Evening star. [volume], June 16, 1963, Page E-2, Image 50

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

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E-2
THE SUNDAY STAR
WosWegtee, 0, C., Jww 14, 1463 _
A Letter From the Birmingham City Jail:
King's Explanation of Non-Violent Approach
Last April 8 white reU
rioaa leaden of Alabama issued
a public statement of concern
and caution over the develop
ing demonstrations for Negro
rights. It was directed to the
Rev. Martin Luther Kins, Jr.,
leader of various demonstra
tions in Alabama and other
States. Several days later Mr.
‘King answered in a “Letter
from Birmingham City Jail" in
which be gave at considerable
length his philosophy on the
non-violent approach to the re
structuring of our social order.
The text of the letter has re
cently been given circulation
by the American Friends Serv
ice Committee and this Is a
compilation of the main pointe
aa made by Mr. King in it:
- My dear Fellow Clergymen:
Since I feel* that you are men
of genuine goodwill and your
criticisms are sincerely set forth,
I would like to answer your state
ment in what I hope will be
patient and reasonable terms.
You deplore the demonstrations
that are presently taking place
in Birmingham. But I am sorry
that your statement did not ex
press a similar concern for the
conditions that brought the dem
onstrations into being. I am sure
that each of you would want to
go beyond the superficial social
analyst who looks merely at ef
fects, and does not grapple with
underlying causes. I would not
hesitate to say that it is un
fortunate that so-called demon
strations are taking place in
Birmingham at this Line, but I
would say in more emphatic
terms that it is even more un
fortunate that the white power
Structure of this city left the
Negro community with no other
alternative.
King's Charges
In any nonviolent campaign
there are four basic steps: (1) col
lection of the facte to determine
whether injustices are alive; (3)
negotiation; (3) self-purification,
and (4) direct action. We have
gone through all of these steps
in Birmingham. There can be no
gainsaying of the fact that racial
injustice engulfs this community.
Birmingham is probably the most
thoroughly segregated city in the
United States. Its ugly record of
police brutality is known in every
section of this country. Its unjust
treatment of Negroes in the
courts is a notorious reality
There have been more unsolved
bombings of Negro homes and
churches In Birmingham than
any city in this Nation. These
are the hard, brutal and un
believable facts. On the basis of
these conditions Negro leaders
sought to negotiate vith the city
fathers. But the political leaders
consistently refused to engage In
good faith negotiation.
Then came the opportunity last
September to talk with some of
the leaders of the economic com
munity. In these negotiating ses
sions certain promises were made
by the merchants—such as the
premise to remove the humiliat
ing racial signs frem the stores.
As the weeks and months un
folded we realised that we were
the victims of a broken promise.
The signs remained. As li, so
many experiences of the past we
were confronted with blasted
hopes, and the dark shadow of a
deep disappointment settled upon
us. So we had no alternative ex
cept that of preparing for direct
action, whereby we would present
our very bodies as a means of
laying our case before the con
science of the local and national
community
Seeks to Create Crises
You may well ask. “Why direct
action? Why sit-ins, marches,
etc.? Isn’t negotiation a better
path?" You are exactly right in
your call for negotiation. Indeed,
this is the purpose of direct ac
tion. Nonviolent direct action
seeks to create such a crisis and
establish such creative tension
that a community that has con
stantly refused to negotiate is
forced to confront the issue It
seeks so to dramatise the issue
that it can no longer be Ignored.
I just referred to the creation of
tension as a part of the work
of the nonviolent resister. This
may sound rather shocking. But
I must confess that I am not
afraid of the word tention. I
have earnestly worked and
preached against violent tendon,
but there is a type of construc
tive nonviolent tension that is
necessary for growth. Just as
Socrates felt that it was neces
sary to create a tension In the
mind so that individuate could
rise from the bondage of myths
and half-truths to the unfettered
realm of creative analysis and ob
jective appraisal, we must see the
need of having nonviolent gad
flies to create the kind of ten
sion In society that will help men
rise from the dark depths of
prejudice and racism o the ma
jestic heights of understanding,
and brotherhood.
Comparison With Africans
Bo the purpose of the direct
action is to create a situation
so crisis-packed that it wil’. in
evitably open the door to nego
tiation Wo. therefore, concur
with you in your call for nego
tiation
We know through painful ex
perience that freedom is never
voluntarily given by the oppres
sor; it must bo demanded by the
oppressed Frankly I have never
yet engaged in a direct action
movement that was "well timed."
according to the timetable of
those who have not suffered un
duly from thj disease of segrega
tion. For years now I have heard
the word “Waltf" It rings in the
ear of every Negro with a piere-
j ■ 1- :
J
A youth who refused to wolk when arrested during a demonstration in Gadsden, Ala., is dragged to jail.—AP Wirephoto.
Ing familiarity. This “wait” has
almost always meant “never." It
has been a tranquillzing thalid
omide, relieving the emotional
stress for a moment, only to give
birth to an 111-formed infant of
frustration. We must come to see
with the distinguished jurist of
yesterday 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 the goal of
political Independence, and we
still creep at horse and buggy
pace toward the gaining of a cup
of coffee at a lunch counter.
Breaking of 'Unjust* Laws
You express a great deal of
anxiety over our willingness to
break laws. This is certainly a
legitimate concern. Since we so
diligently urge people to obey the
Supreme Court’s decision of 1954
outlawing segregation in the pub
lie schools. It is rather strange
and paradoxical to find us con
sciously breaking laws. One may
well ask, “How can you advocate
breaking some laws and obeying
others?” The answer Is found in
the fact that there are two types
of laws: There are hut laws and
there are unhut laws. I would
be the first to advocate obeying
just laws. One has not onto' a
legal but moral responsibility to
obey Just laws. Conversely, one
has a moral responsibility to dis
obey unjust laws. I would agree
with Saint Augustine that “An un
just law is no law at all.”
Now what is the difference be
tween the two? How does one de
termine when a law Is just or un
just? A just law is a man-made
code that squares with moral
law or the law of God. An unjust
law is a code that is out of har
mony with the moral law. To put
It in the terms of Saint Thomas
Aquinas, an unjust law is a hu
man law that is not rooted in
eternal and natural law. Any law
that uplifts human personality is
just. Any law that degrades hu
man personality is unjust All
segregation statutes are unjust
because segregation distorts the
soul and damages the person
ality So segregation Is not only
politically, economically and so
ciologically unsound, but It is
morally wrong and sinful. Paul
Tillich has said that sin is sep-
Continued Freni Pago E-l
about 4.5 million. It was the first
time Mr. Khrushchev has afford
ed Mr. Kennedy the opportunity
to communicate so directly with
the Russian people since Novem
ber 28. 1081. when Izvestia pub
lished the text of the President's
interview with Alexei I. Adshubei.
Mr. Khrushchevs son-in-law and
the editor of the paper.
But the decision on the printing
of the Kennedy text may very well
have been tied to the President's
call for easing the cold war and
new American attitudes toward it
and not to anything he said about
nuclear testing.
In the United States Senate,
which must ratify any test ban
treaty with a two-thirds vote,
there was a quick reaction Demo
crats tended to back the President
while Republicans, for the most
part, were critical and fearful that
more concessions are about to bo
made to the Russians.
At a Joint news conference on
Thursday. Senate Minority Leader
Dirksen and his House counter
part. Representative Halleck,
sharply attacked the new "strategy
for peace."
The Senator said that the self
inpooed moratorium on atmos
pheric testing is "grave enough to
contemplate, but when it and a
mere scenery shift of negotiations
from neutral Geneva to hostile
Moscow are used to ornament a
major change in policy, we are
deeply troubled."
The President Is obviously pro-
aration. Isn't segregation an
existential expression of man’s
tragic separation, an expression
of his awful estrangement, his
terrible sinfulness? So I can urge
men to obey the 1954 decision
of the Supreme Court because It
is morally right, and I can urge
them to disobey segregation or
dinances because they are morally
wrong.
There are some Instances when a
law is just on its face but unjust in
Its application. For Instance. I
was arrested Friday on a charge
of parading without a permit
Now there is nothing wrong with
an ordinance which requires a
permit for a parade, but when
the ordinance is used to preserve
segregation and to deny citizens
the First Amendment privilege of
peaceful assembly and peaceful
protest, then It becomes unjust.
Disobey 'Unjust' Laws 'Lovingly'
I hope you can see the distinc
tion I am trying to point out In
no sense do I advocate evading
or defying the law as the rabid
segregationist would do. This
would lead to anarchy. One who
breaks an unjust law must do It
openly, lovingly, and with a will
ingness to accept the penalty. I
submit that an individual who
breaks a law that conscience
tells him is unjust, and willingly
accepts the penalty by staying in
Jail to arouse the conscience of
the community over its injustice,
is in reality expressing the very
highest respect for law.
Os course there is nothing new
about this kind of civil disobedi
ence. It was seen sublimely in
the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach
and Abednego to obey the laws
of Nebuchadnezzar because a
higher moral law was Involved.
It was practiced sdperbly by the
early Christians who were willing
to face hungry lions and the ex
cruciating pain of chopping
blocks, before submitting to cer
tain unjust laws of the Roman
Empire. To a degree academic
freedom is a reality today be
cause Socrates practiced civil dis
obedience.
We can never forget that every
thing Hitler did in Germany was
"legal" and everything the Hun
garian freedom fighters did in
Hungary was "illegal."
I must make two honest con
fessions to you. my Christian and
Jewish brothers First I must con-
ceeding one step at a time and la
not yet overly concerned with the
attitude ot the Senate. But if he
does persuade the Russians to ac
cept what he regards as a treaty
with “vital and responsible safe
guards." he still will have diffi
culty getting the pact approved.
As of right now, the consensus is
that if the Russians agreed to even
seven on-site inspections. Mr. Ken
nedy would not be able to con
vince two thirds of the Senate.
Soviet Space:
New Feat
The Soviet Union on Friday
launched Its fifth cosmonaut
Into an earth orbit. The United
States two days earlier an
nounced the termination of Its
Mercury man-ln-spaee program.
For 10 months, the Soviet
Union had done little in its
manned apace flight program.
During that time the United
States sent up two astronauts.
Comdr. Walter Schlrra and Maj.
Gordon Cooper Neither came close
to the Soviet record for time in
orbit by one spaceman—o 4 hours
and 35 minutes for 84 orbits by
Andrian Nikolayev last August.
Comdr Schlrra went for 8 orbits;
Maj Cooper for 32.
Now. the Soviet Union has put
Its fifth cosmonaut, Lt. Col. Valeri
F. Bykovsky, into an earth-gir-
fess that over the last few years
I have been gravely disappointed
with the white moderate. I have
almost reached the regrettable
conclusion that the Negroes’
grqat stumbling block in the stride
toward freedom Is not the White
Citizens’ "Councller” or the Ku
Klux Klanner, but the white
moderate who is more devoted to
"order’’ than to justice; who
prefers a negative peace which is
the absence of tension to a posi
tive peace which is the presence
of Justice; who constantly says
“I agree with you in the goal
you seek, but I can’t agree with
your methods of direct action”;
who paternalistlcally feels that he
can set the time-table for another
man’s freedom; who lives by the
myth of time and who constantly
advises the Negro to wait until
a “more convenient season.”
Shallow understanding from
people of good will is more frus
trating than absolute misunder
standing from people of IQ will.
Lukewarm acceptance is much
more bewildering than outright
rejection.
Criticizes White Moderates
I had hoped that the white
moderate would understand that
law and order exist for the
purpose of establishing justice, and
and that when they fail to do this
they become the dangerously
structured dams that block the
flow of social progress. I had
hoped that the white moderate
would understand that the pres
ent tension in the South is merely
a necessary phase of the transi
tion from an obnoxious negative
peace, where the Negro passively
accepted his unjust plight, to a
substance-filled positive peace,
where all men will respect the
dignity and worth of human
personality.
Actually, we who engage in
nonviolent 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.
In your statement you asserted
that our actions, even though
peaceful, must be condemned be
cause they precipitate violence.
But can this assertion be logically
made? Isn’t this like condemning
the robbed man because his pos
session of money precipitated the
evil act of robbery?
I had also hoped that the white
THE FOREIGN SCENE
dling flight and he may be on the
way to set a new endurance mark.
He also may be joined by at least
one more spaceman—or even a
spacewoman before he comes
back to earth.
Premier's Hint
Reports have been circulating
for days that the Russians would
send up a woman cosmonaut in
the near future. And Premier
Khrushchev himself added to the
speculation After he announced
Col. Bykovsky's flight, he was
asked by visiting British Labor
Party Leader Harold Wilson, how
many cosmonauts were up.
"Only one so far," Mr. Khru
shchev replied
The purpose of this latest
launching, according to Teas, is to
continue studies of the influence
of various factors of space flight
on the human body and of con
ditions found on a long flight.
One.thing about the Russian
feat seemed certain: If it were
a genuine "spectacular," if two or
three men or women were sent
into orbit, the big budget of the
National Aeronautics and Bpace
Administration would have a
smoother flight through an In
creasingly economy-minded Con
gress
The Bykovsky orbital trip
began two days after NASA an
nounced. as it had been expected
to do. that it had officially termi
nated its Mercury man-ln-spaee
program and would now concen-
moderate would reject the myth
of time. I received a letter this
morning from a white brother in
Texas which said: “All Christians
know that the colored people will
receive equal rights eventually,
but is it possible that you are in
too great of a religious hurry?
It has taken Christianity almost
2,000 years to accomplish what
it has. The teachings of Christ
take time to come to earth.” All
that is said here grows out of a
tragic misconception of time. It
is the strangely Irrational notion
that there is something in the
very flow of time that will in
evitably cure all ills. Actually
time is neutral. It can be used
either destructively or construc
tively. I am coming to feel that
the people of ill will have used
time much more effectively than
the people of good will. We will
have to repent in this generation
not merely for the vitriolic words
and actions of the bad people,
but for the appalling silence of
the good people. We must come
to see that human progress never
rolls in on wheels of inevitability.
It comes through the tireless ef
forts and persistent work of men
willing to be co-workers with
God. and without this hard work
time Itself becomes an ally of the
forces of social stagnation.
We must use time creatively,
and forever realize that the time
is always ripe to do right.
X
Two Negro Extremes
You spoke of our activity in
Birmingham as extreme. At first
I was rather disappointed that
fellow clergymen would see my
nonviolent efforts as those of
the extremist. I started thinking
about the fact that I stand in
the middle of two opposing forces
in the Negro community. One is
a force of complacency made up
of Negroes who, as a result of
long years of oppression, have
been so completely drained of
self-respect and a sense of “some
bodlness” that they have adjust
ed to segregation, and of a few
Negroes in the middle class who,
because of a degree of academic
and economic security, and be
cause at points they profit by
segregation, have unconsciously
become insensitive to the prob
lems of the masses. The other
force is one of bitterness and ha
tred and comes perilously dose
to advocating violence. It is ex-
trate on Project Gemini, a two
man-ln-one-capsule exercise
which would be the final pre
liminary to the man-on-the-moon
shot called Project Apollo.
At the same time, the surprise
resignation of Dr. D. Brainerd
Holmes. NASA's Director of
Manned Space Flight, was dis
closed NABA said Dr. Holmes had
agreed to spend two years with
the organization when he joined
it in 1081, but few observers be
lieved that that was the entire
story. There appeared to be a
question of organisational over
lap. with Dr Holmes’ moon pro
gram being closely overseen—too
closely, some suggest-by Associate
Administrator Robert C. Beamans,
who may now become the do facto
"Caar" for Apollo.
Britain:
4 Puzzler
Prime Minister Macmillan
met in argent sessions last week
with hie cabinet and Conserva
tive Party loaders in an attempt
to prepare hb battle lines for
the House es Commons debate
tomorrow on the Profumo
scandal.
The Right Hon. Harold Mac
millan. M.P.. came to high office
in the wake of a crisis. He suc
ceeded Prime Minister Anthony
Eden on January 10. 1057, a few
pressed in the various black na
tionalist groups that are spring
ing up over the Nation, the larg
est and best known being Elijah
Muhammad's Muslim movement.
This movement Is nourished by
the contemporary frustration over
the continued existence of racial
discrimination. It is made up of
people who have lost faith in
America, who have absolutely re
pudiated Christianity, and who
have concluded that the white
man Is an incurable “devil.**
I have tried to stand between
these two forces saying that we
need not follow the “do-nothing
ism” of the complacent or the
hatred and despair of the black
nationalist. There is the more ex
cellent way of love and non
violent protest. I’m grateful to
God that, through the Negro
ehurch, the dimension of non
violence entered our struggle. If
this philosophy had not emerged
I am convinced that by now
many streets of the South would
be flowing with floods of blood.
And I am further convinced that
if our white brothers dismiss us
as “rabble rousers” and “outside
agitators"—those of us who are
working through the channels of
non-violent direct action - and
refuse to support our non-violent
efforts, millions of Negroes, out
of frustration and despair, will
seek solace and security In black
nationalist ideologies, a develop
ment that will lead Inevitably to
a frightening racial nightmare.
Toward the Promised Land
Oppressed people cannot re
main oppressed forever. The urge
for freedom will eventually come.
This to what has happened to
the American Negro. Something
within has reminded him of his
birthright of freedom; something
without has reminded him that
he can gain it. Consciously and
unconsciously, he has been swept
In by what the Germans call the
Zeitgeist, and with his black
brothers of Africa, and his brown
and yellow brothers of Asia,
South America and the Carib
bean, he is moving with a sense
of cosmic urgency toward the
promised land of racial Justice.
Recognising this vital urge that
has engulfed the Negro commu
nity, one should readily under
stand public demonstrations. The
Negro has many pent-up resent
ments and latent frustrations. He
has to get them out. So let him
march sometime; let him have his
prayer pilgrimages to the city
hall; understand why he must
have sit-ins and freedom rides. If
his repressed emotions do not
come out In these non-violent
ways, they will come out in
ominous expressions of violence.
Now this approach Is being dis
missed as extremist. I must ad
mit that I was initially disap
pointed in being so categorised.
But as I continued to think
about the matter I gradually
gained a bit of satisfaction from
being considered an extremist.
Was not Jesus an extremist
in love? “Love your enemies, bless
them that curse you. pray for
them that despitefully use you.**
Was not Amos an extremist for
justice—“ Let justice roll down
like a mighty stream." Was not
Paul an extremist for the goepel
of Jesus Christ-“I bear In my
body the marks of the Lord
Jesus."
Disappointed in White Church *
I had hoped that the white
moderate would see thia. Maybe
I was too optimistic. Maybe I ex
pected too much. I guess I should
have realized that few members
of a race that has oppressed an
other race can understand or ap
reclate the deep groans and pas
sionate yearnings of those that
have been oppressed, and still
fewer have the vision to see that
injustice must be rooted out by
strong, persistent and determined
action. I am thankful, however,
that some of our white brothers
have grasped the meaning of this
social revolution and committed
themselves to it.
Let me rush on to mention my
other disappointment. I have
been so greatly disappointed with
months after the abortive Anglo-
French-Israell attack on Egypt.
Last week, Mr. Macmillan, faced
with a sex and security scandal
involving his recently resigned
Secretary of State for War, John
Profumo, fought furiously to keep
his Conservative Party from split
ting apart in a crisis which could
bring about his own early down
fall.
Persistent reports Indicated that
several cabinet ministers are as
concerned over the moral as over
the possible security implications
of Mr. Profumo's affair with a
London party girl, who at the
same time had the Soviet naval
attache as a lover.
Future at Stake
This concern could be the key
to Mr. Macmillan’s future In of
fice. If one or more of the cabi
net members should resign, the
Prime Minister would face the
prospects of a revolt In his own
party when the expected vote of
confidence Is called in Commons,
perhaps next week.
In the secret meetings held by
Mr. Macmillan and the Conserva
tive leadership. It was undoubtedly
the Prime Minister's urgent alm
to keep the cabins- in line and
brasen out the test the Labor
Party la planning for him start
ing tomorrow.
Some observers feel that Mr.
Macmillan, the genial Scotsman
who must be finding it rather
difficult to bo genial in the cir-
f
Ws A
—HarrU-Kwlns Phote.
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
the white church and its leader
ship. Os course there are some
notable exceptions.
I had the strange feeling when
I was suddenly catapulted into
the leadership of the bus protest
in Montgomery several years ago
that we would have the support
of the white church. I felt that
the white ministers, priests and
rabbis of the South would be
some of our strongest allies. In
stead, some have been outright
opponents, refusing to under
stand the freedom movement and
misrepresenting its leaders; all
too many others have been more
cautious than courageous and
have remained silent behind the
anesthetizing security of stained
glass windows.
Moral os Well as Legal
In spite of my shattered dreams
of the past, I came to Birming
ham with the hope that the white
religious leadership of this com
munity would see the justice of
our cause and, with deep moral
concern, serve as the channel
through which our just griev
ances could get to the power
structure. I had hoped that each
of you would understand. But
again I have been disappointed.
I have heard numerous reli
gious leaders of the South call
upon their worshippers to comply
with a desegregation decision be
cause it is the law. but I have
longed to hear white ministers
say follow this decree because In
tegration is morally right and the
Negro Is your brother.
There was a time when the
church was very powerful. It was
during that period when the early
Christians rejoiced when they
were deemed worthy to suffer for
what they believed. In those days
the church was not merely a
thermometer that recorded the
Ideas and principles of popular
opinion; it was a thermostat that
transformed the mores of society.
Things are different now. The
contemporary church Is so often
a weak. Ineffectual voice with an
uncertain sound. It is so often
the arch-supporter of the status
quo.
Too Optimistic?
Maybe again I have been too
optimistic. Is organised religion
too Inextricably bound to the
status quo to save our Nation and
the world? Maybe I must turn my
faith to the inner spiritual
church, the church within the
church, as the true ecclesia and
the hope of the world. But again
I am thankful to God that some
noble souls from the ranks of or
ganised religion have broken
loose from the paralyzing chains
of conformity and Joined us as
active partners In the struggle
for freedom.
If I have said anything in this
letter that is an overstatement of
the truth and is indicative of an
unreasonable impatience. I beg
you to forgive me. If I have said
anything in this letter that is
an understatement of the truth
and la Indicative of my having a
patience that makes me patient
with anything less than brother
hood. I beg God to forgive me.
Yours for the cause of
peace and brotherhood.
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR
cumstances. has done well tn
holding his cabinet together this
long.
The question has arisen: Has
he come to an agreement with
his party to reaign after the scan
dal blows over?
It is known that some Conserv
atives feel that Mr. Macmillan
should step down soon enough so
the Party can give a new leader
a chanoe to Improve its image
with the voters before the next
general election-due at the latest
in October. 1084.
Mr. Macmillan’s ordeal was not
lightened any last week with a
new development touching on the
security aspects of the Profumo
ease. A former lawyer for the
party girl, Christine Keeler, said
he was told by his client that
the Soviet naval attache asked
her to obtain from Mr. Profumo
the "delivery date of nuclear war
heads to West Germany."
The Macmillan government had
aready been told of this by the
lawyer in a letter on March 29
last. But the allegations had not
been made public. Once they
were, they were immediately chal
lenged-by Miss Keeler herself,
through a new attorney. Bhe
said the whole story was false
The Prime Minister la reported
to have ordered a new inquiry into
thia and other security aspects of
the case. The Labor Party will
concentrate on the security angle
in the debate opening tomorrow
and is expected to demand an im
partial, high-level investigation.