East Lyme — The words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. filled the East Lyme Senior Center on Monday evening.

One by one, 21 people went up to the podium to each read aloud sections of King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" to about 25 audience members.

"I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham," read aloud Jaci Felix, an East Lyme Middle School student and one of the readers. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial 'outside agitator' idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds."

King wrote the 1963 letter from Birmingham City Jail after he and his friend, the Rev. Ralph Abernathy, were arrested while demonstrating for civil rights in Birmingham, event organizer Eva Menon said. King was responding in his letter to a group of Alabama clergymen who objected to King's presence and leadership style in Birmingham, calling him and his organization "outsiders" and the demonstrations "unwise and untimely." 

In the letter, King outlines the steps to respond to social injustice: collection of the facts, negotiation, self-purification, and, ultimately, nonviolent direct action.

The Niantic Rotary Club, Niantic and Advanced Toastmasters and East Lyme Public Library held the public reading at the East Lyme Senior Center to commemorate Black History Month.

John Hogan, a Toastmasters and community member who read part of the letter, said that 50 years after King was assassinated, it's important to keep the conversation going for equality and opportunity.

Menon said she was inspired to organize the event after experiencing how powerful it was to hear King's words read aloud at an event at the Westerly Library that brought several audience members to tears. Stonington resident Pam McDonald organized that event with the Westerly Area Peace and Justice Group.

The Rev. Dr. Terrlyn L. Curry Avery, a pastologist (licensed psychologist and ordained minister), said many people associate King with his "I Have a Dream," speech, but it's important to also highlight the totality of his work, including "Letter From Birmingham Jail."

In the letter, King describes the steps he took before taking direct action to address injustices. Curry Avery said that when reading the letter, one can see similarities between the issues going on in the country at the time King was writing the letter and the issues today.

"There may be some differences, but we see social injustices still continue to happen," she said.

Issues in today's society include violence towards black and brown men, the number of people of color incarcerated, and health and educational system disparities, she said.

Curry Avery said the event is a way of getting people interested in King's work, as well as getting people to look at some of the strategies King used and think about using those strategies to fight against social injustice. She said she thinks there are people of all races who are willing to fight against social injustices.

Cate Steel, a Toastmasters and community member, said she decided to participate because she thinks words and actions speak more loudly than ever. She said it's vitally important to articulate the words of King, whom she called a "prophet in our time."

McDonald, who read aloud part of the letter on Monday, highlighted that the civil rights leader, and others, designed a technology on how to go about making change in the world, called Kingian Nonviolence. That technology continues to be taught today.

East Lyme Public Library Director Lisa Timothy, a participant, said the letter, written more than 50 years ago, is a great piece of timeless literature that is meant to be heard.

"I just feel like it's important for every community to understand there are people of different cultures who want to have a voice, want respect, want to be part of the process of change," added Senior Center Director Cathy Wilson. "I think Dr. King embodied all of that."

k.drelich@theday.com