Len J
01-20-2008, 11:56 AM
The upcoming MLK holiday got me thinking about him. While we all have seen tapes of his stirring speeches, I suspect that there are not many of us that have taken the time to really appreciate what a great writer he was. Being a fan of the written word, his writings have always touched me on so many levels.
One of my favorite writings of his is his "Letter From a Birmingham Jail", written in 1963 to a group of Southern Clergymen who published a harsh criticism of him & his methods of attaining integration in the south.
http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html
As you read this, try to picture, not the environment as it exists today but rather, as it actually existed in 1963. Picture the intensity of the emotions, on both sides of the issue, swirling around the struggle to end segregation in the deep south. Try to feel the deep frustration of the Blacks, the fear of the whites, and the uncertainty and fear of reprisals of the moderate Blacks. Now put yourself as the lightning rod of all this emotion......Could you have communicated your hopes, dreams and frustrations so eloquently? Could you have confronted people criticizing you so personally, with such a reasoned and loving message? Could you have worked so hard at speaking truth and more importantly had it heard as King does?
I know I couldn't.
It's worth IMO, it to take the time to read this.
Len
One of my favorite writings of his is his "Letter From a Birmingham Jail", written in 1963 to a group of Southern Clergymen who published a harsh criticism of him & his methods of attaining integration in the south.
http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html
As you read this, try to picture, not the environment as it exists today but rather, as it actually existed in 1963. Picture the intensity of the emotions, on both sides of the issue, swirling around the struggle to end segregation in the deep south. Try to feel the deep frustration of the Blacks, the fear of the whites, and the uncertainty and fear of reprisals of the moderate Blacks. Now put yourself as the lightning rod of all this emotion......Could you have communicated your hopes, dreams and frustrations so eloquently? Could you have confronted people criticizing you so personally, with such a reasoned and loving message? Could you have worked so hard at speaking truth and more importantly had it heard as King does?
I know I couldn't.
It's worth IMO, it to take the time to read this.
Len