“ Over the past few years I have consistently preached that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek. I have tried to make clear that it is wrong to use immoral means to attain moral ends. But now I must affirm that it is just as wrong, or perhaps even more so, to use moral means to preserve immoral ends. ”
Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail (16 April 1963). copy citation
| Author | Martin Luther King, Jr. |
|---|---|
| Source | Letter from a Birmingham Jail |
| Topic | morality means nonviolence |
| Date | 16 April 1963 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html |
Context
“It is true that the police have exercised a degree of discipline in handling the demonstrators. In this sense they have conducted themselves rather "nonviolently" in public. But for what purpose? To preserve the evil system of segregation. Over the past few years I have consistently preached that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek. I have tried to make clear that it is wrong to use immoral means to attain moral ends. But now I must affirm that it is just as wrong, or perhaps even more so, to use moral means to preserve immoral ends. Perhaps Mr. Connor and his policemen have been rather nonviolent in public, as was Chief Pritchett in Albany, Georgia, but they have used the moral means of nonviolence to maintain the immoral end of racial injustice.”
source
Meaning and analysis
