Wetherington, Rachel: Diversity

During the 1960s, America was in the midst of two different wars: one overseas in Vietnam and one on the home front known as the Civil Rights Movement. Diversity was far from many people's minds, save for a select few, because of what was happening in Vietnam. However, one man in particular, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was especially focused on diversity and trying to achieve acceptance of it. Segregation was universally practiced in the South during this time, and it was the main goal of Dr. King to help bring an end to it. Many people opposed his attempts in doing this, which resulted in a letter entitled "A Call For Unity" by eight white Birmingham clergymen that was published in a local newspaper. Dr. King's response to this letter was written while he was in jail, fittingly called "Letter From a Birmingham Jail." Both of these letters played a role in the eventual acceptance of diversity.
   
"A Call For Unity" was written on April 12, 1963. The letter urged "Negroes" to stop their demonstrations. These demonstrations were "directed and led in part by outsiders," according to the letter, referring to Dr. King. The clergymen make a weak attempt to try to be understanding in the Black's situation, but the arguments are not in any way convincing. The letter says that they "agree with certain local Negro leadership which has called for honest and open negotiation" about the racial issues but also states that the demonstrations were "unwise and untimely." The clergymen were merely trying to do what almost all the other whites did: promise change in the future and give Blacks false hope so they would discontinue their demonstrations. The veiled message is one that Dr. King picked up on, and as a result he wrote his "Letter From a Birmingham Jail." Without the clergymen's "A Call For Unity," Dr. King would not have had the opportunity to write one of his most famous and influential works that would play a large role in the Civil Rights Movement, in turn allowing for a more universal acceptance of diversity.
   
Dr. King's "Letter From a Birmingham Jail" was written just four days after "A Call For Unity," on April 16, 1963. Dr. King was in jail for a petty charge of demonstrating without a permit, that in itself highlighting the prejudices evident during this time. Although he was in jail, Dr. King did not give up or sit and wait to get out while injustices were still being done. He was not from Birmingham, but came because of an invitation from the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights to curb the injustices. In his letter, Dr. King compared his aid to the Biblical stories of prophets and the Apostle Paul, saying he was "compelled to bring the gospel of freedom beyond [his] hometown."  Dr. King was committed to nonviolent protest and became a symbol for any committed to spread acceptance of diversity and eliminate injustices due to prejudices.
   
Although Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had to face countless oppositions such as in "A Call For Unity," he was able to maintain a nonviolent defense, as seen in his "Letter From a Birmingham Jail," to expose the injustices done as a result of prejudices and the Whites' refusal to accept diversity. In turn, he was able to lead one of the most important movements in America's history; that is, the acceptance of others' differences, or in other words, diversity.