Engaging with American Democracy » October 30th: MLK’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (1963)

October 30th: MLK’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (1963)

“Cross of Gold Speech”
“Letter from a Birmingham Jail”

Announcements

  • Have a good, safe Halloween!
  • Changing up the next two weeks
    • MLK
    • Eisenhower
    • In-Class Participation Assignment, 11/04
  • Test #2 is next Thursday, 11/06
  • Discussion Post #8 due Friday, 10/31, 11:07pm

Plan for the Day

  • Finish from Oct. 23rd’s webpage:
  • MLK’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”
  • Democracy/Liberty/Freedom/ETC. quotation:
    “Actually, time itself is neutral; it can be used either destructively or constructively….We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right. Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy and transform our pending national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity..”
    –Martin Luther King, Jr. “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” 16 April 1963.

King’s Motivation–Background

As is obvious from the “Letter,” MLK responds directly to eight religious leaders, but he has a large secondary audience: the Nation. The eight clergymen wrote “an article for”A Call for Unity” (12 April 1963), which ran in The Birmingham News. However, most of them also wrote “An Appeal for Law and Order and Common Sense” (16 Jan. 1963), available through Atkins Library (must be signed on). Let’s consider some key points from both.

“An Appeal for Law and Order and Common Sense” (Harvey, Appendix 1)

Besides thinking about “law and order,” recall our discussion of common sense. What is that? The clergymen are anti-segregation, and they ask people to abide by laws and use the courts–not violence–to continue their fight. Notice how they attempt to persuade the audience:

  • p. 263: “…cherished patterns of life in our beloved Southland…”
  • p. 263: “…we speak with firm conviction for we do know the ultimate spirit in which all problems of human relations must be solved.”
  • p. 263: Good people…?
    • “a series of court decisions will soon bring about desegregation of certain schools and colleges in Alabama.”
    • Many sincere people oppose this change and are deeply troubled by it.
    • As southerners, we understand this.
    • We nevertheless feel that defiance is neither the right answer nor the solution.
    • And we feel that inflammatory and rebellious statements can lead only to violence, discord, confusion and disgrace for our beloved state.
  • They list seven (7) points, but I’ll excerpt the main parts:
    • p. 264: “3. That laws may be tested in courts or changed by legislatures, but not ignored by whims of individuals.”
    • “4. …our American way of life depends upon obedience to the decisions of courts of competent jurisdiction in the meantime.”
    • “5. That no person’s freedom is safe unless every person’s freedom is equally protected.”
    • “7. That every human being is created in the image of God…”
      • It’s probably obvious that clergy would invoke divine inspiration, but notice that it fits with the rhetoric of our texts this semester.
  • Thoughts and prayers:
    • “We respectfully urge those who strongly oppose desegregation to pursue their convictions in the courts, and in the meantime peacefully to abide by the decisions of those same courts.”
    • “The situation which confronts us calls for earnest prayer, for clear thought…”
    • “…join us in seeking divine guidance…”

This call doesn’t emphatically denounce segregation but asks that those opposed to desegregation use proper channels–the courts.

“The White Ministers’ Good Friday Statement” (Harvey, Appendix 2)

This is the letter that MLK Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” directly responds to. These clergymen are upset that outsiders are coming in to disrupt the community, but they would like the issue to be settled among community members.

  • Basically, they claim they called for obeying the courts and that work is being done by the community:
    • p. 265: “…honest convictions in racial matters could properly be pursued in the courts, but urged that decisions of those courts should in the meantime be peacefully obeyed.“
    • “Since that time there had been some evidence of increased forbearance and a willingness to face facts. Responsible citizens have undertaken to work on various problems which cause racial friction and unrest.”
  • They don’t like the demonstrations that MLK’s group engages in:
    • “…a series of demonstrations…directed and led in part by outsiders.”
    • “…this kind of facing of issues can best be accomplished by citizens of our own metropolitan area…meeting with their knowledge and experience of the local situation.”
  • They specifically denounce incitement of violence and “extremem measures”:
    • p. 266: “…such actions as incite to hatred and violence, however technically peaceful those actions may be, have not contributed to the resolution of our local problems.”
  • They praise law enforcement and using proper channels to redress grievances:
    • “We commend the community as a whole, and the local news media and law enforcement officials in particular….remain calm and continue to protect our city from violence.”
    • “…unite locally in working peacefully for a better Birmingham.”
    • “When rights are consistently denied, a cause should be pressed in the courts and in negotiations among local leaders, and not in the streets.”
    • “…observe the principles of law and order and common sense.”

MLK, Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” (16 April 1963)

Let’s get some background context on MLK’s “Letter.” This is a rhetorical masterpiece in the category of Lincoln’s addresses. As far as I know, it’s the only one of our required texts that was written while the author was in jail. MLK was arrested on April 12, 1963, in Birmingham for defying anti-demonstration ordinances. Here’s a good timeline from LSU on MLK’s life.

As you read the “Letter,” consider the rhetorical strategies MLK uses, and compare them to the strategies of out other texts. Obviously, MLK is a religious leader, so invokes divine inspiration and makes direct Biblical references. Also, consider these ideas:

  • Civil Disobedience
    • King makes several direct references
    • para. 17: …”civil disobedience….was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar, on the ground that a higher moral law was at stake.”
      • I’m no Biblical scholar, but this passage in the Bible (KJV, Daniel 3:16-28) seems to relate more to obeying one’s god as opposed to being righteous in the face of an immoral leader, King Nebuchadnezzar II in this case.
      • MLK’s point is still relevant because he’s making the point that one should refuse a law when it violates “a higher moral law,” which is why he and other Civil Rights activists protested.
    • para. 17: “To a degree, academic freedom is a reality today because Socrates practiced civil disobedience.”
      • The point here is that Socrates refused to stop teaching and pursued philosophy (love of knowledge) even though he was condemned to death for it.
    • para. 17: “…the Boston Tea Party represented a massive act of civil disobedience.”
  • Universal Struggle for Civil Rights
    • para 4: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
    • “Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
  • Just and Unjust Law
    • para. 12: “One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.”
    • para. 13: “A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law.”
  • Time and Reform
    • para. 11: “…justice too long delayed is justice denied.”
    • para. 19: “…wait for a ‘more convenient season.'”
    • para. 21: Does time heal all wounds?
      • “Such an attitude stems from a tragic misconception of time, from the strangely irrational notion that there is something in the very flow of time that will inevitably cure all ills.”
      • “Actually, time itself is neutral; it can be used either destructively or constructively.”
        • Just like technologies, right?
      • “Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co workers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation.”
  • Defense of Extremism
    • para. 22: “At first I was rather disappointed that fellow clergymen would see my nonviolent efforts as those of an extremist.”
      • MLK, Jr. immediately presents himself as being in the middle of the Black community:
        “One is a force of complacency…as a result of long years of oppression…they have adjusted to segregation…”
        “The other force is one of bitterness and hatred, and it comes perilously close to advocating violence.”
        • These “black nationalist groups….[are] made up of people who have lost faith in America, who have absolutely repudiated Christianity, and who have concluded that the white man is an incorrigible ‘devil.'”
      • MLK, Jr. also recognizes the Black community isn’t monolithic:
        “…a few middle-class Negroes who, because of a degree of academic and economic security and because in some ways they profit by segregation, have become insensitive to the problems of the masses.”
  • Warning about Violence
    • para. 23: “Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever.”
      • “Something within has reminded him of his birthright of freedom, and something without has reminded him that it can be gained.
      • “…caught up by the Zeitgeist, and with his black brothers of Africa and his brown and yellow brothers of Asia, South America and the Caribbean…moving with a sense of great urgency toward the promised land of racial justice.”
      • “…many pent up resentments and latent frustrations…”
      • “If his repressed emotions are not released in nonviolent ways, they will seek expression through violence; this is not a threat but a fact of history.”
      • Historical extremists:
        • “Was not Jesus an extremist for love…”
        • “Was not Amos an extremist for justice: ‘Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream.'”
        • “Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel…”
        • “Was not Martin Luther an extremist…”
        • “And John Bunyan: “I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience.”
        • “And Abraham Lincoln: ‘This nation cannot survive half slave and half free.'”
        • “And Thomas Jefferson: ‘We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal . . .'”
      • “So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice?”
    • para. 24: “I had hoped that the white moderate would see this need.”
  • Disappointment with the Church
    • para. 25: “I have been disappointed with the church.”
    • para. 26: “I felt that the white ministers, priests and rabbis of the South would be among our strongest allies. Instead, some have been outright opponents…”
    • para. 27: “I came to Birmingham with the hope that the white religious leadership of this community would see the justice of our cause…”
    • para. 28: “I have watched white churchmen stand on the sideline and mouth pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities.”
    • para. 30: “I love the Church.”
      • “Yes, I see the church as the body of Christ.”
    • para. 31: “…called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment.”
      • “So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo.”
    • para. 32: “Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust.”
      • Notice that MLK, Jr.’s strategy is to warn people that the religion will suffer because of racial injustice.
    • para. 33: “Perhaps I have once again been too optimistic. Is organized religion too inextricably bound to the status quo to save our nation and the world? Perhaps I must turn my faith to the inner spiritual church, the church within the church, as the true ekklesia and the hope of the world.”
      • “Their witness has been the spiritual salt that has preserved the true meaning of the gospel in these troubled times.”
      • “They have carved a tunnel of hope through the dark mountain of disappointment.”
      • “I have no despair about the future….We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation, because the goal of America is freedom.”
      • “If the inexpressible cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail. We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands.”
    • para. 35: “…standing up for what is best in the American dream and for the most sacred values in our Judaeo Christian heritage, thereby bringing our nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in their formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.
      • Notice that MLK, Jr. uses American ideals/values and major texts to support his argument.
    • para. 38 “I hope this letter finds you strong in the faith.”
      • “…a fellow clergyman and a Christian brother.”
      • “Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities…”

References in MLK’s Letter

As you know, I sometimes double as an English professor, and we love discussing what between the lines. In addition to the many Biblical allusions, there are references to other texts, including “justice too long delayed is justice denied” (para. 11). MLK directly refers to the poet T.S. Eliot when he writes, “As T. S. Eliot has said: ‘The last temptation is the greatest treason: To do the right deed for the wrong reason.'” (para. 35). There’s quite a bit to unpack, but we need to start with Eliot’s entire passage from his play Murder in the Cathedral:

Now is my way clear, now is the meaning plain:
Temptation shall not come in this kind again.
The last temptation is the greatest treason:
To do the right deed for the wrong reason.
…
While I ate out of the King’s dish
To become servant of God was never my wish
Servant of God has chance of greater sin
And sorrow, than the man who serves a king.
For those who serve the greater cause may make the cause serve them.
–Eliot, T.S. Murder in the Cathedral, pp. 44-45.

Next Class

We’ll finish MLK, Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” (1963) on Tuesday, 11/04. As I mentioned last class, we’ll have our in-class “Participation” assignment (see syllabus, p. 2) that was supposed to be the Debate Showcase. If you don’t have a laptop or phone to access Canvas during class, let me know today. It will be worth 50-75 points instead of the original 100pts on the syllabus. I’ll add 25-50 points to Test #2, which you’ll take on Canvas anywhere you have access to the Internet.

We’ll cover Dwight D. Eisenhower’s News Conference (June 17, 1953) and Farewell Address (January 17, 1961) after Test #2.

Don’t forget to do Weekly Discussion Post #8 before Friday, 10/31, 11:07pm.

Works Cited

Harvey, Paul, et al. “Appendix 1.” Blessed Are the Peacemakers: Martin Luther King Jr., Eight White Religious Leaders, and the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. Louisiana State UP, 2021, pp. 263-264. Project MUSE, https://muse.jhu.edu/book/81408.

Harvey, Paul, et al. “Appendix 2.” Blessed Are the Peacemakers: Martin Luther King Jr., Eight White Religious Leaders, and the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. Louisiana State UP, 2021, pp. 265-266. Project MUSE, https://muse.jhu.edu/book/81408.

Eliot, T.S. Murder in the Cathedral. Harcourt, 1963. [original work published 1935]

King, Martin Luther, Jr. “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” 16 April 1963