A Call For Unity
Encyclopedia
"A Call for Unity" was a letter written on April 12, 1963 by eight white clergymen local to Birmingham, Alabama
and published in a local newspaper. The writers urged an end to the Negro demonstrations "directed and led in part by outsiders" that were taking place in the area at the time, recommending that Negroes engage in local negotiations and use the courts if rights are being denied.
The term "outsider" was a thinly veiled reference to Martin Luther King, Jr.
, and King replied with his "Letter from Birmingham Jail
", arguing that forceful civil action was indeed necessary.
The authors of "A Call for Unity" had written "An Appeal for Law and Order and Common Sense" in January of the same year.
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
and published in a local newspaper. The writers urged an end to the Negro demonstrations "directed and led in part by outsiders" that were taking place in the area at the time, recommending that Negroes engage in local negotiations and use the courts if rights are being denied.
The term "outsider" was a thinly veiled reference to Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
, and King replied with his "Letter from Birmingham Jail
Letter from Birmingham Jail
The Letter from Birmingham Jail or Letter from Birmingham City Jail, also known as The Negro Is Your Brother, is an open letter written on April 16, 1963, by Martin Luther King, Jr., an American civil rights leader...
", arguing that forceful civil action was indeed necessary.
The authors of "A Call for Unity" had written "An Appeal for Law and Order and Common Sense" in January of the same year.
However, we are now confronted by a series of demonstrations by some of our Negro citizens, directed and led in part by outsiders. We recognize the natural impatience of people who feel that their hopes are slow in being realized. But we are convinced that these demonstrations are unwise and untimely.
We agree rather with certain local Negro leadership which has called for honest and open negotiation in our area. And we believe this kind of facing of issues can best be accomplished by citizens of our own metropolitan area, white and Negro, meeting with their knowledge and experience of the local situation. All of us need to face that responsibility and find proper channels for its accomplishment.
Just as we formerly pointed out that "hatred and violence have no sanction in our religious and political traditions", we also point out that such actions as incite to hatred and violence, however technically peaceful those actions may be, have not contributed to the resolution of our local problems. We do not believe that these days of new hope are days when extreme measures are justified in Birmingham.
We commend the community as a whole, and the local news media and law enforcement officials in particular, on the calm manner in which these demonstrations have been handled. We urge the public to continue to show restraint should the demonstrations continue, and the law enforcement officials to remain calm and continue to protect our city from violence.
We further strongly urge our own Negro community to withdraw support from these demonstrations, and to unite locally in working peacefully for a better Birmingham. When rights are consistently denied, a cause should be pressed in the courts and in negotiations among local leaders, and not in the streets. We appeal to both our white and Negro citizenry to observe the principles of law and order and common sense.
Signatories
- C. C. J. CarpenterCharles Colcock Jones CarpenterCharles Colcock Jones Carpenter D.D., LL.D was consecrated Bishop of the Alabama Episcopal Diocese on June 24, 1938 and served until 1968. He was one of the eight clergymen who sent a letter titled "A Call for Unity" to Martin Luther King Jr...
, D.D., LL.D., Bishop of AlabamaEpiscopal Diocese of AlabamaThe Episcopal Diocese of Alabama is located in Province IV of The Episcopal Church and serves the State of Alabama with the exception of the extreme southern region, including Mobile, which forms part of the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast.... - Joseph Durick, D.D. Auxiliary Bishop, Diocese of Mobile, Birmingham
- Milton L. GrafmanMilton GrafmanMilton Louis Grafman , an American rabbi who led Temple Emanu-El in Birmingham, Alabama from 1941 until his retirement in 1975; he then served as Rabbi Emeritus from 1975 until his death in 1995. He was one of eight ministerial signers of a public statement to which Martin Luther King, Jr...
, Rabbi of Temple Emanu-El, Birmingham, Alabama - Paul Hardin, Bishop of the Alabama-West Florida Conference
- Nolan Bailey HarmonNolan Bailey HarmonNolan Bailey Harmon was a Bishop of The Methodist Church and the United Methodist Church, elected in 1956.-Birth and family:...
, Bishop of the North Alabama Conference of the Methodist Church - George M. Murray , D.D., LL.D., Bishop Coadjutor, Episcopal Diocese of AlabamaEpiscopal Diocese of AlabamaThe Episcopal Diocese of Alabama is located in Province IV of The Episcopal Church and serves the State of Alabama with the exception of the extreme southern region, including Mobile, which forms part of the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast....
- Edward V. Ramage, Moderator, Synod of the Alabama Presbyterian Church in the United States
- Earl StallingsEarl StallingsThe Reverend Earl Stallings was an American Baptist minister and activist in the U.S. civil rights movement.Earl Stallings was born March 20, 1916 in Durham, North Carolina. He died when he was 89 in his retirement home in Lakeland, Florida on February 23...
, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Birmingham, Alabama