by Bob Rucker
1963 was the year the nation watched as the evolving events in Birmingham, Alabama, marked a turning point in the long struggle for freedom. On Good Friday, April 12, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was arrested for his non-violent protest. A few days later on April 16, while still in jail, Dr. King wrote his prophetic epistle Letter From Birmingham Jail to fight against racial segregation.
To commemorate the 50th anniversary, the Birmingham Public Library is sponsoring a worldwide event where participants will read Dr. King’s Letter at various locations around the globe.
The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, is honored to be one of those worldwide locations. This event was held, toda, Tuesday April 16 at noon, in the lobby of the King Library, where San Jose State University and the San Jose Public Library will host collective readings of the “Letter.”
We celebrate the courage and defiance of the citizens of Birmingham in their ongoing efforts to fight bravely against oppression and for the right to live as equals.
If you could come to the library, please join the celebration and read the letter on April 16, to yourself or out loud, wherever you may be, and walk for a brief moment in the footsteps of the men and women who fought and believed that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”