Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 1963 “Letter from a Birmingham Jail

 From The Epoch Times

“We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right. Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy and transform our pending national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood.” 

 

That was from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 1963 “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” The letter was written while King was detained in solitary confinement for taking part in the Birmingham Campaign against racial segregation. 

 

After reading an article published in a local newspaper about religious leaders condemning his nonviolent demonstrations, King began to put together his response to them, which led to this famous letter. 

 

At first he wrote in the margins of the newspaper he was given; he later moved on to using scraps of paper, and then finally a legal pad provided by his lawyers. After his letter was compiled and typed out by his associates, it was 21 pages of double-spaced type long. 

 

“I can assure you that it would have been much shorter if I had been writing from a comfortable desk, but what else can one do when he is alone in a narrow jail cell, other than write long letters, think long thoughts and pray long prayers?” writes King. 

 

The words that came out of that narrow jail cell were not ones of sorrow. They were filled with a rational hope that drew upon the wisdom of many before him. They were filled with a quiet optimism built upon his steadfast faith in God and the founding principles of our nation.

 

“I have no despair about the future,” he writes near the end of his letter. “I have no fear about the outcome of our struggle in Birmingham, even if our motives are at present misunderstood. We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation, because the goal of America is freedom.” 

 

King was arrested 29 times during his fight for civil rights. 

 

But despite this, his rational hope and quiet optimism would produce widespread change. One year after he wrote that letter, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act that outlawed racial segregation, and a year after that, it passed the Voting Rights Act that bolstered African Americans’ right to vote. 

 

When accepting his Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, King’s speech left us with one of his most iconic lines: 

“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.”

 

These words—of goodness, hope, faith, and resilience in the face of injustice—serve as a reminder that, when we call upon our higher nature, it can guide us through the darkest of times.

The 15 best quotes from Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech

 

In honor of that historic moment and in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we present the 15 best quotes from that speech.

1. “I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream.”
2. “I have a dream that one day right there in Alabama little black boys and little black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.”
3. “Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.”
4. “We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
5. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
6. “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed — we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”
7. “Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.”
8. “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.”
9. “The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.”
10. “Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.”
11. “We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back.”
12. “Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.”
13. “We refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.”
14. “In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds.”
15. “When we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: “Free at last! Free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 28 August 1963

 

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his life for a dream that I have been raised in for the past 52 years of my life.

His dream is but an echo today.

We only keep that echo alive by living that dream to it's fullest intent.

We only keep that echo alive by repeating his dream.

"Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protests to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidence by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny.

They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone. And as we walk we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead, We cannot turn back.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 28 August 1963"

We are not born with hatred.

Our children are not born with hatred.

Hatred is learned behavior.

Let us be the generation that breaks the cycle once and for all. Let us teach tolerance and Love. Let us be a society that Dr. King would be proud of. Let us not turn back to the days of old. Shed the weight of discontent and truly turn to each other as literal brothers and sisters under God our Eternal Father.

Dr. King's dream resonates with me not just today, but every day of my life.

I would not have my life of freedom if it were not for Dr. King's dream.

"We MUST come to realize that our freedom is forever bound to each other. We MUST not walk alone and as we walk we MUST make the pledge that we will always march ahead and NEVER turn back.

Christopher J. Allen,

16 January 2021. "

A PRAYER FOR AMERICA Carroll Padgett, Retired Judge, SC

 

(PREAMBLE:  Judge Carroll Padgett speaking to Tom Herron on the Up With America Radio talk program on January 16, 2021):

“I think that's what’s wrong with America today, that led up to January 6^th,

is that in the ‘60’s (and I’m a product of the 60’s, I was born in the late 40’s),

and we took God and Prayer out of our schools,

and it’s been a slippery slope

to all the way down to where we find ourselves now.”

“Let’s go to the Lord in prayer . . .

PRAYER:

“Our dear gracious Heavenly Father,

we come to You today on our hands and knees begging for forgiveness for the multiple sins that we have committed against You and against Your nation. 

“Lord, this nation was founded upon your principles. 

Lord. this is the only nation in the world that was founded on Christian principles by brilliant founding fathers.  We have gotten so far away from them. 

Lord, forgive us.  Bring us back, Lord.

“What we do know, and always know, is that you’re in charge.

Lord, as we face and prepare for an uncertain future, we ask Your full blessings upon this great Nation and upon us individually, and upon our Leaders. 

Lord, we don’t know what to expect, but we pray that You will overcome them, and bring your spirit upon them, to lead us in our great country to the place that You would have us be. 

“Lord, if You don’t think that You’re maybe disciplining us for our past sins, we must remember that You, for Four-Hundred years, You put your own people in exile. 

“So a little discipline here and there, in our country, should be welcome.  We need to look at that light at the end of the tunnel.

Lord, be with us.  Lord, we cry out to You with hearts that need Your blessings and reassurance that You are in control.  Give us, and our leaders, wisdom to make the right decisions based on Your absolute principles and teachings.

Lord, we pray that You will purify all of our hearts.  Let the words that we speak draw us closer to You, and our leaders.  We recognize, oh Lord, that You are in control of all things. 

Help us.  Help our nation, Lord, to hear Your voice, to protect us from the evil;and lead us into the paths of Biblical righteousness. 

For Your holy namesake, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Amen. 

Recoding of Up With America Radio Hour Jan. 16, 2021: https://youtu.be/v6Q6lhfk-ls  

Transcription was done by Jack Owen.

 

UNDIVIDED

 Undivided by Taylor Campbell

We live in a nation where it’s been decided

We are divided.

And unlike popular belief it isn’t just one sided.

I find, We stand the opposite of a line. Amongst those like in mind, so blind to the rest of human kind.

Instead of coming together to reconcíliate, we retaliate, and debate with hate. It’s disgusting the way that we discuss things.

We live in a nation where we believe only what we can see.

And have the ignorant convenience to see only what we believe.

We are “fed” from our own “feed” manipulated by those of greed.

Groomed to consume.

And if we don’t agree we get angry,

“I don’t believe the same as you, so its not true, we don’t have the same world view or value. Oh you like him, now I hate you. I’ll dislike and unfollow too”.

We live in a nation where we know what civil unrest is, we’re being tested, we need to get invested in what the best is to correct this.

We live in a nation where we take the actions of a select few and apply it to the masses. Now we’re all fascists..

But why do we act so classless?

Fear.

We’re afraid of a future that’s unclear, the next 4 years, of losing everything we hold dear, of our peers, of whatever the hell is happening here.

We’re afraid of the aristocracy, the hypocrisy, that they are coming for our democracy, of everyone that has a different thought than me, that they are accosting me but it’s not lost on me, this atrocity, if we continue this way we will never be free.

I’m frustrated we’re so easily manipulated because if we’re afraid they are more easily obeyed.

We live in a nation where our greatest freedom is agency. So don’t for one second or an hour give up your power. Rise above, choose love. Diversify your thinking, give an ear when another is speaking, take time to learn from what they’re teaching. Don’t get over excited, incited, to riot. Walk a mile in their shoes, chose to mend where another would bruise.

It’s the fear we must forsake. We claim to be woke so act awake, make no mistake if we don’t bend now we will all break.

Truth Is The Enemy To The Left

Naheem Kassam of The National Pulse put together the Police Department Timeline of the attack on the Capitol January 6th. This was Reported on The Greg Kelly Show on Newsmax.

The Federalist now have witnesses that have come forward to tell of antagonist that were taunting The Save America Marchers.

Now CNN is reporting this timeline and saying that the attack had nothing to do with Pres. Trump's speech and the Save America March.

The FBI reported earlier today that the attack was planned days before January 6th.

The Washington Post is reporting that Dozens of people on the FBI terrorist watch list came to D.C. the day of the Capitol riot.

Yet, Speaker Pelosi, the Democrats in the house, and ten traitorous Republicans still Impeached Pres. Trump for something he did not do. Total political move to destroy Pres. Trump. NOTHING to do with Truth.

This is how Marxism, Fascism, Communism, and Totalitarianism operates. Truth is their enemy.

The Republican Establishment Has Failed America

The Republican Establishment has failed America and the American Way of Life.

We need to look beyond the ten so called Republicans who expressed their disdain toward Pres. Trump. There are many more within the ranks that did not vote No for Impeachment because they knew it would pass with the Democrat majority. The Establishment Republicans go deep and wide. Have no doubt. I have tried to warn America for many, many years, that the Republican Party (GOP) has a seat at the big table and will do what it takes to hold those seats.

Remember, the Republicans under George w. Bush, and the help of John McCain and Lindsey Graham, introduced a bill to give all illegals amnesty? Lindsey Graham was the Republican that headed up the Gang of 8 in the Senate to make a deal to throw good judges under the bus that had been nominated by Pres. Bush. Enough of that. Let me ask this, what did the Republicans do to stop Obama? Nothing. They gave him what he wanted.

RINO Speaker of the House Paul Ryan refused many requests from Pres. Trump to pass a National Voter ID Law when the Republicans had the majority in the House.

Then Donald Trump comes along and says he will stop Globalist from taking over America. That was a Declaration of War to the Democrats, The Deep State, the Globalists, and the Republican Establishment. Today, we see the results of that war on Pres. Trump and the American people. And it is not pretty. But we must remain vigilant to the "Rule of Law" and the US Constitution.

WE THE PEOPLE ARE THE SOLUTION.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Richard Medlock