“Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere.”

On this Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, I thought it would be right to give a link to perhaps one of my favorite essays/letters by Dr. King. That is his brilliant letter to clergy that we know today as the Letter from a Birmingham Jail. In it, King describes why he is taking on the cause of civil rights and the reasons he came to Birmingham.

I think what I find most interesting and passionate about his words are his deep concern for injustice. As he says, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” There is a deep commitment – and we saw this in King’s life – to overcoming injustice. Also, too, there is a deep commitment and respect for the law and the outcome of one’s actions. King did not take on the cause of civil rights without knowing there would be consequences (jail) and was willing to accept those outcomes.

So, on this day take time to read these words from Dr. King and think about what it means that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”