The first time I read Letter From A Birmingham Jail was aloud on a bus full of cub scouts traveling to Washington DC. I was enrolled in some kind of cultural awareness course at ACCC, and Brian and I reading to each other was a way to stay connected when I was otherwise occupied.
His words resonate today. We haven’t gotten anywhere near where Dr King tried to guide us.
But I believe my journey to more open eyes and heart began on that bus:
“Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.”
We are all in this together. -Caren