Letter from a birmingham jail
Letter from a birmingham jailWe will soon wear you down by our capacity to suffer, and in winning our freedom we will so appeal to your heart and conscience that we will win you in the process.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
While there have been many persons of importance in the struggle for Civil Rights for black Americans, it would be hard to argue that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had the greatest impact in both the white and black community. It was Dr. King's broad vocabulary, oratory skills, and deep education that set him apart from other black preachers in the church. King had direction, a purpose, and would not sway from his ideology due to pressures associated within the church from Elders and Aldermen. After receiving criticism from the leaders of the clergy in Birmingham for supporting the mass protest of the white business, King stuck back with his eloquent Letter from the Birmingham Jail. As I read this letter two things struck me as being important.
The first, why could such a group, leaders in the community, would not take an active role to bring equality to a suppressed people. God knows no color, and it is the place of the church clergy to support a body fighting for basic human rights. The criticism, as I considered the source, pissed me off. Second, In Kings letter he states: Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned to outright disgust.
I feel that King, in a way, saw the future. The church has not played the role that it should play in the lives of American citizens. Not then. Not now. While the world changes the leaders of all Christian religions must, without question, adapt to this change in order to bring in and retain youth in the church environment. These members of the clergy...
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