Counter-Inaugural: Robin D.G. Kelley with Robin Coste Lewis

On January 31, 2017, Robin D.G. Kelley and Robin Coste Lewis reflected on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” This letter was written in response to a public statement of concern issued by eight white religious leaders of the American South about the civil rights movement’s tactics of nonviolent direct action. Kelley and Lewis reflected on this historic document, and discussed what we can learn now from the resistance strategies King championed.

Suggested Reading & Viewing

Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., April 16, 1963

Beyond Vietnam, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., April 4, 1967

I Am Not Your Negro, Raoul Peck, screening January 30, 2017 at the Hammer Museum

This event was part of Clockshop’s Counter-Inaugural, a series of talks addressing the misogyny, hate speech, and climate change denial that dominated the 2016 presidential campaign. It was recorded by Tom Carroll.