Following is the public statement directed to Martin Luther King, Jr., by eight Alabama clergymen, which occasioned the reply assigned for tomorrow's discussion, "The Letter from the Birmingham City Jail."
April 12, 1963
We the undersigned clergymen are among those who, in January, issued "An Appeal for Law and Order and Common Sense, " in dealing with racial problems in Alabama. We expressed understanding that honest convictions in racial matters could properly be pursued in the courts, but urged that decisions of those courts should in the meantime be peacefully obeyed.
Since that time there had been some evidence of increased forbearance and a willingness to face facts. Responsible citizens have undertaken to work on various problems which cause racial friction and unrest. In Birmingham, recent public events have given indication that we all have opportunity for a new constructive and realistic approach to racial problems.
However, we are now confronted by a series of demonstrations by some of our Negro citizens, directed and lead in part by outsiders. We recognize the natural impatience of people who feel that their hopes are slow in being realized. But we are convinced that these demonstrations are unwise and untimely.
We agree rather with certain local Negro leadership which has called for honest and open negotiation of racial issues in our area. And we believe this kind of facing of issues can best be accomplished by citizens of our own metropolitan area, white and Negro, meeting with their knowledge and experi- ence of the local situation. All of us need to face that responsibility and find proper channels for its accomplishment.
Just as we formerly pointed out that "hatred and violence have no sanction in our religious and political traditions." We also point out that such actions as incite to hatred and violence, however technically peaceful those actions may be, have not contributed to the resolution of our local problems. We do not believe that these days of new hope are days when extreme measures are justified in Birmingham.
We commend the community as a whole, and the local news media and law enforcement officials in particular, on the calm manner in which these demon- strations have been handled. we urge the public to continue to show restraint should the demonstrations continue, and the law enforcement officials to remain calm and continue to protect our city from violence.
We further strongly urge our own Negro community to withdraw support from these demonstrations, and to unite locally in working peacefully for a better Birmingham. when rights are consistently denied, a cause should be pressed in the courts and in negotiations among local leaders, and not in the streets. We appeal to both our white and Negro citizenry to observe the principles of law and order and common sense.
Signed by:
C. C. C. Carpenter, D.D., LL.D., Bishop of Alabama
JOSEPH A. DURICK, D.D., Auxiliary Bishop, Diocese of Mobile-Birmingham
Rabbi, MILTON L. GRAFMAN, Temple Emanu-el, Birmingham, Alabama
Bishop PAUL HARDIN, Bishop of the Alabama-West Florida Conference of the Methodist Church
Bishop NOLAN B. HARMON, Bishop of the North Alabama Conference of the Methodist Church
GEORGE M. MURRAY, D.D., LL.D., Bishop Coadjutor, Episcopal Diocese of Alabama
EDWARD V. RAMAGE, Moderator, Synod of the Alabama Presbyterian Church in the United States
EARL STALLINGS, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Birmingham, Alabama
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I find this rebuttal to be particularly interesting because the clergymen who penned the response are all urging their local Black populations to withdraw from civil disobedience and to fight racism through conventional and "proper" means. I wish to draw a connection to the Revolution where the British Army was defeated through an unorthodox method of fighting a war to defeat the opposition.
ReplyDeleteAnother interesting point is that the clergymen's response seems to lack any explicit support or opposition to the civil rights movement. The only indication of where the clergymen stand is in Dr. King's letter itself where he puts the church on the sideline. My focus is mainly on the Church's emphasis of moral superiority over others despite their willingness to stay mum regarding segregation. Fear is a great cause of inaction and this could be a cause of inaction by the church. However, I would assume that it is safe to say that the majority of the southern clergymen were also segregationist.
Time for bed!