A Call For Unity
"A Call For Unity" is a letter written on April 12, 1963 by eight white clergymen local to Birmingham, Alabama and published in a local newspaper. The authors of "A Call For Unity" had written "An Appeal for Law and Order and Common Sense" in January of the same year. They urged an end to the Negro demonstrations "directed and led in part by outsiders" that were taking place in the area at the time, recommending that Negros engage in local negotiations and use the courts if rights are being denied.
Martin Luther King, Jr's Letter from Birmingham Jail was composed as a direct response to "A Call for Unity" and addressed directly to his "fellow clergymen" whom he hoped to meet as brothers in Christ after the "dark clouds of racial prejudice" were lifted away.
Signatories
- Nolan B. Harmon, Bishop of the North Alabama Conference of the Methodist Church
- Paul Hardin, Bishop of the Alabama-West Florida Conference of the Methodist Church
- C. C. J. Carpenter, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama
- Joseph A. Durick, Auxiliary Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Mobile-Birmingham
- Milton M. Grafman, Rabbi of Temple Emanu-El, Birmingham
- George M. Murray, Bishop Coadjutor of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama
- Edward V. Ramage, Moderator of the Synod of the Alabama Presbyterian Church in the United States
- Earl Stallings, Pastor of First Baptist Church Birmingham
References
- "A Call For Unity." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 31 Jan 2006, 05:21 UTC. 23 Apr 2006, 23:34 [1].