| Why read Dr. Martin Luther King's "Letter From A | | | | Today, we can learn much from the ideals |
| Birmingham Jail?" Why read a letter that was | | | | presented by Dr. King and his letter from a |
| written decades ago in a cold jail cell by a man | | | | Birmingham jail. We too must be assertive and |
| who has been dead for almost forty years? The | | | | impatient about our wants and our needs. |
| answer is simple. Dr. King wrote this eloquent and | | | | Achieving justice should be part of every |
| profound letter while confined in a Birmingham city | | | | individuals life for generations to come. Injustices |
| jail. In this letter responding to criticism from his | | | | are still present in today's world and will continue |
| fellow clergymen, Dr. King explains to the world | | | | to be present as long as human beings inhabit this |
| why he has gone about his activities the way he | | | | earth. The injustices that Dr. King encountered in |
| has. His fellow clergymen called his activities | | | | his life time are still present in this country today. |
| "unwise and untimely" and questioned his methods | | | | In Dr. King's time, the injustices of segregation |
| and motivations. | | | | and racism were definitely more obvious. |
| This letter's purpose was to explain to people | | | | The oppressor was as clear as black and white. |
| why he chose to implement his direct-action, | | | | The injustices that we as a people face today in |
| non-violent protests at that time and why he | | | | this country are much more nebulous and more |
| could not wait. King says, "We have waited for | | | | subtle, but they do exist. Segregation and racism |
| more that 340 years for our constitutional and | | | | are, possibly, as alive today as in Dr. King's time. It |
| God-given rights. The nations of Asia and Africa | | | | may even be present in your church, in your |
| are moving with jet like speed toward gaining | | | | school, or around your community without you |
| political independence, but we stiff creep at | | | | even realizing it. This is the reason why it is |
| horse-and-buggy pace toward gaining a cup of | | | | important for us to study Dr. King's life and |
| coffee at a lunch counter." Dr. King believed that | | | | works. The fact that injustices are still present |
| his people had waited long enough for justice and | | | | today should motivate each of us to transform |
| equality. Dr. King was never idle and did not wait | | | | the status quo. It is our responsibility today to |
| for justice to be handed to him. He was assertive | | | | carry on Dr. King's legacy so that we can continue |
| and impatient when it came to the freedom of his | | | | to progress in a way that will lead to the overall |
| people. | | | | progress and betterment of our world. |