A Reading of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - Letter from a Birmingham Jail
Join us every Thursday of this Black History month to capture readings from the famous letter from Birmingham jail. Carl Jones, voiceover actor will be reading portions of the passionate letter that helps us to see the importance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s message and impact. So much of what he states in this letter is applicable for today as we wrestle again with the fight against racial injustice, Dr. King and his associates had some major approaches that we today can learn from and solve many issues that have already been faced before. We celebrate Dr. King and his legacy with his own words read aloud to be remember for years to come.
The Words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr:
"You may well ask: "Why direct action? Why sit ins, marches and so forth? Isn't negotiation a better path?" You are quite right in calling for negotiation. Indeed, this is the very purpose of direct action. Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored. My citing the creation of tension as part of the work of the nonviolent resister may sound rather shocking. But I must confess that I am not afraid of the word "tension." I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth. Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, so must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood. The purpose of our direct action program is to create a situation so crisis packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation. I therefore concur with you in your call for negotiation. Too long has our beloved Southland been bogged down in a tragic effort to live in monologue rather than dialogue."
Taken from full text from a "Letter from a Birmingham Jail: by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Episodes Edited by: Juels N. Evans, Tech Engineer Editor
Podcast music: Soundstrips.com, Title-Bitz
*This is apart of BH365 Education posted for the public.