Friend,
Fifty-eight years ago today, Martin Luther King Jr. authored his
Letter from a Birmingham Jail while imprisoned for leading protests,
marches and sit-ins against segregation. The open letter was penned in
defense of the protest campaign, which would later become one of the
most influential campaigns of the civil rights movement.
Although it was addressed to his fellow clergymen, the letter's
significance echoed far beyond its target audience and became a
rallying cry for justice after decades of cruel and brutal segregation
in the Deep South. King was released from jail four days later after
the United Auto Workers paid his bail. Four months later, he would
deliver his
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I Have a Dream speech at the March on Washington.
King's campaigns in Birmingham and Washington set a standard for
anti-racist demonstrations that has persisted in modern years as we
continue the march for justice. As our nation reckons with fatal
police and vigilante violence against Black and Brown communities,
King's words still guide millions who remain outraged by
enduring the systemic racism that continues to tear at the fabric of
our society.
In his letter King wrote, "We know through painful experience
that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be
demanded by the oppressed." More than half a century later,
Americans are still demanding justice and peace for generations
subjected to racist attacks, discrimination, voting restrictions and
the very same unjust criminal justice system that jailed King for
protesting for the human rights of Black people. At the SPLC, we are
grateful that today we stand united with a movement of people
dedicated to demanding a world with justice, equity and human rights
for all. However, much work is necessary to make King's vision a
reality.
Recent reporting by the SPLC reveals the grave abuses faced by people,
disproportionately Black and Brown, who are living in prisons, jails,
juvenile detention facilities and immigrant detention centers.
Attention on Detention and Freedom Denied: The Unheard Voices Battling
Alabama's Parole Board are collections of stories that
illuminate the systemic failures of the U.S. criminal justice system
and call for deeply necessary reform. A story published by our
Children's Rights team last month condemns the harm and
indignity caused by a Florida law that involuntarily and often
illegally commits primarily Black and Brown children to psychiatric
facilities.
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This spring, Georgia state lawmakers responded to historic voter
turnout by doing what they have done for decades: legislating racially
targeted voting restrictions that have robbed countless Black and
Brown people of the right to make their vote count. So we sued. Last
month, the SPLC and our allies filed a lawsuit to challenge the
sweeping voting law that would massively disenfranchise Georgia
voters.
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Across the country, more than 30 state legislatures have introduced
over 115 hateful anti-trans bills, many of which target children. The
most extreme bills attack transgender people's access to health
care and punish doctors who provide it, and some go as far as
introducing harsh penalties for parents that affirm their
child's gender identity. The SPLC condemns these harmful bills,
and this month our LGBTQ Rights team
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filed a lawsuit to prevent the unconstitutional abuse of transgender
people living in Georgia Department of Corrections facilities.
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Early this year, an attack on the Capitol and the core of our
democracy was led by extremists, including prominent white
nationalists. The events of Jan. 6 were the culmination of years of
rising extremist and hate activity, outlined in our Year in Hate and
Extremism report. The insurrection served as an urgent and devastating
reminder that white nationalism and extremism continue to thrive,
especially on online platforms that host and fund hate groups, as
described in SPLC Chief of Staff Lecia Brooks' testimony before
Congress in February.
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The progress made by King and the heroes of the Civil Rights Movement
is a testament to what can be achieved because we are willing to stand
up, always, for what we believe in. Our movement's strength is
evident in the fact that we are still marching for fairness, equity
and justice today, and we will not rest until it is a reality for all.
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught
in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of
destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."
- Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail
In solidarity,
Your friends at the Southern Poverty Law Center
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