Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial “outside agitator” idea. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid. left their villages and carried their “thus saith the Lord” far beyond the boundaries of their home towns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town. Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. I am here because I have organizational ties here.īut more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. So I, along with several members of my staff, am here because I was invited here.
We readily consented, and when the hour came we lived up to our promise. Several months ago the affiliate here in Birmingham asked us to be on call to engage in a nonviolent direct action program if such were deemed necessary. Frequently we share staff, educational and financial resources with our affiliates. We have some eighty five affiliated organizations across the South, and one of them is the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights. I think I should indicate why I am here in Birmingham, since you have been influenced by the view which argues against “outsiders coming in.” I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.
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