Blessed Are the Peacemakers: Martin Luther King, Jr., Eight White Religious Leaders, and the "Letter from Birmingham Jail"

by S. Jonathan Bass, Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" is arguably the most important written document of the civil rights protest era and a widely read modern literary classic. Personally addressed to eight white Birmingham clergymen who sought to avoid violence by publicly discouraging King's civil rights demonstrations in Birmingham, the nationally published "Letter" captured the essence of the struggle for racial equality and provided a blistering critique of the gradualist approach to racial justice. It soon became part of American folklore, and the image of King penning his epistle from a prison cell remains among the most moving of the era. Yet as S. Jonathan Bass explains in the first comprehensive history of King's "Letter," this image and the piece's literary appeal conceal a much more complex tale.

Genres: History, Religion, Nonfiction, Social Justice, Race, American History

322 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2001

Reviews

[Salvador Blanco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Bass successfully humanizes the eight white religious leaders MLK mentions in his "Letter from Birmingham Jail" while showing the injustice of the segregated South.

I love what James C. Cobb writes in the afterword: "In truth, Bass was not out to refurbish their reputations so much as to simply rescue them from loss of individual identity that comes of being reduced to a stereotype (think Ralph Elilson's "Invisible Man"), as they had been in King's letter" (260).

Some favorite quotes:

"None of these clergy fits exactly into the usual classifications of white southern racial perspectives, namely, liberal, moderate, or conservative" (7).

"As one church official noted at the time, as many as one hundred pastors throughout the South had left their pulpits over the race question during 1963 alone" (23).

"For a pastor to succeed with his ministry, he had to submit to the whims of reactionaries in the congregation" (74).

"... the white clergymen never received a personalized, delivered, or signed copy of the letter from King" (137).

"The media and the American public were the real targets, not the eight wight clergymen" (227).

"In thirty years between 1952 and 1982, the church (FBC Birmingham) lost over 70 percent of its membership, and attendance at Sunday services decreased over 85 percent. In 1984, when those who remained at First Baptist decided to sell their historic downtown building and join the white flight to the suburbs, only 143 (13 percent) of 1,100 members showed up to cast a vote. After 112 years in downtown Birmingham, First Baptist was unable to minister to the spiritual needs of the inner city" (249).

[Art · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good and well written account of the eight leaders and the no win situation they faced. History has forgotten the heavy price most of these leaders faced and the hatred and personal and professional sniping they took from their own churches, not to mention death threats as they attempted to open the church doors to all people, all is remembered is they were named in Kings letter for disagreeing with his tactics at that one point and time and a lot of America remembers them wrongly as pro Jim Crow.
It's a interesting study in church dynamics infighting and politics and clergy in a no win situation,by 1971, only one of them remained in Birmingham. It also explores the personal toll those years took on these men.

[Dean Summers · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the spring of 1963, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, under the direction of Martin Luther King Jr., was preparing for a civil rights demonstration in Birmingham Alabama. In an attempt to forestall a likely violent confrontation with White racists, eight of Birmingham’s prominent clergy published an open letter cautioning that the planned demonstration was ill-timed.

The eight, all White (though not all WASP), were two Episcopal bishops, a Methodist bishop, a Methodist pastor, a Jewish Rabbi, a Roman Catholic bishop, a Presbyterian pastor, and a Baptist pastor. The demonstration went forward as planned, with the predicted result that the demonstrators were jailed for parading without a permit. Among those jailed was Dr. King himself, who, from his cell, composed the first bits and pieces for what was to become his now-famous public reply to the eight White clergy, “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”

In Blessed Are the Peacemakers, Jonathan Bass recounts the circumstances that led to the publishing of the two letters. He also reconstructs the process by which King’s letter was written, polished, published, edited, and published again. And he focuses on each of those eight White clergy, tracing each life up to that fateful spring and beyond, providing insight into the personal mindset and motives of each and the way King’s letter influenced the personal career of each.

An excerpt: “A black southerner once asked [Nolan] Harmon [the Methodist bishop] if he had ever met Martin Luther King Jr. ‘No,’ the bishop replied, “all he ever did was just write me a letter’” (p. 164).

Bass has done a masterful job of gathering the facts and telling the story. His book is essential reading for developing an informed assessment of the Civil Rights Movement.

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bass does an excellent job of revealing the history behind Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail," the 8 clergy who prompted the piece, and the Civil Rights movement itself.

More than anything else, I appreciated the even-handed approach to the subject matter. While I whole-heartedly agree with MLK that the injustices of Jim Crow needed to be changed immediately, this book doesn't paint the white clergy with broad strokes of "bad guys" to MLK's "good guy." The fleshed-out history behind the "Letter" reveals Birmingham's 8 white clergy as heroes who may not have stepped out as boldly as MLK and his supporters, but they did speak out for equality when others remained silent. They were also the ones who remained behind in Birmingham and helped that community walk through the changes the Civil Rights era brought. Some became outspoken supporters of King. Others lost their pulpits, or their desire to step up to the pulpit because of the fall-out from the "Letter".

The behind-the-scenes look at MLK's support system and their masterful use of the media is also noteworthy.

[marcus miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ran across this book in one of the thrift stores in town and since I've used The Letter from a Birmingham Jail in some of my classes this seemed like it would be helpful, and it was.

Bass provides background on the events leading MLK's writing of the Letter from a Birmingham Jail and then shares brief biographies of the eight white clergymen who wrote the document, King was responding too. Bass does a nice job of showing the differences among the men, their personalities, church or synagogue situations (how "safe" was their job or position) and the events leading up to their creation of their "Appeal for Law and Order and Common Sense."
Next Bass describes the creation of the letter from a Birmingham jail. Unlike the myth of MLK penning the document in one setting on a role of toilet paper or scraps of other paper, Bass documents some of Kings and other civil rights workers thoughts and writings which preceded the famous letter. Bass also makes note of the many revision of the document. Included in the book is what Bass calls, "A Documentary Edition of the 'Letter from Birmingham Jail.'"

In the next section Bass examines the impact of the King's letter on the eight men he addresses. Again the responses were varied, some shrugged it off and made few changes in their life or ministry, others saw their ministries change and took Kings admonishment seriously, yet often maintaining that they were not apologizing for their words or actions. Most resented the sense that "outsiders" whether it be MLK or northern clergy used Birmingham as a prop to raise money, make themselves feel good, or to garner publicity. Bass shows this in several ways, including the example of the Jewish rabbi who invites northern rabbis who complain he isn't doing enough, to apply for jobs at southern synagogues looking for leadership. None take him up on the offer.

In many ways the book is troubling because the underlying question it asks is, what would we, the reader do? What are we doing in regards to the moral issues of today. The eight white men saw themselves as moderates. Those pushing for integration saw them as obstacles, hesitant, slow and not wanting to offend. Those opposed to integration saw them as dangerous radicals, communists and troublemakers. Unfortunately those opposed to integration had the loudest voices and were willing to back up their words with violence. In short, it wasn't easy being "moderate" in the 1960's south, but then as MLK would point out it wasn't easy being Black.

Finally Bass looks at the city of Birmingham and the impact of the events of the early 1960's on the city. Here the book ends on a depressing note. Written in 2001 Bass writes, "...race relations remain polarized.... De jure segregation has been replaced by a de facto apartheid mentality.... Few in the city have the courage to pursue meaningful dialogue about mutual problems. Only a handful of interracial churches exist in the city, and blacks would be no more welcome in many of the areas white congregations, than they would have been in 1963."

Given the political climate of the last few years in 2022 I'm guessing little has changed.

[Nate Worthington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used Black History Month to continue to learn about my black brothers and sisters and the country in which they live and contribute to. This book dives into the events leading up to Dr. Martin Luther King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail and the actual drafting and publication of said letter. It also goes into great detail of the profiles of the eight clergymen the letter was addressed to and their reactions, responses (or lack thereof) and the chain reaction the entire event had on segregation and civil rights in the south and the rest of our nation.

Final Rating: Borrow

[Rodeweeks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written in that it clearly shows the viewpoints of both the white clergy as well as that of Martin Luther King Jr. Great history, it shows that we came a long way but still have a lot of work to do. Some things that happened in the 1940's still happens today unfortunately (however I can only speak from a South African viewpoint).

[Mike McWhorter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detailed documentation on the creation of one of Dr. King’s greatest piece of work. Tells a story that should be as popular and well known as his I have a dream speech.

[Carmen Fernández · Rating 4 out of 5]

the greatest man that ever lived

[Elliot Ratzman · Rating 3 out of 5]

On scraps of paper and on the margins of newspapers MLK wrote his classic “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (April 1963) to eight white clergy, accusing them of moderation. The Letter was an excuse to explain to America the tactics of the Civil Rights Movement, the complaints of Southern blacks, and, practically, to raise money and support for the movement. Birmingham was the scene of violent segregationists’ bombings, Bull Connor’s water hoses and police dogs, images of elderly blacks beaten after demonstrating. Bass’s book tells the story of those eight clergy, all with a range of commitments, and how King’s Letter disrupted their lives. Less rigorously, he documents how the Letter came into being, how it was edited, distributed and used as a tool in the struggle. Bass dwells a beat too long on the behind-the-scenes machinations and seems to sympathize with the white clergy more than King. However, the book is full of useful stories and a fine light on the conflicts white clergy faced.

[Dave McNeely]

This book provides the provocative backdrop for Martin Luther King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." I was particularly interested in this account because it discusses the backgrounds of the eight white clergy addressed in the letter, one of whom was a Carson-Newman grad (Earl Stallings). Like many other historical watershed moments, the climate surrounding King's stand in Birmingham in 1963 was much more complicated than history books have the room to tell. The heft of King's message is not lost in this work, but the challenge to all who find themselves in the midst of politically-fraught situations finds good company in this excellent historical work.

[Rafael Villalobos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story behind the famous "Letter from a Birmingham Jail". Pastor King directed this letter at 8 White Pastors ( a Rabbi and a Catholic were counted among the group) in response to their public dissent of King's Birmingham March against the Jim Crow South. I recommend you read this book so that we will not let what happened before, be acceptable again. A copy of the letter should be sent to the current nine Supreme Court Justices as a reminder that, "Injustice anywhwere is a threat to Justice everywhere." MLK Jr.

[Patti · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story behind Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" to eight religious leaders there. It's an interesting perspective, more so because one of the leaders was my friend's father. In some ways, these men were in a no-win situation. Vilified for dragging their feet for wanting a slower pace to bring about change in civil rights and also for moving far too quickly for their congregants and were thus accused of being liberal extremists. Well worth reading to understand more about the complicated history of race relations and the struggle for civil rights.