On this day, April 16, in 1963

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his “Letter from Birmingham City Jail,” which addresses the public criticisms made by the white church on the Non-violent Civil Rights Movement. Dr. King explains that active resistance is necessary because the oppressors will never voluntarily give-up their power and hand freedom over to the oppressed. King then suggests that white moderates are more dangerous than white supremacists, because white supremacists do not hide their racism and can easily be identified as the enemy, whereas white moderates claim to be allies, and yet stifle racial justice with their lack of commitment and definitive action.