A Statement by Some of the Negro Leaders of Metropolitan Birmingham

"A Statement by Some of the Negro Leaders of Metropolitan Birmingham" is an open letter from 62 Black citizens, including ministers, doctors, and business leaders, which was issued to the public during the opening days of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights' "Birmingham Campaign" of public demonstrations for civil rights in downtown Birmingham.

The signers of the statement expressed that they had shown "patience and restraint" for years, bringing their concerns before various bodies and waiting for promised changes to public policies without success. They expressed their belief that the U.S. Constitution guaranteed them rights, "as contributing and law abiding citizens in this community," that were unjustly denied. They claimed to have never asked for "special priviliges" and appealed to "people of goodwill...who believe in human rights and dignity," to support their cause, and called on City Officials to "appoint immediately a biracial committee which will be charged with the responsibility of looking objectively at the problems in this community where race is involved." The statement concluded with "Let us live together in human dignity as American citizens and sons of God."

The statement was published in the form of an advertisement on page 16 of The Birmingham News on Good Friday, April 12, the same day that King, Ralph Abernathy and Fred Shuttlesworth were arrested for "parading without a permit" for leading the "Good Friday march" and the day before another open letter, "A Call for Unity", signed by eight white clergymen, appeared in print, spurring King to write a response, which appeared later that summer as "Letter from Birmingham Jail".

Signatories

Virgil L. Harris L. H. Pitts Wilbur H. Hollins M. W. Riles William M. Gunther C. J. Greene B. M. Montgomery J. Richmond Pearson Robert F. Coar M. L. Forniss B. Frank Davis James Johnson S. O'Neal G. W. McMurray C. E. Thomas J. Arthur Jordan Doris F. Lockhart Deenie Drew Mrs James T. Montgomery George White H. S. Norris C. Maiden W. L. Williams Jr Frederick L. Ellis S. L. Jones A. G. Gaston Orzell Billingsley Jr Arthur D. Shores John H. Cross J. Houston Jr John J. Drew E. N. Moore

S. E. Welch Peter A. Hall John W. Nixon James T. Montgomery R. F. Jones Ruth Barefield-Pendleton Bernice C. Johnson W. W. Thomas Harold D. Long Dorthula M. Colbert Mrs D. E. Bradford Frank Dukes Clyde S. Kirby Edward Gardner T. J. Gardner Oscar W. Adams Jr Ernest DeBardeleben Paul R. Jones J. W. Gillespie Herschell Hamilton Mrs James Johnson H. D. Coke W. E. Sterling Jr Joel Boykins Samuel E. Hill L. S. Gaillard Jr I. E. Evans Jr A. L. Brewer Mrs M. L. Forniss Louis J. Willie

See Also

• An Appeal for Law and Order and Common Sense
• A Call for Unity
• Letter from Birmingham Jail

References

• "A Statement by Some of the Negro Leaders of Metropolitan Birmingham" (April 12, 1963) The Birmingham News, p. 16