PHILOS 1B03 Chapter PDF: Readings 12 – MLK "Letter from Birmingham jail"
23 Nov 2016
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From birningham jail, where he was imprisoned as a participant in nonviolent demonstration against segregation. Wrote this letter as a response to a public statement of concern and caution issues by religious leaders: writes this letter as a response to their criticisms. Says he is in jail because injustice brought him here. He is unable to sit idly by and not be concerned about what happens. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere; whatever is able to have a negative effect on one person is able to have an effect on all of us. Mlk explains to these white leaders that his actions were necessary; the white community left him no choice but to protest. Four basic steps in any nonviolent campaign: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive, negotiation, self-purification, direct action. They have gone through all these steps in birmingham. Birmingham = most segregated community in the usa.
