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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 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. 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. 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 filed a lawsuit to prevent the unconstitutional abuse of transgender people living in Georgia Department of Corrections facilities. 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. 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.
In solidarity, Your friends at the Southern Poverty Law Center |
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