Letter from Birmingham Jail
August 1963 – by Martin Luther King Jr.

Excerpt – This reveals that we did not move irresponsibly into direct action. We, too, wanted to see Mr. Conner defeated, so we went through postponement after postponement to aid in this community need. After this we felt that direct action could be delayed no longer. You may well ask, “Why direct action, why sit-ins, marches, and so forth? Isn’t negotiation a better path?” You are exactly right in your call for negotiation. Indeed, this is the purpose of direct action. Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community that has consistently refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored. I just referred to the creation of tension as a part of the work of the nonviolent resister. This may sound rather shocking. But I must confess that I am not afraid of the word “tension.” I have earnestly worked and preached against violent tension, but there is a type of constructive nonviolent tension that is necessary for growth. Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half-truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, we must see the need of having nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men to rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood. So, the purpose of direct action is to create a situation so crisis-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation. We therefore concur with you in your call for negotiation. Too long has our beloved Southland been bogged down in the tragic attempt to live in monologue rather than dialogue.

One of the basic points in your statement is that our acts are untimely. Some have asked, “Why didn’t you give the new administration time to act?” The only answer that I can give to this inquiry is that the new administration must be prodded about as much as the outgoing one before it acts. We will be sadly mistaken if we feel that the election of Mr. Boutwell will bring the millennium to Birmingham. While Mr. Boutwell is much more articulate and gentle than Mr. Conner, they are both segregationists, dedicated to the task of maintaining the status quo. The hope I see in Mr. Boutwell is that he will be reasonable enough to see the futility of massive resistance to desegregation. But he will not see this without pressure from the devotees of civil rights. My friends, I must say to you that we have not made a single gain in civil rights without determined legal and nonviolent pressure. History is the long and tragic story of the fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture; but, as Reinhold Niebuhr has
reminded us, groups are more immoral than individuals.
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Omar Offendum, The Narcicyst, Freeway, Ayah, Amir Sulaiman – Produced by Sami Matar

Hip-Hop Activism and the Arab Spring on a Special Martin Luther King Day Episode of Left of Black HERE

cb editor: King Hamad is hard at work reducing and redefining democratic reforms in a complete abandonment of 2002 constitutional promises, which seems to be precisely what set off the 14 February Uprising to begin with… J.E Peterson has a good paper titled Bahrain: Reform, Promise and Reality publish by J.E. Peterson, a great read for grounding regarding the history of King Hamad’s bullshit reforms. HERE

Bahrain king promises to expand parliament powers

Bahrain’s king promised Sunday that the strife-wracked Gulf nation will move ahead with political reforms that widen the powers of the elected parliament to oversee governments selected by the ruling monarchy.

15 January, 2012 – By REEM KHALIFA – Associated Press

MANAMA, Bahrain — Bahrain’s king promised Sunday that the strife-wracked Gulf nation will move ahead with political reforms that widen the powers of the elected parliament to oversee governments selected by the ruling monarchy.

The reforms are part of recommendations that emerged last year from talks between various political and civil groups on easing tensions in the Sunni-ruled kingdom, which has faced more than 11 months of protests by the island’s Shiite majority.

More than 35 people have died in the unrest, which began as an Arab Spring-inspired uprising for greater rights but has shifted into a challenge against the authority of the 200-year-old ruling Sunni dynasty. Bahrain’s leaders and Gulf Arab allies claim that Shiite power Iran has encouraged the violence in the strategic nation, which is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.

In a nationally televised address, Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa said he would soon issue royal decrees to amend the constitution and grant a greater role to the 40-seat lower house of parliament.

The measures include allowing lawmakers to approve governments proposed by the ruling dynasty and giving greater authority to question and remove Cabinet officials. Parliament would also play a larger role in setting the state budget and proposing laws, he said.

But the changes are unlikely to appease Shiite opposition groups. Bahrain’s main Shiite groups have withdrawn from parliament and boycotted the so-called national dialogue reform talks last summer. …more