60 years on, King’s ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’ relevant as ever, say faith leaders

by | Apr 28, 2023 | Religion

(RNS) — It’s been more than half a century since the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail” on scraps of paper, but faith leaders say his response to white clergy critics endures as a “road map” for those working on justice and equal rights.Recent events and exhibitions tied to its anniversary have revealed the ongoing interest in and relevance of King’s letter, in which the civil rights leader proclaimed: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
Georgetown University’s Center on Faith and Justice held a virtual event on Wednesday (April 26) to mark 60 years since King penned the letter on April 16, 1963, after being jailed for his organization of a nonviolent demonstration on Good Friday that year in the Alabama city. The letter was released publicly the next month and was included in his 1964 book “Why We Can’t Wait.”
The Rev. Jim Wallis, the center’s director, n …

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