Purcell Marian High School is committed to honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr and the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement by working toward ensuring our Black and Brown students inhabit a world with "the milk of prosperity and the honey of equality flowing before them."

The lessons of Dr. King cannot be boiled down to quotes stripped of context and shared once per year. We strive to instill the lessons of the Civil Rights Movement today and every day in our classrooms. We invite our community to read and listen to a small collection of the words and ideas of a man fighting for the humanity of his people in a world where others fought to deny them equal treatment and opportunities. We recognize that the struggle for equality and anti-racism still rages today and we remain committed to being part of the change in our world.

ESSAYS + SPEECHES

Letter from a Birmingham Jail - April 16, 1963

• On Good Friday, April 12, 1963, Dr. King was arrested (alongside Civil Rights leaders Ralph Abernathy and Cincinnati resident Fred Shuttlesworth) while peacefully protesting racism and racial segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. While sitting in his jail cell, Dr. King penned his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" in response to calls from white clergymen who insisted on an end to public protests.

The Other America - April 14, 1967.

• Dr. King addresses race, poverty, and economic justice.

For a more speeches and sermons from Dr. King visit The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute website.

ARTICLES

Which Martin Luther King Are We Celebrating Today? - New York Times, January 2017

VIDEOS

Click the tweet below to see a collection of videos shared by the Martin Luther King, Jr Center.

A thread of #MLK speeches and sermons in which he speaks truth to power, shares about his philosophy of nonviolence, and expounds on issues of injustice and what our righteous, rigorous response should be. Relevant. Revelatory. Revolutionary. #MLKDay #BelovedCommunity pic.twitter.com/lqyNbBPiym

— The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center (@TheKingCenter) January 18, 2021

From ‘Paul’s Letter to American Christians’: “Oh America, how often have you taken necessities from the masses to give luxuries to the classes.” #MLK #MLKDay https://t.co/i5TVdsAMH7

— The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center (@TheKingCenter) January 18, 2021