Blessed Are the Peacemakers

by Bass, S. Jonathan

• ISBN13: 9780807128008
• ISBN10: 0807128007
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-03-01
• Publisher: Louisiana State Univ Pr

Summary

Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" is arguably the most important written document of the civil rights protest era and a widely read modern literary classic. Personally addressed to eight white Birmingham clergymen who sought to avoid violence by publicly discouraging King's civil rights demonstrations in Birmingham, the nationally published "Letter" captured the essence of the struggle for racial equality and provided a blistering critique of the gradualist approach to racial justice. It soon became part of American folklore, and the image of King penning his epistle from a prison cell remains among the most moving of the era. Yet as S. Jonathan Bass explains in the first comprehensive history of King's "Letter, " this image and the piece's literary appeal conceal a much more complex tale.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
Abbreviations Used in the Notes	xv
Introduction	1	(8)
``Aristocracy of the Damn Fools''	9	(19)
In the South By and By	28	(18)
Turning the Corner	46	(24)
``Grand Fraternity of the Harassed''	70	(17)
Eyes on the Press: Birmingham and the SCLC	87	(23)
The Prison Epistle	110	(21)
Gospel of Publicity	131	(32)
``Let It Alone''	163	(12)
``This City Isn't Dead Yet''	175	(33)
The Unpardonable Sin	208	(16)
Conclusion	224	(9)
Appendix 1 The White Ministers' Law and Order Statement, January 16, 1963: ``An Appeal for Law and Order and Common Sense''	233	(2)
Appendix 2 The White Ministers' Good Friday Statement, April 12, 1963	235	(2)
Appendix 3 A Documentary Edition of the ``Letter from Birmingham Jail''	237	(20)
Appendix 4 The White Ministers' Anti-Violence Statement, September 7, 1963	257	(2)
Notes	259	(36)
Bibliography	295	(18)
Index	313