Was it divine intervention or simply the fact that he was right that makes the infamous ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’ timeless, profound and even life-changing for some readers? If you haven’t met yet Dwayne Betts In a previous EconTalk episode, get ready for Russ Roberts’ phenomenal friend and guest. Betts is so present in the moment and influenced by the beauty, truth and humility of the great Martin Luther King that his voice sometimes cracks when answering Roberts’ questions. In this episode, he shares moments from his own history and the effect King’s work has had on him.
Betts’ nine years in prison and remarkable journey since then uniquely qualify him as the King’s favorite author for the introduction to Letter from Birmingham Jail (The Essential Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King). We hope that this conversation will spark thoughts about freedom in you. Share a thought or insight in the comments below.
1- Both Roberts and Betts appreciated King’s great speech in different ways when they revisited it. Roberts calls it a love letter to justice in his (king’s) country. While you pause and read ‘Letter from Birmingham Prison’ by Martin Luther King Jr., what to do you do you notice that maybe you didn’t remember?
2- How does Betts argue that King’s urgent letter, a response to criticism of his nonviolent protest, honored the clergy’s eight critics?
3- Betts says, “I feel like it’s much more challenging to name what the side of justice looks like,” referring to the difficulty of discussing contemporary issues with conviction. To what extent do you agree with this statement and with what examples would you like to illustrate this?
4- “Turning regrets into feathers” versus “Economics explains everything but justice.” John Rawls (not Robert Nozick) is in the Freedom Library in 340 prisons. What topic of conversation would you like to have during dinner, and why?