christianaudio
- Description
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April 16th. The year is 1963. Birmingham, Alabama has had a spring of non-violent protests known as the Birmingham Campaign, seeking to draw attention to the segregation against blacks by the city government and downtown retailers. The organizers longed to create a non-violent tension so severe that the powers that be would be forced to address the rampant racism head on. Recently arrested was Martin Luther King, Jr.. It is there in that jail cell that he writes this letter; on the margins of a newspaper he pens this defense of non-violence against segregation. His accusers, though many, in this case were not the white racist leaders or retailers he protested against, but 8 black men who saw him as “other” and as too extreme. To them and to the world he defended the notion that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”.
Customer Reviews
- Timeless!
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The challenge given here is still timely for the church and our society.
Overall - Challenging read.
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Challenging. Needs to be read more than once.
Overall - Well-reasoned and well-read
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Even if it is true that MLK Jr. had a scandalous personal life (depending on who one believes), it is beyond question that, in this letter, he was passionately telling the truth to a generation of pastors who had become blind and hard-hearted toward racial injustices. His rhetoric is powerful and yet peaceful, and many Christians today would do well to learn from what Dr. King has to say in this one hour recording.
Overall - Show ALL Reviews
- amazing
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With incredible skill (yet with kindness) does he reason with these clergymen who don't wish to rock the boat.
Overall - Quality piece of history!
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Martin Luther King, Jr. penned this letter on April 16, 1963, while serving a sentence. It is a quality piece of text to study and learn the general feeling about civil rights in that time period. Very compelling and quite powerful!
"We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed."Overall - Outstanding
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The letter itself is beyond question a master's work. Every Christian needs to hear and read this letter. Dion Graham does an outstanding presentation both in clairty and the sense of the moment. Again, Outstanding both the material and the presentation.
Overall - Historic and Amazing
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Something everyone in America should read
Overall - Amazing
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Absolutely inspiring, thought-provoking.
Overall - Great
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Pure Joy
Overall - A must read for every believer
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How have I never read this before! Still, I see the church struggling to stand up for those who are treated poorly...and I don't just mean the American church, but around the world.
Overall - Thanks for the download and gesture!
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Thank you for making this audio download available. It is a great gesture and much needed and appreciated in these times of struggle and even division within the Body of Christ.
Overall - Timelessly Applicable!
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Listen with your heart to Dr. King's words and you'll realize that his message is for our time just as much as it was for his!
Overall - This letter will convict Christians to their core.
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This review, by Dr. Nicholson, has been provided courtesy of Desert Bible Institute (www.desertbibleinstitute.com).
This was a truly amazing recording. After hearing this recording, I was struck by how Dr. King could take so many ideas from so many sources and smoothly and coherently tie them together. In this speech, Dr. King eloquently uses parallelism, allusion, and metaphor to paint a clear image of what the black community was experiencing in the South at this time. His arguments are clear and his definitions are accurate. Just as the pastors he was speaking to, I felt compelled and duty-bound to address the injustices he was speaking about rather than settling for a safe middle-ground. After hearing this, I feel a need to look for areas in my life where I choose wellbeing and effortlessness over uprightness and evenhandedness.
I am currently looking for other audio recordings of his famous speeches so that I can be further blessed by one of the most persuasive and charismatic speakers and teachers of the last century. Additionally, I plan to use this speech as the basis of several assignments for my students so that they can see how a truly great writer expresses himself and persuades his audience. If they can even begin to emulate Dr. King, they will truly be great writers.
Dion Graham was the perfect narrator for this recording. He has a strong, clear voice that rivals Dr. King’s. While Graham spoke in a style similar to Dr. King’s, he was by no means trying to do an imitation. It seemed to me that Graham has done he research however. He had a clear understanding of the rhythm, emphasis, and musical quality of Dr. King. His performance was engaging and a true tribute to Dr. King. I plan on finding other works by Graham to listen to in the future.
Trent Nicholson, Ph.D., D.Min.
Desert Bible Institute, President
Overall - valuable for reflection
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Although I remember this era as a young adult, this letter reminded me how dire things were at that time. This is a valuable reflection on the reality of how oppressive racism was in our nation in the recent past.
This is especially valuable in relation to Christian believers in restricted countries and a younger generation that has no concept of how severe racial prejudice was then. This is even more relevant in our way too politically correct times that have created a false sense of prejudice and intolerance, which are sadly laughable in comparison.
Dr MLK Jr was an intelligent, articulate, and courageous spokesperson, and aside from all the character assassination that he endured, he represented the nature of the God's Kingdom.Overall - Powerful
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The words of this classic message are moving and powerful. King's words on God's justice are still challenging today.
Overall - Commanding Presentation
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'...narrator Dion Graham presents this iconic document with a clarity and forcefulness worthy of its inspiring message.'
© AudioFile 2013, Portland, MaineOverall
