Birmingham Revolution

Short Review: King's Letters from a Birmingham Jail as well as the whole Birmingham campaign still have something to say to the modern church. After re-reading Letters from a Birmingham Jail last month I picked up this book that both discusses the letter and gives context to the whole Birmingham campaign. It is hard to overstate how convicting that I find Letter from a Birmingham Jail, while overt racism is much less prevalent than when it was written, the underlying issues that King is addressing in his response to another open letter to the leaders of the Birmingham campaign from generally supportive white pastors seems like it could have been written this year. Whites still want African American leaders to slow down, still are concerned about law and order and misuse of civil disobedience. Gilbreath makes this book personal. He is too young to have lived through the era, but he interviews many who did and spends time reflecting about what has and has not changed and how we should be inspired and challenged. Gilbreath is a journalist and a writer or editor for several Evangelical magazines throughout his career so he speaks well to Evangelicals and addresses some of the mistrust of King by evangelicals.

My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/birmingham-revolution/