Jailed for defying an injunction against protests, Martin Luther King Jr. writes his open letter defending nonviolent direct action against the 'white moderate.'
At a Glance
- Date
- 16 April 1963
- Location
- Birmingham, Alabama
- Key people
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Category
- Civil Rights Movement
- Source
- Letter from Birmingham Jail (1963) · Stanford King Institute
What It Meant Then
It became the intellectual manifesto of the civil rights movement.
What It Means Now
The letter is among the most anthologized works of American political writing.
Cite this page
- MLA
- “King Writes 'Letter from Birmingham Jail'.” Black-History.com, 30 Sept. 2026, https://black-history.com/on-this-day/king-writes-letter-from-birmingham-jail/.
- APA
- Black-History.com Editors. (2026, September 30). King Writes 'Letter from Birmingham Jail'. Black-History.com. https://black-history.com/on-this-day/king-writes-letter-from-birmingham-jail/
- Chicago
- Black-History.com Editors. “King Writes 'Letter from Birmingham Jail'.” Black-History.com. September 30, 2026. https://black-history.com/on-this-day/king-writes-letter-from-birmingham-jail/.
Editorial Note
By the Black-History.com editors. Last reviewed 30 September 2026. To suggest a primary source or a correction, write to editors@black-history.com or use our corrections form.