A Statement by Some of the Negro Leaders of Metropolitan Birmingham

"A Statement by Some of the Negro Leaders of Metropolitan Birmingham" is an open letter from eight white clergymen which was issued during the opening days of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights' "Birmingham Campaign" of public demonstrations for civil rights in downtown Birmingham.

The letter was published as an advertisement on page 16 of The Birmingham News on Good Friday, April 12, the same day that King, Ralph Abernathy and Fred Shuttlesworth were arrested for "parading without a permit" for leading the "Good Friday march" and the day before another open letter, "A Call for Unity", signed by eight white clergymen, appeared in print, spurring King to write a response, which appeared later that summer as "Letter from Birmingham Jail".

Signatories

Virgil L. Harris L. H. Pitts Wilbur H. Hollins M. W. Riles William M. Gunther C. J. Greene B. M. Montgomery J. Richmond Pearson Robert F. Coar M. L. Forniss B. Frank Davis James Johnson S. O'Neal G. W. McMurray C. E. Thomas J. Arthur Jordan Doris F. Lockhart Deenie Drew Mrs James T. Montgomery George White H. S. Norris C. Maiden W. L. Williams Jr Frederick L. Ellis S. L. Jones A. G. Gaston Orzell Billingsley Jr Arthur D. Shores John H. Cross J. Houston Jr John J. Drew E. N. Moore

S. E. Welch Peter A. Hall John W. Nixon James T. Montgomery R. F. Jones Ruth Barefield-Pendleton Bernice C. Johnson W. W. Thomas Harold D. Long Dorthula M. Colbert Mrs D. E. Bradford Frank Dukes Clyde S. Kirby Edward Gardner T. J. Gardner Oscar W. Adams Jr Ernest DeBardeleben Paul R. Jones J. W. Gillespie Herschell Hamilton Mrs James Johnson H. D. Coke W. E. Sterling Jr Joel Boykins Samuel E. Hill L. S. Gaillard Jr I. E. Evans Jr A. L. Brewer Mrs M. L. Forniss Louis J. Willie

See Also

• An Appeal for Law and Order and Common Sense
• A Call for Unity
• Letter from Birmingham Jail

References

• "A Statement by Some of the Negro Leaders of Metropolitan Birmingham" (April 12, 1963) The Birmingham News, p. 16