IC I A CI 12
RELIGION
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EYE ON GOSPEL
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gal
ard
LD
Storm." Th
This week' cripture: "Do
not let any unwholesome talk
come out of your mouth , but only
what is helpfuL for building
others, H-Ephesio.ns4:29.
er
rom Birmingham Jail
about til oct Ih�1 I :.1'1 I In th middle of two opposmg fore � II) tit • I ' ':310 c mmunity. On
i d rc ' of com pi, I 'nc '. m d up In part of Negr who. a a rc sult of long years of
OpPI 51 II. are 0 U:.lllh·d 01 elf-re pect and a sen of" m bodm "that they h v
dju d to grcgallon, II, I III part of a few middl -cles N .�: .... 1.1. ho, • au . of agree
of acad nu and conorruc curity and because in sorn ' w ys th Y profit by gr gabon,
have corn ' msensi iv to th problems of the masses. Th other f rc lone of bittern
and h .. rued. and II c 1'. �'I -nlou Iy clos adv ating ",01 mce It is ,,' I,:';) '0 II) the variou
bl ck neuonehst qroups til t ar springing up across th nation. th I rg' t a.,d t-known
109 h) .. h Muhamrn. r , Mu 11m rnov merit Nourished h�' th ' I eqro's fru tration over the
continued cxisteuc of racial discrimination, this movement Is mad up of pcopl who have
lost faith In Am '11" "'ho have absolutely repudiated Christianity, and who hev concluded
that th whit man I an rncornqibl "d vil." ,
I hav tried to Sin:' b tween the two forces, ying that we I�,' zd mulate neither the
"do-nothmgi m" I t I ' complacent nor the hatred and despair of the black nationalist Fo
th re is th mor e c 11 ant way of love and nonviolent prot t I am grat Iul to God that, •
through th . mflu nc of th Negro church, the way of nonviol nee became an integral pe have wnn�n about our struggle in eloquent and prophetic terms. Others have marched with again I am thankful to God that some noble soul from the ranks of organized r ligion ha
of our struggle. . . us d nameless streets of the South. They have languished in filthy, roach-infested jails, broken loose from the paralyzing chains of confonnity nd joined us active partners In t
If this phi! 0 h�' h d not emerged, by now many street of th South would, I am con sufferi th abuse and brutality of policemen who view them as "dirty nigger-lovers." UnUke struggle for freedom. They have left their secure congregations and walked the streets
vinced, be flowing with ()o d And I am further convinced that if our white rothers disml so man of their moderate brothers and sisters, they have recognized the urgency of the Albany, Georgia. with us. They have gone down the hlghw ys of the South on tortuous rid
as "ra bl -rousers' and' out Ide agitators" those of us who nlploy nonviol nt direct action, moment and sensed the need for powerful "action" antidotes to combat the disease of for freedom. Yes, they have gone to jail with us. Some have been dismlssed from th r
and If th Y r Ius to up rt our nonviolent efforts, millions of Negroes will. out of frustratio segregabr)n churches, have lost the support of their bishops and feUow ministers. But they hav acted
and d spair, se k � lace and security in black-nationalist id 01091 a d v lopment tha Let rne take note of my other major disappointment. I have been so greatly disappointed the faith that right. defeated is stronger than evil triumphant. Their witness has been t
would tnevitebly lead to a fnght ning racial nightmare. with th� " .ue church and its leadership. Of course, there are some notable exceptions. I am spiritual salt that has preserved the true meaning of the gospel in these troubled times. Th
Oppressed peopl cannot remain oppressed forever. The yarning for fr dom v ntuall nofunmtndful of the fact that each of you has taken some significant stands on this Issue. I have carved a tunnel of hope through the dark mountain of disappointment
manifests it If. and that IS what has happened to the American Negro. Something within h commend you, Reverend Stallings, for your Christian stand on this past Sunday, In wekom- I hope the church as a whole will meet the chanenge of this dedslve hour. But even If tije
reminded him of his birthright of freedom, and something without has reminded .hi".' that ling Negroes to your worship service on a nonsegregatad basis. I commend the Catholic church doe not come to the aid of justice. I hav no despair about the future. I have no fe
can be gained Con iously or unconsc:iously, he has been caught up by th ZeitgeIst, �n leaders of this state for integrating Spring Hili College several years ago. about the outcom of our struggle In Blnnlngham, even if our motives are at present misu _ .
with his ble-k broth rs of Africa and his brown and yellow brothers of ASia, South Amenca, But despite the notable exceptions, I must honestly refterate that I have been disap- derstood W(' w;tJ reach the goal of freedom in Binnlngham and all over the nation. becau
and the Caribbean, the United States Negro is moving with a sense of great urgency towar pointed with the church 1 do not say this as one of those negative critics who can always flnd the goal of America is freedom. Abused and scorned though we may b . our destiny is Hi:! .
the promised land of racial justice. If one recognizes this vital urge th.at has engulfed the Negr somethlflg wrong with the church. I say this as a minister of the gospel, who loves the church; up with America's destiny. Before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth. we were here. For mo
community. one should readily understand why publ c demonstrations are taktng place. Th who was nurtured in its bosom; who has been sustained by its spiritual blessings and who than two centuries, our forebears l<\bored in this country without wages: they made cott
Negro has many pent-up resentments and latent frustrations, and he must release the.m. will rerr.ein true to it as long as the cord of life shall lengthen. king; they built the homes of their masters while suffering gross injustice and shameful huml-
let him march, I t him make pray r pilgrimages to the city hall; let hir:n go on freedom nd. When I was suddenly catapulted into the leadership of the bus protest in Montgomery; i tion nd y lout of a bottomless vitality they continued 10 thrive and develop. If the Ine _
and try to understand why he must do so. If his repressed e.m?tions are not. released In Alabama (I few ye�rs ago, I felt we would be supported by the white church I felt that the pressible cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition Wp now face will surely fail. v:e
nonviolent ways, th y will seek expression through violence; this IS not a threat but a fact 0 white ministers. priests. and rabbis of the South would be among our strongest allies. Instead, will win our fre{>dom because the sacred herit ge of our nabo!) and the eternal will of G
hl.story. So 1 have not said to my people, "Get rid of your discontent" Rather, I have tried some have been outright opponents, refUSing to understand the freedom movement and are embodied in our echoing demand . •
to say that this normal and healthy discontent can be channeled into t�e creative outlet 0 misrepre"'�nting its leaders: all too many others have been more caunous than courageous Before closing 1 feel impelled to mention one other point In your statement that has tro _
nonviolent dir t action And now this approach is being termed extremist. and have remained silent behind the anesthetizing security of stained-glas windows. bled me profoundly. You wann)y commended the Birmingham police force for keeping "ord "
But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist. as I continued In spite of my shattered dreams, I came to Birmingham 'with the hope that the white and "preventing violence." I doubt that y<.u would have so warmly commended the poll
to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was no religious leadership of this community would see the justice of our cause and, with deep force if you had seen its dogs. nklng their teeth Into unanned, nonviolent Negroes. I doubt
Jesus an extremist for love: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them moral concern, would serve as the channel through which our just grievances could reach that you would so quickly comm'end the policemen If you were to observe their ug!y an
that hat you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." Was no the power structure. I had hoped that each of you would understand But a9 in I have been inhumane treatment of Negroes here In the city }ail; If you wer to watch them push a
Amos an extremist for JUStlc : "Let justice roll d�wn like waters and right ousness like an disappointed. curse old Negro women and young Negro girls; If you were to see them slap a�d kick oW
ever-flowtng str am .. Was not Paul an extremist for the Chrisban g spel' "I bear in my body I have h�ard numerous southern religious leaders admonish their worshipers to comply Negro men and young boys; If you were to observe them. as they dld'on two occasio
the marks of the Lord Je us ., Was not Martin Luther an extremist: "Here I stand; I cannot with a d pqr 9 tion decision b cause it is the law, but I have longed to hear white ministers refuse to give us f� because we wanted to sing our grace together. I cannot join you
do othel'Wlse, so help me God ,. And John Bunyan: "I will stay in Jail to the end of my days declare "f-allow this decree because integration is morally right and ecause the Negro is your praise of the Blnnlngham police department.
before I make a but II ry of my conscience," And Abraham Uncoln: ''This nation cannot you� broth 'r" In the midst of blatant injustices Inflicted upon the N qro. I have watched It is true that the police have exercised a degree of discipline in handling the demonstrato
survive half slav arod half fr e .. And Thomas Jefferson: "We hold these truths to be self- white churthm n stilnd on the sideline and mouth pious irrel vallCI alld sanc.timonious In this sense they have conducted themselves rather "nonviolently" in public. But for wh
evident, that a11 men are created equal .... " So the question is not whether we will be trivia"ti ,'> In the midst of a mighty struggle to rid our nation of ra ial and economic injustice, :>urpose'? To preserve the eVil system of segregation. Over the past few years I have consi
extremists. but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? I have h iJrd many ministers say: "Those are social issues, with whld: the gospel hds no real ently pr '.,ched that nonviolence demands that ti em, ns we use must be a pure as tHi
Will w be extremists for the preservation of Injustlc or for the extension of Justice? In tha concern" And I h ve watched many churches commit them elv to a completely other- ?Ods we . �ek. I have tried to make clear that it is 1.1. ng to use immoral means to attain mor
dramatic scene on Calvar/s hill three men were <:rucified. We must never forg t that all three worldly relt!}1 n whi h makes a strange, un-Bibbl distinction between body and soul, between ?Ods. But now I must affirm that it is just as wron,!, or perhaps even more so, to use mor
were crucified for the sum crim -the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immo- the sa 'el .IIlU th cular. neans to preserve immoral ends. Perhaps Mr. Connor and hi policemen have been rathW
rality. and thus fell b 10Vi th'lr enVIronment. The other, Jesus Christ. was an extremist for I hav Ir"v I d the length and re dth of Alabama, Mis�issippi. and all the other southern )onviolent in public, as was Chief Pritchett In Albany, Georgia. but they have used the mor
love, t11�!r. and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the states. On sw Itering summ r "days and crisp autumn mQrr.;ng I r v look d at th� South's ne,ms of nonviolence to maintain the immoral end of radallnjustice. As.T. S. Eliot has sali
nation �',rj the world are in dire n ed of creative extremists. beautiful hurches with their lofty spires pointing heavenward. I have b held the impressive 'Th .. last temptation is the greatest treason: To do th right deed for the wrong reason." •
I hac r,rJped that the white moderate would see this need. Perhaps 1 was too optimistic; out)in of II 'r m ssive religious-education buildings. Over and ov 'r I have found myself I wish you had commended the Negro slt-Inners and demonstrators of Binnillgham f •
perha� I t,!xpected too much. I uppose 1 should have realized that few members of the asking: "What kind of people worship here? Who is their God? Where were their voices cheir sublime courage. thefr willingn to suffer. and the r amazing discipline In the midst QJ
oppreSYJr race can understand the deep groans and passionate yearnings of the oppressed when th lip of Govemor Barn ott dripped with words of interp0si 'on and nullification. great provocation. One day the South win recognize Its real h roes. They will be the Jam
race, and ')tlll fewer have the vision to see that injustice must be rooted out by trong, pers s- Where were they when Governor Wallace gave a clarion call for defiance and hatred? Where Meredlths. with the noble sense of purpose that enables th�m to face jeering and hos
tent, ar,� determined action. 1 am thankful, however, that some of our white brothers in t�e ere their voices of support when bruised and weary Negro men and women decided to rise mobs, anci with the agonizing loneliness that characterizes the life of the pioneer They
South h�ve grasped the meaning of this social revolution and �ommltted themselves to .It from the dark dungeons of complacency to the bright hills of creabve protest?" be old, oppressed. battered Negro women. symbolized In a seventy-two-year-old woman
They arE: ;llll all too few in quantity, but they are big in quality. Some-such as Ralph MCGIll, Yes, these questions are still in my mind. In deep disapPOintment I have wept over the Montgomery, Alabama, who rose up with a sense of dignity and with her people decided n
Ullian SmIth, Harry Golden, James McBride Dabb ,Ann Braden. and Sarah Patton Boyle- axity of the church. But be assured that my tears have been tears of love. Yes, I love the to ride segregated buses. and who responded with ungrammatk:a1 profundity to one wtiS
hurch. How could I do otherwise,? 1 am in the rather unique position of being the son. the inquired about her weariness: "My feels is but my soul is at rest." They will be th
randson, and the great-grandson of preachers. Yes, I see the church as the body of Christ. young h�'" school and college students. t,)e young ml ten 'of the gospel and a host of th�
ut, oh! How we have blemished and scarred that body through social neglect and through eld rs, c .urageously and nonvtolendy sitting' In at lunch counters and willingly going to j
fear of being nonconfonnists. for con lence sake. On day the South will know that when these disinherited children QJ
There was a time when the church was very pOwerfuHn the time when the early Chris- G{ 1 sat down at lund'l counters, they w re fn realitY. standing up for what Is be t In th!r
ans rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the An .�rican dream and for th most cred vatu In our Judaeo-Christian heritage, there
hurch was not merely a thermometer that recorded the Ideas and principles of popular bnllging (.ur nation back to those great wells of de'mocr�cy which were dug deep by t
pinion; It was a thennostat that transfonned the mores of society. Whenever the early Chris- founding f3thers in their formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Indepe"
ans entered a town, the people In power became disturbed and Immediately sought to Qence.
onvict the Christians for being "disturbers of th peace" and "outside agitators." But the N�ver before have I written 10 long • '-tt . I'm afraki It much too long to take yo
hristlans pr�d on, in the conviction that they were "a colony of heaven," called to obey pr dous time. I can � you that It would have been {Tluch horte if I had been writi
rather lIlan man. SmaU In number. they 'were big in commitment They were too God- from a COl nfonable desk, but what e can one do wh n he Is alan In a narrow jaU ce •
. ntoxicated to be "astronomlcany Intimidated." By their effort and example they brought an other than write long letters, think long thoughts, and pray long prayers? ....
nd to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contests. If I hav Id anything In this letter that ovem.at the truth and Indicat an unreasonab
things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, Ineffectual voice imPi!tience, I beg you to forgiv me. If I have said anything that understat the truth an
th an uncertain sound. So often It is an archdefender of the status quo. Far from being Indicat my h vlng a patience that aDows me to sett! for anything, than brotherhood
, turbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community Is be God to forgive me. .
onsoled by the church's slient-and often even vocal-sanction of things as they are. I hope this letter flnds you strong in th faith. I also hope that drcumstanc win soan ma�
, But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today's church does not It possible for me to meet h. of you, not as an integrationist or a dvtll1ghts lead f �ut
ecapture the $acriftdal spirit of th early church. It will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty fellow clergyman and a Chris' n brother. Let hope that the, dark cloud of raCial pr
f millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social dub with no meaning for the twentieth udice will soon pass away nd the d ep fog of m und rstanding wiD be lift d from our fea
entury. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church h turned �� nched communi' ,and In som not too distant tomorr.o� th rad nt st rs of love a
into outright disgust. ' brotherho<)(j will shin over our great nanon With all the r scmtillating beauty.
Perhaps I have once again been too optimistic. Is organized religion too inextricably bound
to the status quo to save our nation and the world? Perhaps I must tum my faith to the Innet Y RS FOR THE CAU E Of PEAcE AND BROTHERHOOO.
spiritual church. the church within the church, as the tru ekklc;sia and hope of the world. But MAATIN LU1l1EJt •
Le
continued from 8-10
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IIWhat kind
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worship
here? II
omi
St 11 r
Awar
record.
Her 1
CHICAGO w 1 on the Billbo rds
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Shirl Y i loGo pel Music Hall
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nd N hville, this record is "cl ic"
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Go Your Way."
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She a model contemporary woman,
who unabashedly proclaims, "The
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H ERVED on the Dur-
ham, N.C. City Council and, along
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ki�heninWinston-S �m,N.C. She �������������������������
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He' Working It Out For You
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