Asked by jamar
What is Dr. King's fear if White brothers continue to dismiss the non-violent movement
In a letter from Birmingham jail
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King feared that continued dismissal by white moderates would drive Black people away from nonviolent tactics and toward more desperate, possibly violent, means — and that preferring "order" to justice would prolong oppression. As he wrote in Letter from Birmingham Jail (April 16, 1963):
- "I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate... who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice."
- "For years now I have heard the word 'Wait!'... This 'Wait' has almost always meant 'Never.'"
In short, King feared that delay and dismissal would erode patience and moral authority of the nonviolent movement and could lead to escalation.
- "I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate... who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice."
- "For years now I have heard the word 'Wait!'... This 'Wait' has almost always meant 'Never.'"
In short, King feared that delay and dismissal would erode patience and moral authority of the nonviolent movement and could lead to escalation.
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