Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from the Birmingham jail,
1963
My
Dear Fellow Clergymen:
I
think I should indicate why I am here in Birmingham since you have been
influenced by the view which argues against "outsiders coming in." I
have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference, an organization operating in every southern state, with
headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.
Several
months ago the affiliate here in Birmingham asked us to be on call to engage in
a non-violent direct-action program if such were deemed necessary. We readily
consented, and when the hour came we lived up to our promise. So I, along with
several members of my staff, am here because I was invited here. I am here
because I have organizational ties here.
But
more Basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the
prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their
"thus saith the Lord" far beyond the
boundaries of their home towns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his . of Tarsus and carried the
gospel of Jesus Christ to the far comers of the Greco-Roman world, so I am
compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town. Like Paul, I
must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid.
Moreover,
I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot
sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham.
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. Never again can we afford to live
with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives
inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within
its bounds.