Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the most influential civil rights leaders in modern times.

After planning a non-violent protest against racial segregation (with the help of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights) he was arrested and imprisoned.

What followed was a letter written from the prison on April 16, 1963. 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.

It condemned the then prevalent racial discrimination by Birmingham’s city government and downtown retailers.

It was smuggled out of the jail in a toothpaste tube to avoid the jail’s guards.

King’s letter was in a response to a statement made by eight white Alabama clergymen on April 12, 1963, titled “A call for unity”.

The clergymen agreed that social injustices existed but argued that the battle against racial segregation should be fought solely in the courts, not in the streets.

They criticized Martin Luther calling him an “outside agitator” who causes trouble in the streets of Birmingham.

To this, King referred to his belief that all communities and states were interrelated.

He wrote, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” He felt that,” Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider…”

King expressed his remorse that the demonstrations were taking place in Birmingham but felt that the white power structure left the black community with no other choice.

The letter includes the famous statement “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” as well as the William. E. Gladstone’s words quoted by King: “Justice too long delayed is justice denied.”