Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested April 12, 1963, in Birmingham, Alabama. He was charged with violating a city order against public protest and was placed in solitary confinement. There he wrote a response to a statement published by eight fellow clergymen from Alabama, which challenged Dr. King’s nonviolent resistance. 

We give you this reading of one of Dr. King’s most famous pieces of writing because we believe it is important to remember how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go. 

A brief note before beginning: This is read out of respect for and in honor of Dr. King’s legacy and impact. Out of respect, the phrase “the n-word” will be used instead of the racial epithet as originally written.