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175th out of 183 books
—
36 voters
Blessed Are the Peacemakers: Martin Luther King Jr., Eight White Religious Leaders, and the "Letters from Birmingham Jail"
Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" is arguably the most important written document of the civil rights protest era and a widely read modern literary classic. Personally addressed to eight white Birmingham clergymen who sought to avoid violence by publicly discouraging King's civil rights demonstrations in Birmingham, the nationally published "Letter" ca...more
Paperback, 344 pages
Published
March 1st 2002
by Louisiana State University Press
(first published February 2001)
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In the spring of 1963, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, under the direction of Martin Luther King Jr., was preparing for a civil rights demonstration in Birmingham Alabama. In an attempt to forestall a likely violent confrontation with White racists, eight of Birmingham’s prominent clergy published an open letter cautioning that the planned demonstration was ill-timed.
The eight, all White (though not all WASP), were two Episcopal bishops, a Methodist bishop, a Methodist pastor, a Je...more
The eight, all White (though not all WASP), were two Episcopal bishops, a Methodist bishop, a Methodist pastor, a Je...more
On scraps of paper and on the margins of newspapers MLK wrote his classic “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (April 1963) to eight white clergy, accusing them of moderation. The Letter was an excuse to explain to America the tactics of the Civil Rights Movement, the complaints of Southern blacks, and, practically, to raise money and support for the movement. Birmingham was the scene of violent segregationists’ bombings, Bull Connor’s water hoses and police dogs, images of elderly blacks beaten after...more
Bass does an excellent job of revealing the history behind Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail," the 8 clergy who prompted the piece, and the Civil Rights movement itself.
More than anything else, I appreciated the even-handed approach to the subject matter. While I whole-heartedly agree with MLK that the injustices of Jim Crow needed to be changed immediately, this book doesn't paint the white clergy with broad strokes of "bad guys" to MLK's "good guy." The fleshed-out history...more
More than anything else, I appreciated the even-handed approach to the subject matter. While I whole-heartedly agree with MLK that the injustices of Jim Crow needed to be changed immediately, this book doesn't paint the white clergy with broad strokes of "bad guys" to MLK's "good guy." The fleshed-out history...more
This is the story behind the famous "Letter from a Birmingham Jail". Pastor King directed this letter at 8 White Pastors ( a Rabbi and a Catholic were counted among the group) in response to their public dissent of King's Birmingham March against the Jim Crow South. I recommend you read this book so that we will not let what happened before, be acceptable again. A copy of the letter should be sent to the current nine Supreme Court Justices as a reminder that, "Injustice anywhwere is a threat to...more
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