By ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS about holidays are that they give us a chance to relax and take a break. But sometimes, I think we take that break without thinking about the important reason why we’re getting a day off in the first place.
It’s easy to do that with the mid-January holiday we get to honor the birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. because it arrives so quickly after the Christmas holiday season and only a month before President’s Day comes around.
The King Day holiday is also the only federal holiday that is dedicated to volunteerism, as a recent NPR story notes. It says, “In 1994, under then-President Bill Clinton, it became the only federal holiday dedicated to volunteerism, after Congress passed the King Holiday and Service Act. Americans are encouraged to observe the day ‘with acts of civic work and community service’ in honor of King’s legacy.”
AS GOOD AS A HOLIDAY dedicated to volunteerism might be, a little encouragement helps as well. That’s where The Rev. Dr. King’s Letter from the Birmingham Jail comes in.
If there is one speech or writing of Dr. King’s you really should read, it’s the Letter from Birmingham Jail, something I came to at a later stage in my life.
I had heard Rev. King’s famous “I have a dream” speech that he gave before 250,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 28, 1963. I’ve also read and heard his “I’ve been to the mountaintop” speech” that he gave in Memphis, Tennessee on April 3, 1968 — the day before he was assassinated.
“I’ve seen the promised land”
The Memphis speech is poignant because what he said at the end seemed to foreshadow his coming death a day later. He closed it with this:
“I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life.
Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land.
And I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”
I DON’T THINK YOU CAN top that, or his famous “I have a dream” speech, but the Letter from Birmingham Jail is very different, as the introduction describes it:
“From the Birmingham jail, where he was imprisoned as a participant in nonviolent demonstrations against segregation, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote in longhand the letter which follows. It was his response to a public statement of concern and caution issued by eight white religious leaders of the South.”
A 2018 story from History.com on the 50th anniversary of Rev. King’s Birmingham jail letter adds this:
“Shortly after King’s arrest, a friend smuggled in a copy of an April 12 Birmingham newspaper which included an open letter, written by eight local Christian and Jewish religious leaders, which criticized both the demonstrations and King himself, whom they considered an outside agitator. Isolated in his cell, King began working on a response. Without notes or research materials, King drafted an impassioned defense of his use of nonviolent, but direct, actions.“
“Justice too long delayed is justice denied”
HERE’S MY TAKE: From time to time when I’m feeling down or just need a little inspiration, I take some time to read from Dr. King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail because it never fails to make me stop and think about how he managed to write something so powerful and moving at a time when most people would be deep in despair.
It’s a long letter — 7,000 words — but well worth reading.
Here’s an example of the Rev. King’s his thinking from his Birmingham jail letter:
“We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct action campaign that was ‘well timed’ in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word ‘Wait!’ It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This ‘Wait’ has almost always meant ‘Never.’ We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that ‘justice too long delayed is justice denied.’
We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God given rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jet-like speed toward gaining political independence, but we still creep at horse and buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter. Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say, ‘Wait.’ ”
You need to read the entire Letter from Birmingham Jail and REALLY have it sink in to appreciate the power and persuasion that Dr. King brings to it.
Long letters, long thoughts, long prayers
ONE MORE THING: Although this letter could have come off very differently, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King had the ability to speak to harsh truths while still doing so with incredible tenderness and humility.
You can see this clearly as you read how Rev. King closed his Letter from Birmingham Jail:
“Never before have I written so long a letter. I’m afraid it is much too long to take your precious time. I can assure you that it would have been much shorter if I had been writing from a comfortable desk, but what else can one do when he is alone in a narrow jail cell, other than write long letters, think long thoughts, and pray long prayers?
If I have said anything in this letter that overstates the truth and indicates an unreasonable impatience, I beg you to forgive me. If I have said anything that understates the truth and indicates my having a patience that allows me to settle for anything less than brotherhood, I beg God to forgive me.
I hope this letter finds you strong in the faith. I also hope that circumstances will soon make it possible for me to meet each of you, not as an integrationist or a civil-rights leader but as a fellow clergyman and a Christian brother. 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, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.”
IF YOU DO NOTHING ELSE to honor the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the national holiday that remembers him and his great work, take the time to read a little of the Letter from Birmingham Jail.
It just might make you appreciate all he accomplished just a little bit more.
An excellent column, John. Thank you for reminding us of an underappreciated insight from MLK. The entire letter is powerful and persuasive. I hope all your readers take the time to read it.