Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested 29 times.
Not for crimes, but for conscience -- acts of civil disobedience and the kind of trumped-up charges designed to slow a movement: loitering, minor traffic violations, existing while demanding justice.
It was from an Alabama jail cell, on April 16, 1963, that King wrote his "Letter From Birmingham Jail," laying out a truth that still makes people uncomfortable: that unjust laws deserve to be broken, and that waiting politely for justice often means waiting forever.
King understood that progress doesn’t arrive on schedule, and it certainly doesn’t come from silence.
As he put it, with clarity that still cuts:
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
On MLK Day -- and every day -- it feels less like a quote and more like a warning Americans are needlessly living inside.
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