Here is the Birmingham March Pledge that Dr. Martin Luther King compelled all participants to sign.


* Meditate daily on the life and teachings of Jesus.
* Remember that the nonviolent movement seeks justice and reconciliation - not victory.
* Walk and talk in the manner of love; for God is love.
* Pray daily to be used by God in order that all men and women might be free.
* Sacrifice personal wishes that all might be free.
* Observe with friend & foes the ordinary rules of courtesy.
* Perform regular service for others and for the world.
* Refrain from violence of fist, tongue, and heart.
* Strive to be in good spiritual and bodily health.
* Follow the directions of the Movement leaders and of the captains on demonstrations.

Dr. Martin Luther King studied and followed the precepts of "social discord" that was espoused by M. K. Gandhi.


Pledge to Nonviolence Taken by Marchers With Gandhi, 1921

A civil resister will harbor no anger.
He will suffer the anger of the opponent.
In so doing, he will put up with assaults from the opponent, never retaliate; but he will not submit, out of fear of punishment, to any order given in anger.
He will voluntarily submit to the arrest and he will not resist the attachment or removal of his own property.
If a civil resister has any property in his possession as a trustee, he will refuse to surrender it, even though in defending it he might lose his life. He will never retaliate.
Non-retaliation excludes swearing and cursing.
He will never insult his opponent, nor take part in the newly coined cries contrary to the spirit of nonviolence.
A civil resister will not salute the Union Jack, nor will he insult it or its officials, English or Indian.
If any one insults an official or commits an assault upon him, a civil resister will protect such official or officials from the insult or assault at the risk of his own life.

Pledge to Nonviolence Taken by Marchers with Gandhi, 1939

He must have a living faith in God.
He must believe in truth and nonviolence as his creed and, therefore, have faith in the inherent goodness of human nature which he expects to evoke by his truth and love expressed through his suffering.
He must be leading a chaste life and be ready and willing for the sake of his cause to give up life and possessions.
He must be a habitual khadi-wearer and spinner.
He must be a teetotaller and be free from all intoxicants.
He must carry out with a willing heart all the rules of discipline as may be laid down from time to time.
He should carry out the jail rules unless they are especially devised to hurt his self-respect.

--Kris