Letter from Birmingham Jail has been taught in political science courses around the world and has subsequently served as inspiration for nonviolent activists and religious adherents pursuing social justice. King’s response, initially scribbled in the margins of a newspaper from his cell, is widely regarded as a core text for the theory and practice of social justice activism and the pursuit of nonviolent change. In effect, they were saying that to achieve justice, we must first uphold order. They regarded King as an outsider causing trouble in Birmingham and argued that issues of racial injustice were best resolved in the courts, not in the streets. The clergymen urged King and his fellow civil rights activists to pursue negotiations and legal procedures rather than continue their nonviolent demonstrations and civil disobedience. responded to an open letter from some of his fellow clergy criticizing him and the civil rights movement. On 16 April 1963, whilst imprisoned in Birmingham Alabama, Dr Martin Luther King Jr. On this anniversary, Erin Wilson reflects on what this important document can still teach us today. penned his now famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. Fifty years ago today, Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.
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