In April 1963, Dr, Martin Luther King Jr. was jailed in Birmingham, Alabama, for protesting without a permit. His letter from the jail was written in almost impossible circumstances but the thoughts contained were among the most brilliant masterpieces ever penned. I shared my thoughts on this letter in a paper for Trevecca Nazarene University on Christian ethics. Thanks for reading, and remember to always work for each other.
By Kris Freeman
Behind the wall of a jail cell and with time to reflect and pray, the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. penned a masterpiece letter in 1963, in response to civil unrest in the city of Birmingham, Ala. The ethical framework of the values held and communicated by Dr. King were the primary catalyst to a civil rights revolution in the United States of America, remembering to give greater thought and understanding of the fight he faced and the values of those in his opposition, and thus, his desire for cooperation and change.
Dr. King argues there are “four basic steps” to non-violent protest: “collection of facts of injustice, negotiation, self-purification and direct action (King, 1963, p. 2). There are two sets of values which collaborate toward a goal in the life and mission of Dr. King. This set represents his value that people have a moral responsibility to fight against injustice and laws which oppress justice. The organization of his demonstrations in Birmingham were in direct response to his belief which states “freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor, it must be demanded by the oppressed.” Dr. King felt that racial oppression in the United States was falling behind such of Asian and African communities around the globe, and believed it was his responsibility to stand against it. Where did these values originate? As an African-American male, he had experienced the cultural effects first hand in his own country. This played an integral part in his worldview toward civil rights and race relations.
We must further consider the values Dr. King held as moral standards, and contract them to those of the “white moderate” (King, 1963, p. 5) or Caucasian leaders and clergymen in which he addressed. Dr. King’s moral principles were based upon spiritual adherence to The Holy Bible, with numerous references to moral code which did not have anything to do with his nationality, but rather the character of God, the principles of Jesus and the moral teaching of Biblical leaders like The Apostle Paul. Dr. King was not shaped by cultural relativism, for he believed God to be the moral authority and that each person should embrace these values as a foundation for building civil rights for citizens of all nations. He wanted to work for peace, not on the basis of being relative or tolerant, but rather because he espoused this was the moral authority and right determined by God.
This was not the case for those men which he addressed, the pastors and leaders which by design should have adhered to the same moral code. Many of them were clergymen, ordained reverends as himself, but their values were shaped and enforced by tradition, oppression and racial bigotry. Dr. King believed how they enforced such a moral code was oppressive and wrong; however it must be considered there were good-minded men who believed a standard to be right, even if it went against the teachings of Dr. King and the Bible. For example, white residents of Birmingham were the descendants of plantation farmers and slave-owners, and even over 100 years after the Civil War, were still part of a society in which caucasian males had many more rights than black men, and females of both races.
To summarize the situation without offering a detailed history lesson, taking into account the reader understands the political climate for the sake of space and time, this drove conflict and this conflict which arose centered around segregation by race. Dr. King worked and desired desegregation, while the white clergymen and political counterparts wanted to maintain the status of social separation. Based on social ethics and Biblical principles, Dr. King believed segregation was never right, and was willing to be jailed for his protest to such. Contrary, the white clergymen were a mix of racially-charged, hateful men who committed violent and covert acts of harm and oppression, and a moderate selection which succumbed to societal norms but appeared to hold to spiritual values as pastors and church leaders.
The white moderate clergymen were in the desperate reach and plea with Dr. King. If only he could sway them to see with the moral value of God to stand and fight the tyranny and oppression with him. At the same time, it was his ethical value to remain non-violent which helped him understand physical force and violent opposition would result in anarchy, death, injury, brokenness and a greater divide.
From a glance, it would seem everyone included in the context of the letter labeled as a “Christian” would have moral values originating from the same source (the Bible). But it was the external value systems of the white clergymen which drove them to foster segregation and refuse to buck the political system more than they felt it necessary to uphold a moral code. Many of the extreme (white supremacy, Klu Klux Klan) had to know what they were doing was not right, but the question is did they care or would they change? My assertion is no, and I believe Dr. King believed this also. His aim was to the moderate leaders who could be swayed - the Caucasian pastor and political leader which understood his Biblical values for right and wrong, but catered to the cultural pressure of racism and sticking to norms which were a part of southern American society.
In summary, Dr. King’s values and approach to communicating them helped foster change in the civil rights landscape of our country. Conflict of an opposing value system came with a cost; his life was taken in assassination by a member of the culture which opposed him.
According to Dr. King, this was worth the cost, for with long hours of prayer and writing he much considered this great risk: “Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities.” (King, 1963, p. 10).
References
King, Dr. ML. (1963, April 16). Letter From a Birmingham Jail. Retrieved from
https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html
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