Faculty, staff, and students are invited to join the Center for Social Justice and Public Service to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday on Tuesday, January 16.

In his Letter From a Birmingham Jail (1963), Dr. King wrote a classic statement about resisting unjust laws. Eight prominent “liberal” Alabama clergymen had published an open letter in January calling on Dr. King to allow the battle for integration to continue in the local and federal courts. They warned that nonviolent resistance as supported by Dr. King would incite civil disturbances. King wrote his reply on April 16, 1963, while serving a sentence for participating in civil rights demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama.

At noon in Bannan 127, Professor Aldo Billingslea, Professor Philip Jimenez, and Professor Margalynne Armstrong will read from the Letter From a Birmingham Jail. RSVP for lunch by Thu., Jan. 11 at noon to (408) 551-1720 or socialjustice@scu.edu.

From 5 to 6 p.m. in the Strong Common room, there will be a wine and cheese King Day Celebration with social justice faculty, co-hosted with BLSA, the Public Interest and Social Justice Coalition, LaRaza, and BGLAd.