Letter from Selma

Dear Mama and Daddy, Tomorrow we will march to Montgomery. I do not know what will happen. The police may try to stop us. But we must march. You taught me to stay out of trouble, to be quiet, not to make waves. For most of my childhood, I obeyed you. But there comes a time when you must make 'good trouble, necessary trouble,' as I like to say. The right to vote is fundamental to democracy. Without it, we are not citizens but subjects. Black people in Alabama are systematically prevented from registering to vote through literacy tests, poll taxes, and outright intimidation. This is not just wrong - it is unconstitutional. We have tried legal channels. We have petitioned. We have demonstrated peacefully. Now we must take our case directly to the state capital. We will walk from Selma to Montgomery - 54 miles - to demand voting rights. I am not afraid, though perhaps I should be. Sheriff Clark and his deputies have shown they are willing to use violence. But the cause is greater than any individual. If we do not stand up now, when will we? I want you to know that I love you both and that I am proud to be your son. If something should happen to me, please know that I acted according to my conscience and my faith. The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. Your son, John