever, do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas. If I sought to answer all of the criticisms that cross my desk, my secretaries would be engaged in little else 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 goodwill and your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I would like to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms.

I think I should give the reason for my being in Birmingham, since you have been influenced by the argument of "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 affiliate organizations all across the South—one being the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights. Whenever necessary and possible we share staff, educational and financial resources with our affiliates. Several months ago our local affiliate here in Birmingham invited us to be on call to engage in a non-violent 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 we were invited here. I am here because I have basic organizational ties here.

Beyond this, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their little villages and carried their 'thus saith the Lord' far beyond the boundaries of their home towns; and just as the Apostle Paul left his little village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to practically every hamlet and city of the Graeco-Roman world, I too am compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my particular home town. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid.