On this day of celebration that we were gifted with the life of Martin Luther King, tragically short as it was, I thought it might be apropos to look back at one of his pre-“I have a dream” speeches. It wasn’t one that he orated. He couldn’t. He was in jail, the only place to be for a patriot like Dr. King in the Birmingham GA of April, 1963.

It was a written communication, but when you read it you can hear his voice, his early voice, which turns out to be not so different from his later voice, although it is also true that Dr. King grew and changed, became bigger, bolder, as did his view of what issues required the attention of true American patriots determined “to rise up and live out the true meaning…” of our American creeds, even in the face of criticism, of isolation, of backlashes, and of continuing, and even worsening, inequalities.

His “Letter From A Birmingham Jail,” was written in response to an open letter to Dr. King signed by a group of white clergyman, mostly Christian and Protestant, although one Rabbi signed his name to it, criticizing the civil rights movement and Dr. King’s role in it. Here is how he begins his reply:  Read more