When was letter from birmingham jail written

Skip to content Skip to navigation. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute. Search form Search. Back to the King Encyclopedia. April 16, Wyatt Tee Walker, King's top assistant, began compiling and editing the material, Bass explained. The final version was dated April 16, The page, typed, double-spaced "Letter from Birmingham Jail" appears as though it is personal correspondence addressed to the eight white ministers, Bass said. The document was never sent to them, however, which led some to question whether the letter was intended for the clergymen or as a public relations document.

The white ministers were the perfect symbolic audience for the letter, Bass said. On the surface, the letter is a public relations document. It served as the symbolic finale to the Birmingham movement when it was published by the media beginning in May Words are heartfelt. Rieder believes the letter may have been tweaked after King's release from jail, but the words are heartfelt. These eight white clergymen, they embodied everything that had been building up with him for years with white moderates," Rieder said.

King's anger at the moderates who said "go slow" was rising. King "was depressed; he was in a panic," Rieder said. He reads this [newspaper article], and they are telling him to 'wait,' and suddenly his indignation just pushes him out of that depression.

It's like he got his warrior spirit back. Another brilliant aspect of the letter, according to historians, is the multitude of perspectives that King brings to his response. By degrees, King established a kind of universal voice, beyond time, beyond race," Branch writes.

His epic response still echoes through American history. King started writing the letter from his jail cell, then polished and rewrote it in subsequent drafts, addressing it as an open letter to the eight Birmingham clergy.

King's letter eloquently stated the case for racial equality and the immediate need for social justice. Actually, we who engage in non-violent direct action are not the creators of tension.

We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with. The letter was distributed to the media, published in newspapers and magazines in the months after the Birmingham demonstrations, and it appeared in his book, "Why We Can't Wait," in The eight clergy have been pilloried in history for their stance. King's letter, with its criticism of the white clergy opposition, made them look as if they were opposed to the civil rights movement.

But their positions were more nuanced than that, said Samford professor Jonathan Bass, whose book, "Blessed are the Peacemakers," focuses on the writing of King's letter and the personal stories of the eight clergy King addressed. In January , those same clergy had signed a letter in response to Gov.

George Wallace's harsh segregationist rhetoric, warning it could lead to violence. All of them were harassed because of that statement. Earl Stallings, pastor of First Baptist Church of Birmingham from , was one of the eight clergy addressed by King in the letter. Bass in his book argued that Stallings and some of the other white clergy in many ways had been more thoughtful on racial issues than history has given them credit for.

Ed Ramage of First Presbyterian Church. Bass noted the progressive sermons on racial issues preached by Stallings from his First Baptist pulpit; the spiritual and social leadership in the city by Rabbi Grafman, and the transformation of Bishop Durick into a civil rights crusader who was the only white on the platform during a memorial service for King at Memphis City Hall.