This chapter delves into the profound compassion and conviction exhibited in Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'Letter from Birmingham Jail', highlighting the challenges in defining justice today compared to the past. It explores themes of protest timing, societal roles, and the impact of movements in changing the world, challenging individuals to question their own contributions to the betterment of society.
When poet, lawyer, and MacArthur Fellow Dwayne Betts was imprisoned for nine years at the age of 16 for carjacking, he only wept twice. One of those times was when he read Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail." In this powerful conversation with EconTalk's Russ Roberts, Betts explains why he cried, what he learned from King, King's urgency in the face of injustice, and Betts's thoughts on writing the introduction to a new volume of King's letter.