Back in 2014 I visited the library at Queen's University in Kingston to see a copy of Faith Ringgold's graphic imagining of the circumstances which led to Martin Luther King Jr. writing an open letter from the jail in which he was a prisoner in Birmingham, Alabama. The letter has been given several names including Letter from Birmingham City Jail. It was 1963, in the midst of what is now termed the Civil Rights Movement and King was incarcerated for participation in a non-violent demonstration against segregation.
Finding ourselves in his circumstances would cause most of us to despair, yet King challenged the "powers that be" with this stirring letter which some has suggested could be part of a Third Testament of Christian witness. It was a response to written criticisms by eight white Alabama clergymen against King and his methods called A Call to Unity. This supposed unity was maintaining the status quo of segregation by adhering to the laws of the time.
Among King's more famous observations were these:
“Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust.”...“One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws”
There are some in the States who are encouraging a prayerful reading or re-reading of MLKs letter/essay on this national holiday which acknowledges his contribution to equality in that country. I imagine that a reason is the strife in the country which seems to be deepening and the concern that racism is on the rise. Certainly many of us as Canadians are unsettled by what we see and hear from across the border and wonder how so many of those who claim to follow Christ seem more aligned with empire that the Prince of Peace. Here is the link, if you're interested in reading it for yourself.
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