Themes

Context

As MLK, Jr. and his followers marched in Birmingham, Alabama, white religious leaders penned a public statement of concern and caution directed at King and the leaders of the march. King responded with a letter written from his jail cell after being arrested.

Theme 1: The Reason MLK, Jr. is in Birmingham

So I am here, along with several members of my staff, because we were invited here. I am here because I have basic organizational ties here.

Theme 2: The Need for Nonviolent Action

For years now I have heard the word "wait." It rings in the ear of every Negro with a piercing familiarity. This "wait" has almost always meant "never."

Theme 3: Just vs. Unjust Laws

…I was arrested Friday on a charge of parading without a permit. Now, there is nothing wrong 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.

Theme 4: The Problem of the "White Moderate"

Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.

Theme 5: Extremism

The Negro has many pent-up resentments and latent frustrations. … So let him march … If his repressed emotions do not come out in these nonviolent ways, they will come out in ominous expressions of violence. This is not a threat, it is a fact of history.

Theme 6: The Reaction of the White Church

The contemporary church is … a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. It is so often the arch supporter of the status quo.

Conclusion

I wish you had commended the Negro demonstrators of Birmingham for their sublime courage, their willingness to suffer, and their amazing discipline in the midst of the most inhuman provocation. … One day the South will know that when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters they were in reality standing up for the best in the American dream and the most sacred values in our Judeo-Christian heritage.