apr 16, 1963 - "Letter From a Birmingham Jail"
Description:
In his "Letter From a Birmingham Jail", 16 April 1963, King responds to an editorial by eight Alabama clergymen, all white, in which they criticize the actions and methods of King and others for choosing to protests in Birmingham, first because they are outsiders and also in the light of the "moderate" new city administration.
King was arrested along with hundreds of other protesters in Birmingham, but King was placed in a solitary cell; without sufficient paper, he began to write his response in newspaper margins and on the scraps of paper available.
King's reply explained the movement's philosophy and its choice of tactics.
His powerful words may not have convinced Birmingham's white clergy, but they articulated the conditions in the Jim Crow South, the ethical reasons behind the choice made by himself, other members of the SCLC and African Americans from other locations to protest in Birmingham, and integrationist, pro-American philosophy that advocated the full participation of African Americans in every aspect of life in the United States.
Added to timeline:
U.S. Civil Rights Movement
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