In April 1963, Black demonstrations were held in Birmingham under the leadership of Martin Luther King. Eight clergymen, representatives of different religions, published an open letter to King asking him to stop the demonstrations. In their message, they advocated compliance with the court’s decisions on racial issues, criticized visitors for organizing protests and approved of the “calm actions” of the police and authorities during them. Luther refused to stop peaceful demonstrations and was imprisoned, where he wrote his answer to the priests.
The letter, addressed to King’s followers, contains a call for continuing the movement against racial segregation. As a deeply religious person who served in the church’s name and religion, Martin became very disappointed in its preachers, which he notes in the letter. In it, he also demands corrective and distributive justice concerning the black population. The thoughts expressed on this occasion by the activist are directly related to the problem of justice and the problem of civil rights of blacks and their respect. Martin Luther calls for the application of the rights and freedoms of Negroes. In his opinion, this should be done by resolving civil and criminal cases by a particular State authority court according to the rules provided for by these rights. Such legal solutions would contribute to the establishment of the type of justice that representatives of procedural liberalism dream of. King also notes how far America is removed from the ideal of an equal opportunity society.
In his Letter from Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King, a fighter for the rights of African Americans, repeats the idea of freedom and equality for US citizens. It once again makes people remember what the founding fathers talked about.