Happy MLK Day
It’s Martin Luther King day and I’m at work while so many students and government workers get to stay home and reflect on the day’s meaning. Well, they get to stay home (at least), but in the spirit of reflection, I’d like to offer the following tools to help:
Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail
Along with the iconic speech there is MLK’s letter while staying in the Birmingham Jail. The version that I linked to is a color coded analysis of his rhetorical technique. It’s quite useful for seeing why it is so powerful.
Never before have I written so long a letter. I’m afraid it is much too long to take your precious time. I can assure you that it would have been much shorter if I had been writing from a comfortable desk, but what else can one do when he is alone in a narrow jail cell, other than write long letters, think long thoughts and pray long prayers? (from the letter)
There are a ton of other resources, but these are the two that remain powerful and hopeful. There’s a great deal more work to be done to bring King’s desires to fruition, but today we reflect.
