When MLK responded to an "all lives matter" argument

As conversations on racism and the rights of those living in the U.S. take center stage, the nation is deeply divided on the ways in which our moral codes direct us. This is made most plain in the various reactions to the "Black Lives Matter" movement. Politicians seeking to walk the tightrope of race relations continue to increase the notoriety of another idea—that “all lives matter.”

At first glance, “all lives matter” may seem like an appropriate response to the issues surrounding racism in the U.S. It means seeing everyone as equals and treating them this way. It is theologically correct in relationship to the imago dei. But do temporal authorities bear the fruit of this theology?

Fifty-two years ago, eight white clergy penned their version of “all lives matter.” These white men of God questioned the efficacy of the civil rights movement in their hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. They wrote that "honest convictions in racial matters could properly be pursued in the courts” and continued by saying that they "recognize the natural impatience of people who feel that their hopes are slow in being realized.” Their conclusion: