Today is set aside to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. it is a day we think about the civil rights movement and the work to end injustices wherever they are. And when I think about his work, I can’t help but wonder if we have made any progress at all. I took the time to read Dr. King’s letter from Birmingham Jail. I highly recommend it. Everyone should read it at least once in their lives. It was written in response to criticism Dr. King received from other African American clergymen. They were criticizing him in part for even being in Birmingham in the first place. What right did he have to be in their town fighting injustice on their behalf. Even though they did not show up for the peaceful protest led in that town by many of their own.
The protest was a boycott on the businesses in downtown during the Easter season. A busy season that hurt the business owners with both financial losses and very negative domestic and international press. The boycott, begun April 2 would end when the campaign was suspended May 8 with an agreement reached to remove all Whites or Blacks only signs in restrooms and drinking fountains, a plan to desegregate lunch counters, and a plan to upgrade employment of African Americans, on May 10th.
The agreement was not met with warm fuzzies but with violent attacks that when the dust settled would end with the death of 4 young African American girls when their church was bombed by several members of the Ku Klux Klan on September 15. President John F. Kennedy had earlier in the year, sent 3000 federal troops to help keep the peace. It was a tragedy of epic proportions.
It is into this simmering pot of anger and hate, filled with injustices that Dr. King, after being arrested, wrote his letter to his fellow clergymen. A letter that questioned why they were not willing to stand up for justice. A letter that questioned why they were willing to allow the status quo of segregation and oppression to continue. A letter we should all read. Because as Dr. King wrote: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Do not think that just because an injustice isn’t happening to you, that you are not impacted by the injustice. You are. We live in a world where we are all interconnected. We are all created from the same stardust that exploded eons ago when God began God’s creative work. We are all, every man, woman and child, filled with the same basic elements that are imbedded into the animals, rock, rivers, and plants that surround us. We are all made from hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon. We are all created by God who loves us all. So, why do we hate?
All of this reminds me of a quote by Martin Niemoller a German pastor during World War II. He was an early Nazi supporter and began realizing how he could no longer support Hitler’s agenda as both a pastor and a human being. He would eventually be imprisoned for opposing Hitler’s regime. What he said was this:
“First, they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”
Injustice, wherever you find it or in whatever form it takes, hurts us all. No one is immune to it. We all need to speak out against it before there is no one left to speak.
Peace,
Beth
In case you choose to read Dr. Martin Luther King’s letter, you can access it here. It is lengthy but worth the time to read.
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