Black History

Reading Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s letter from the Birmingham Jail on the floor of the United States Senate

NASHVILLE PRIDE — In April 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. penned a letter from his cell in the Birmingham Jail, where he and other protestors were detained for leading a series of nonviolent demonstrations in Birmingham.

Published

5 years ago

April 21, 2019

Lamar Alexander

By Senator Lamar Alexander

In April 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. penned a letter from his cell in the Birmingham Jail, where he and other protestors were detained for leading a series of nonviolent demonstrations in Birmingham.

Last week on the Senate floor I participated in a bipartisan commemorative reading of Dr. King’s letter led by Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama. Senator Jones had standing to lead this reading not just because he’s from Alabama, but because of his work as the United States attorney prosecuting Klansmen who blew up a church on 16th Street in Birmingham, killing four children and injuring others.

Sen. Jones noted that the civil rights movement was not too long ago. He was right.

I remember a day in August of 1963 when I was working at the United States Department of Justice as an intern. It was a hot summer day and the Washington streets were filled with people marching. It was about lunchtime when I went outside into that crowd and heard a booming voice from a man who was standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. And I heard the words that he hoped his four little children one day would live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. At the time, I don’t know if I was fully understanding what I was seeing and hearing, but I was witnessing Dr. King give his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech.

A year earlier, in 1962, I had been a senior at Vanderbilt University. At that time, Vanderbilt, a prestigious institution, was desegregating its undergraduate school. I was a part of that effort. But even then, African Americans couldn’t go to the same restaurants, stay in the same motels, or even go to the same bathrooms as White Americans. Again, that was not that long ago.

I was in Memphis recently, and I was with a group of African American leaders and asked: “If this meeting were held 50 years ago, how many of the positions you hold would be represented at this table today by African Americans?” The answer very quickly was “not one.”

The struggle for civil rights is not a snapshot—it is a panorama. As Ben Hooks, former director of the NAACP, used to say, you have to understand that America is a work in progress. We have a long way to go in terms of race relations, but we’ve made great progress since Dr. King wrote this letter from his jail cell in Birmingham.

There is no part of being an American that is more essential than understanding our struggle with race. And the worst grades of our children are not in math and science, but in United States History. This is why remembering and revisiting important events from our country’s past, such as the letter Dr. King wrote from his jail cell, or his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech in Washington, are so important.

This article originally appeared in the Nashville Pride.

Lamar Alexander

Posts by Lamar Alexander

Up Next

Author Mignette Dorsey takes top prize

Don't Miss

Tennessee State University’s big blue spirit part of NFL draft

Lamar Alexander

Click to comment

Activism

S.F. Black Leaders Rally to Protest, Discuss ‘Epidemic’ of Racial Slurs Against Black Students in SF Public School System

Parents at the meeting spoke of their children as no longer feeling safe in school because of bullying and discrimination. Parents also said that reported incidents such as racial slurs and intimidation are not dealt with to their satisfaction and feel ignored.

Published

2 days ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Rev. Amos C. Brown, president of the San Francisco NAACP and pastor of Third Baptist Church. Photo courtesy Third Baptist Church.

By Carla Thomas

San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church hosted a rally and meeting Sunday to discuss hatred toward African American students of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD).

Rev. Amos C. Brown, president of the San Francisco NAACP and pastor of Third Baptist Church, along with leadership from local civil rights groups, the city’s faith-based community and Black community leadership convened at the church.

“There has been an epidemic of racial slurs and mistreatment of Black children in our public schools in the city,” said Brown. “This will not be tolerated.”

According to civil rights advocate Mattie Scott, students from elementary to high school have reported an extraordinary amount of racial slurs directed at them.

“There is a surge of overt racism in the schools, and our children should not be subjected to this,” said Scott. “Students are in school to learn, develop, and grow, not be hated on,” said Scott. “The parents of the children feel they have not received the support necessary to protect their children.”

Attendees were briefed last Friday in a meeting with SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Matt Wayne.

SFUSD states that their policies protect children and they are not at liberty to publicly discuss the issues to protect the children’s privacy.

Some parents said they have removed their students from school while other parents and community leaders called on the removal of the SFUSD superintendent, the firing of certain school principals and the need for more supportive school board members.

Community advocates discussed boycotting the schools and creating Freedom Schools led by Black leaders and educators, reassuring parents that their child’s wellbeing and education are the highest priority and youth are not to be disrupted by racism or policies that don’t support them.

Virginia Marshall, chair of the San Francisco NAACP’s education committee, offered encouragement to the parents and students in attendance while also announcing an upcoming May 14 school board meeting to demand accountability over their mistreatment.

“I’m urging anyone that cares about our students to pack the May 14 school board meeting,” said Marshall.

This resource was supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library via California Black Media as part of the Stop the Hate Program. The program is supported by partnership with California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.