Gospel of freedom : Martin Luther King, Jr.'s letter from Birmingham Jail and the struggle that changed a nation

"I am in Birmingham because injustice is here," declared Martin Luther King, Jr. He had come to that city of racist terror convinced that massive protest could topple Jim Crow. But the insurgency faltered. To revive it, King made a sacrificial act on Good Friday, April 12, 1963: he was arrested. Alone in his cell, reading a newspaper, he found a statement from eight "moderate" clergymen who branded the protests extremist and "untimely." King drafted a furious rebuttal that emerged as the "Letter from Birmingham Jail"-a work that would take its place among the masterpieces of American moral argument alongside those of Thoreau and Lincoln. His insistence on the urgency of "Freedom Now" would inspire not just the marchers of Birmingham and Selma, but peaceful insurgents from Tiananmen to Tahrir Squares. Scholar Jonathan Rieder delves deeper than anyone before into the Letter-illuminating both its timeless message and its crucial position in the history of civil rights. Rieder has interviewed King's surviving colleagues, and located rare audiotapes of King speaking in the mass meetings of 1963. Gospel of Freedom gives us a startling perspective on the Letter and the man who wrote it: an angry prophet who chastised American whites, found solace in the faith and resilience of the slaves, and knew that moral appeal without struggle never brings justice.

Author Notes

Jonathan Rieder is professor of sociology at Barnard College, Columbia University. He is the author of The Word of the Lord Is Upon Me: The Righteous Performance of Martin Luther King, Jr . and Canarsie: The Jews and Italians of Brooklyn Against Liberalism . He has been a regular commentator on TV and radio, a contributor to the New York Times Book Review , and a contributing editor for the New Republic .

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

In this study of King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail," Barnard College sociologist Rieder (The Word of the Lord Is Upon Me: The Righteous Performance of Martin Luther King, Jr.) places the Civil Rights leader's important work in its historical and literary context. Rieder devotes a full 40 pages to setting the tumultuous scene in 1963. The meat of the book, however, is Rieder's detailed analysis of the letter itself. Rieder meticulously identifies both subtle and overt shifts in King's tone and intent, ranging from diplomacy to anger; by the second half of the letter, King "[is] mainly finished with explaining himself to his white critics. He is now ready to reprimand them." Rieder assumes a familiarity with the text as he analyzes the letter and displays a remarkably deep knowledge of King's larger body of work, with cross-references and connections to other sermons and writings. Perhaps the most powerful and instructive of these comparisons is in relation to the "I Have a Dream" speech, given a few months after the letter was penned. The book closes with a broad analysis of how the letter affected the fight for equality in Birmingham and how it continues to inspire. Agent: Susan Rabiner, the Susan Rabiner Literary Agency. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

*Starred Review* On April 12, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama, for violating a court injunction against marching in the city's streets. His plan, his vision, had been to instigate a nonviolent protest in an effort to integrate Birmingham's downtown stores. Eight local clergymen charged King as being a violent extremist. In response, King wrote Letter from Birmingham Jail. On the fiftieth anniversary of its writing, Rieder offers a sparkling reconsideration of the letter, now considered a landmark American document on a par with Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Rieder's trenchant comments approach the letter on historical and literary grounds but also as a way to better understand the often elusive King. Several chapters offer a close analysis of the letter, while later chapters trace the impact it had on subsequent events, from King's I Have a Dream speech to the bombing of the church in Birmingham in which four little girls were killed. He concludes by proclaiming the letter's universality as it continues to find advocates from Tiananmen Square to Tahrir Square. A slim volume that packs plenty of punch, Gospel of Freedom is a must-read for anyone who wishes to understand the civil rights movement, King, and America itself.--Sawyers, June Copyright 2010 Booklist

Library Journal Review

The letter that Martin Luther King Jr. penned from a Birmingham, Alabama, jail 50 years ago is one of the great calls for universal social justice that continues to inspire activists, as Rieder (sociology, Columbia Univ.; The Word of the Lord Is Upon Me: The Righteous Performance of Martin Luther King, Jr.) points out. The letter was King's impassioned response to eight white Birmingham clergymen who had appealed to him for moderation. Here Rieder first discusses the events that led to King's arrest, then addresses the letter's importance during the civil rights struggle. Although these events are described with more flair in the comprehensive King biographies by Taylor Branch and David J. Garrow, Rieder's middle chapters include richly detailed interpretations revealing King's brilliance as an advocate for equality. He portrays King the diplomat as a patient teacher who later transformed into a raging Old Testament prophet who forcefully condemned racism. VERDICT This book's significance lies in its interpretation of the letter, which was itself published later in 1963, and its insights into the often inscrutable King. See Clayborne Carson's Martin's Dream for a memoir of a King scholar inspired by the civil rights leader the same year this letter was written.-Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Township Lib., King of Prussia, PA (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Timeline	p. ix
Introduction: The Cry for Justice	p. xiii
Part 1 The Prelude
Chapter 1 This Is Blasphemy	p. 3
This Is Blasphemy	p. 3
Not Enough Negroes Are Ready to Die in Birmingham	p. 11
Traitors to Their Race	p. 20
Meet Me in Galilee	p. 34
Part 2 The "Letter"
Chapter 2 Diplomat	p. 47
My Dear Fellow Clergymen	p. 47
The World "Wait" Rings in the Ear of Every Negro	p. 56
Everything the Nazis Did Was Legal	p. 63
Chapter 3 Prophet	p. 75
I Am an Extremist	p. 75
What Kind of People Worship Here?	p. 87
Abused and Scorned Though We May Be	p. 92
Part 3 The Aftermath
Chapter 4 Street Fighter	p. 103
Now Is the Time	p. 103
A Child Shall Lead Them	p. 108
Free at Last?	p. 128
What Killed These Four Girls?	p. 144
Epilogue: Words Spoken to Mankind	p. 157
Acknowledgments	p. 165
Appendix: The text of the "Letter from Birmingham Jail"	p. 169
Notes	p. 187
Index	p. 209

Contact Information

Available:*

Bound With These Titles

On Order