letter from birmingham jail.doc

7/29/2019 Letter from Birmingham Jail.doc

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LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL, April 16, 1963

*AUTHOR'S NOTE: This response to a published statement by eight fello

!lergymen from Alabama "#ishop $% $% &% $arpenter #ishop &oseph A% (uri!)

Rabbi Hilton % +rafman #ishop ,aul Hardin #ishop Holan #% Harmon theRe-erend +eorge .% .urray% the Re-erend Edard /% Ramage and the Re-erend

Earl Stallings0 as !omposed under somehat !onstri!ting !ir!umstan!e% #egun

on the margins of the nespaper in hi!h the statement appeared hile 1 as in

2ail the letter as !ontinued on s!raps of riting paper supplied by a friendly

Negro trusty and !on!luded on a pad my attorneys ere e-entually permitted to

lea-e me% Although the te3t remains in substan!e unaltered 1 ha-e indulged in the

author's prerogati-e of polishing it for publi!ation%

.4 (EAR 5EO6 $ER+4.EN:

6hile !onfined here in the #irmingham !ity 2ail 1 !ame a!ross your re!ent

statement !alling my present a!ti-ities 7unise and untimely%7 Seldom do 1 pause

to anser !riti!ism of my or) and ideas% 1f 1 sought to anser all the !riti!isms

that !ross my des) my se!retaries ould ha-e little time for anything other than

su!h !orresponden!e in the !ourse of the day and 1 ould ha-e no time for

!onstru!ti-e or)% #ut sin!e 1 feel that you are men of genuine good ill and that

your !riti!isms are sin!erely set forth 1 ant to try to anser your statements in

hat 1 hope ill be patient and reasonable terms%

1 thin) 1 should indi!ate hy 1 am here 1n #irmingham sin!e you ha-e been

influen!ed by the -ie hi!h argues against 7outsiders !oming in%7 1 ha-e the

honor of ser-ing as president of the Southern $hristian eadership $onferen!e an

organi8ation operating in e-ery southern state ith head9uarters in Atlanta

+eorgia% 6e ha-e some eightyfi-e affiliated organi8ations a!ross the South and

one of them is the Alabama $hristian .o-ement for Human Rights% 5re9uently e

share staff edu!ational and finan!ial resour!es ith our affiliates% Se-eral months

ago the affiliate here in #irmingham as)ed us to be on !all to engage in a

non-iolent dire!ta!tion program if su!h ere deemed ne!essary% 6e readily

!onsented and hen the hour !ame e li-ed up to our promise% So 1 along ithse-eral members of my staff am here be!ause 1 as in-ited here 1 am here be!ause

1 ha-e organi8ational ties here%

#ut more basi!ally 1 am in #irmingham be!ause in2usti!e is here% &ust as the

prophets of the eighth !entury #%$% left their -illages and !arried their 7thus saith

the ord7 far beyond the boundaries of their home tons and 2ust as the Apostle

,aul left his -illage of Tarsus and !arried the gospel of &esus $hrist to the far

!orners of the +re!oRoman orld so am 1 !ompelled to !arry the gospel of


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freedom beyond my on home ton% i)e ,aul 1 must !onstantly respond to the

.a!edonian !all for aid%

.oreo-er 1 am !ogni8ant of the interrelatedness of all !ommunities and states% 1

!annot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be !on!erned about hat happens in

#irmingham% 1n2usti!e anyhere is a threat to 2usti!e e-eryhere% 6e are !aught in

an ines!apable netor) of mutuality tied in a single garment of destiny% 6hate-er

affe!ts one dire!tly affe!ts all indire!tly% Ne-er again !an e afford to li-e ith

the narro pro-in!ial 7outside agitator7 idea% Anyone ho li-es inside the United

States !an ne-er be !onsidered an outsider anyhere ithin its bounds%

4ou deplore the demonstrations ta)ing pla!e in #irmingham% #ut your statement 1

am sorry to say fails to e3press a similar !on!ern for the !onditions that brought

about the demonstrations% 1 am sure that none of you ould ant to rest !ontent

ith the superfi!ial )ind of so!ial analysis that deals merely ith effe!ts and doesnot grapple ith underlying !auses% 1t is unfortunate that demonstrations are ta)ing

pla!e in #irmingham but it is e-en more unfortunate that the !ity's hite poer

stru!ture left the Negro !ommunity ith no alternati-e%

1n any non-iolent !ampaign there are four basi! steps: !olle!tion of the fa!ts to

determine hether in2usti!es e3ist; negotiation; selfpurifi!ation; and dire!t a!tion%

6e ha-e gone through all of these steps in #irmingham% There !an be no

gainsaying the fa!t that ra!ial in2usti!e engulfs this !ommunity% #irmingham is

probably the most thoroughly segregated !ity in the United States% 1ts ugly re!ord

of brutality is idely )non% Negroes ha-e e3perien!ed grossly un2ust treatment inthe !ourts% There ha-e been more unsol-ed bombings of Negro homes and

!hur!hes in #irmingham than in any other !ity in the nation% These are the hard

brutal fa!ts of the !ase% On the basis of these !onditions Negro leaders sought to

negotiate ith the !ity fathers% #ut the latter !onsistently refused to engage in

goodfaith negotiation%

Then last September !ame the opportunity to tal) ith leaders of #irmingham's

e!onomi! !ommunity% 1n the !ourse of the negotiations !ertain promises ere

made by the mer!hants for e3ample to remo-e the stores humiliating ra!ial

signs% On the basis of these promises the Re-erend 5red Shuttlesorth and the

leaders of the Alabama $hristian .o-ement for Human Rights agreed to a

moratorium on all demonstrations% As the ee)s and months ent by e reali8ed

that e ere the -i!tims of a bro)en promise% A fe signs briefly remo-ed

returned; the others remained%

As in so many past e3perien!es our hopes had been blasted and the shado of

deep disappointment settled upon us% 6e had no alternati-e e3!ept to prepare for

dire!t a!tion hereby e ould present our -ery bodies as a means of laying our


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!ase before the !ons!ien!e of the lo!al and the national !ommunity% .indful of the

diffi!ulties in-ol-ed e de!ided to underta)e a pro!ess of selfpurifi!ation% 6e

began a series of or)shops on non-iolen!e and e repeatedly as)ed oursel-es :

7Are you able to a!!ept blos ithout retaliating


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the ne !ity administration time to a!t7 1t rings in the ear of e-ery Negro ith pier!ing familiarity% This

76ait7 has almost alays meant 7Ne-er%7 6e must !ome to see ith one of our

distinguished 2urists that 72usti!e too long delayed is 2usti!e denied%7

6e ha-e aited for more than ?@ years for our !onstitutional and +odgi-en

rights% The nations of Asia and Afri!a are mo-ing ith 2etli)e speed toardgaining politi!al independen!e but e stiff !reep at horseandbuggy pa!e toard

gaining a !up of !offee at a lun!h !ounter% ,erhaps it is easy for those ho ha-e

ne-er felt the stinging dar) of segregation to say 76ait%7 #ut hen you ha-e seen

-i!ious mobs lyn!h your mothers and fathers at ill and dron your sisters and

brothers at him; hen you ha-e seen hatefilled poli!emen !urse )i!) and e-en

)ill your bla!) brothers and sisters; hen you see the -ast ma2ority of your tenty

million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight !age of po-erty in the midst of an

affluent so!iety; hen you suddenly find your tongue tisted and your spee!h

stammering as you see) to e3plain to your si3yearold daughter hy she !an't goto the publi! amusement par) that has 2ust been ad-ertised on tele-ision and see

tears elling up in her eyes hen she is told that 5unton is !losed to !olored

!hildren and see ominous !louds of inferiority beginning to form in her little

mental s)y and see her beginning to distort her personality by de-eloping an

un!ons!ious bitterness toard hite people; hen you ha-e to !on!o!t an anser

for a fi-eyearold son ho is as)ing: 7(addy hy do hite people treat !olored

people so mean


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motel ill a!!ept you; hen you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging

signs reading 7hite7 and 7!olored7; hen your first name be!omes 7nigger7 your

middle name be!omes 7boy7 "hoe-er old you are0 and your last name be!omes

7&ohn7 and your ife and mother are ne-er gi-en the respe!ted title 7.rs%7; hen

you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fa!t that you are a Negro li-ing

!onstantly at tiptoe stan!e ne-er 9uite )noing hat to e3pe!t ne3t and are

plagued ith inner fears and outer resentments; hen you go fore-er fighting a

degenerating sense of 7nobodiness7 then you ill understand hy e find it

diffi!ult to ait% There !omes a time hen the !up of enduran!e runs o-er and

men are no longer illing to be plunged into the abyss of despair% 1 hope sirs you

!an understand our legitimate and una-oidable impatien!e%

4ou e3press a great deal of an3iety o-er our illingness to brea) las% This is

!ertainly a legitimate !on!ern% Sin!e e so diligently urge people to obey the

Supreme $ourt's de!ision of BCD@ outlaing segregation in the publi! s!hools atfirst glan!e it may seem rather parado3i!al for us !ons!iously to brea) las% One

may ant to as): 7Ho !an you ad-o!ate brea)ing some las and obeying

others


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et us !onsider a more !on!rete e3ample of 2ust and un2ust las% An un2ust la is a

!ode that a numeri!al or poer ma2ority group !ompels a minority group to obey

but does not ma)e binding on itself% This is differen!e made legal% #y the same

to)en a 2ust la is a !ode that a ma2ority !ompels a minority to follo and that it is

illing to follo itself% This is sameness made legal%

et me gi-e another e3planation% A la is un2ust if it is infli!ted on a minority that

as a result of being denied the right to -ote had no part in ena!ting or de-ising the

la% 6ho !an say that the legislature of Alabama hi!h set up that state's

segregation las as demo!rati!ally ele!ted< Throughout Alabama all sorts of

de-ious methods are used to pre-ent Negroes from be!oming registered -oters and

there are some !ounties in hi!h e-en though Negroes !onstitute a ma2ority of the

population not a single Negro is registered% $an any la ena!ted under su!h

!ir!umstan!es be !onsidered demo!rati!ally stru!tured Ho e ha-e blemished and s!arred that body through

so!ial negle!t and through fear of being non!onformists%

There as a time hen the !hur!h as -ery poerful in the time hen the early

$hristians re2oi!ed at being deemed orthy to suffer for hat they belie-ed% 1n

those days the !hur!h as not merely a thermometer that re!orded the ideas and

prin!iples of popular opinion; it as a thermostat that transformed the mores of

so!iety% 6hene-er the early $hristians entered a ton the people in poer be!ame

disturbed and immediately sought to !on-i!t the $hristians for being 7disturbers of

the pea!e7 and 7outside agitators7' #ut the $hristians pressed on in the !on-i!tion

that they ere 7a !olony of hea-en7 !alled to obey +od rather than man% Small in

number they ere big in !ommitment% They ere too +od into3i!ated to be

7astronomi!ally intimidated%7 #y their effort and e3ample they brought an end to

su!h an!ient e-ils as infanti!ide% and gladiatorial !ontests%

Things are different no% So often the !ontemporary !hur!h is a ea) ineffe!tual

-oi!e ith an un!ertain sound% So often it is an ar!hdefender of the status 9uo% ,ar

from being disturbed by the presen!e of the !hur!h the poer stru!ture of the

a-erage !ommunity is !onsoled by the !hur!h's silent and often e-en -o!al

san!tion of things as they are%

#ut the 2udgment of +od is upon the !hur!h as ne-er before% 1f today's !hur!h does

not re!apture the sa!rifi!ial spirit of the early !hur!h it -i lose its authenti!ity

forfeit the loyalty of millions and be dismissed as an irrele-ant so!ial !lub ith no

meaning for the tentieth !entury% E-ery day 1 meet young people hosedisappointment ith the !hur!h has turned into outright disgust%

,erhaps 1 ha-e on!e again been too optimisti!% 1s organi8ed religion too

ine3tri!ably bound to the status 9uo to sa-e our nation and the orld< ,erhaps 1

must turn my faith to the inner spiritual !hur!h the !hur!h ithin the !hur!h as

the true e!!lesia and the hope of the orld% #ut again 1 am than)ful to +od that

some noble souls from the ran)s of organi8ed religion ha-e bro)en loose from the

paraly8ing !hains of !onformity and 2oined us as a!ti-e partners in the struggle for

freedom They ha-e left their se!ure !ongregations and al)ed the streets of

Albany +eorgia ith us% They ha-e gone don the highays of the South on

tortuous rides for freedom% 4es they ha-e gone to 2ai ith us% Some ha-e been

dismissed from their !hur!hes ha-e lost the support of their bishops and fello

ministers% #ut they ha-e a!ted in the faith that right defeated is stronger than e-il

triumphant% Their itness has been the spiritual salt that has preser-ed the true

meaning of the gospel in these troubled times% They ha-e !ar-ed a tunnel of hope

through the dar) mountain of disappointment%


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1 hope the !hur!h as a hole ill meet the !hallenge of this de!isi-e hour% #ut

e-en if the !hur!h does not !ome to the aid of 2usti!e 1 ha-e no despair about the

future% 1 ha-e no fear about the out!ome of our struggle in #irmingham e-en if our

moti-es are at present misunderstood% 6e ill rea!h the goal of freedom in

#irmingham ham and all o-er the nation be!ause the goal of Ameri!a ) freedom%

Abused and s!orned though e may be our destiny is tied up ith Ameri!a's

destiny% #efore the pilgrims landed at ,lymouth e ere here% #efore the pen of

&efferson et!hed the ma2esti! ords of the (e!laration of 1ndependen!e a!ross the

pages of history e ere here% 5or more than to !enturies our forebears labored

in this !ountry ithout ages; they made !otton )ing; they built the homes of their

masters hile suffering gross in2usti!e and shameful humiliationand yet out of a

bottomless -itality they !ontinued to thri-e and de-elop% 1f the ine3pressible

!ruelties of sla-ery !ould not stop us the opposition e no fa!e ill surely fail%

6e ill in our freedom be!ause the sa!red heritage of our nation and the eternal

ill of +od are embodied in our e!hoing demands%

#efore !losing 1 feel impelled to mention one other point in your statement that has

troubled me profoundly% 4ou armly !ommended the #irmingham poli!e for!e for

)eeping 7order7 and 7pre-enting -iolen!e%7 1 doubt that you ould ha-e so armly

!ommended the poli!e for!e if you had seen its dogs sin)ing their teeth into

unarmed non-iolent Negroes% 1 doubt that you ould so 9ui!)ly !ommend the

poli!emen if you ere to obser-e their ugly and inhumane treatment of Negroes

here in the !ity 2ail; if you ere to at!h them push and !urse old Negro omen

and young Negro girls; if you ere to see them slap and )i!) old Negro men and

young boys; if you ere to obser-e them as they did on to o!!asions refuse to

gi-e us food be!ause e anted to sing our gra!e together% 1 !annot 2oin you in

your praise of the #irmingham poli!e department%

1t is true that the poli!e ha-e e3er!ised a degree of dis!ipline in handing the

demonstrators% 1n this sense they ha-e !ondu!ted themsel-es rather 7non-iolently7

in publi!% #ut for hat purpose< To preser-e the e-il system of segregation% O-er

the past fe years 1 ha-e !onsistently prea!hed that non-iolen!e demands that the

means e use must be as pure as the ends e see)% 1 ha-e tried to ma)e !lear that it

is rong to use immoral means to attain moral ends% #ut no 1 must affirm that itis 2ust as rong or perhaps e-en more so to use moral means to preser-e immoral

ends% ,erhaps .r% $onnor and his poli!emen ha-e been rather non-iolent in publi!

as as $hief ,rit!hett in Albany +eorgia but they ha-e used the moral means of

non-iolen!e to maintain the immoral end of ra!ial in2usti!e% As T% S% Eliot has said:

7The last temptation is the greatest treason: To do the right deed for the rong

reason%7


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1 ish you had !ommended the Negro sitinners and demonstrators of #irmingham

for their sublime !ourage their illingness to suffer and their ama8ing dis!ipline in

the midst of great pro-o!ation% One day the South ill re!ogni8e its real heroes%

There ill be the &ames .erediths ith the noble sense of purpose that enables

them to fa!e 2eering and hostile mobs and ith the agoni8ing loneliness that

!hara!teri8es the life of the pioneer% There ill be the old oppressed battered

Negro omen symboli8ed in a se-entytoyearold oman in .ontgomery

Alabama ho rose up ith a sense of dignity and ith her people de!ided not to

ride segregated buses and ho responded ith ungrammati!al profundity to one

ho in9uired about her eariness: 7.y feets is tired but my soul is at rest%7 There

ill be the young high s!hool and !ollege students the young ministers of the

gospel and a host of their elders !ourageously and non-iolently sitting in at lun!h

!ounters and illingly going to 2ail for !ons!ien!e' sa)e% One day the South ill

)no that hen these disinherited !hildren of +od sat don at lun!h !ounters they

ere in reality standing up for hat is best in the Ameri!an dream and for the mostsa!red -alues in our &udaeo$hristian heritage thereby bringing our nation ba!) to

those great ells of demo!ra!y hi!h ere dug deep by the founding fathers in

their formulation of the $onstitution and the (e!laration of 1ndependen!e%

Ne-er before ha-e 1 ritten so long a letter% 1'm afraid it is mu!h too long to ta)e

your pre!ious time% 1 !an assure you that it ould ha-e been mu!h shorter if 1 had

been riting from a !omfortable des) but hat else !an one do hen he is alone in

a narro 2ail !ell other than rite long letters thin) long thoughts and pray long

prayers

letter from birmingham jail.doc

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