The steps were:
- collection of facts to determine if there are injustices
- negotiation
- self-purification
- and direct action
Here is the excerpt from the letter where these steps are:
"In any peaceful campaign, there are four basic steps: collecting facts to determine if there are injustices; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action. We've done all these steps in Birmingham. There can be no gain in stating the fact that racial injustice engulfs this community. Birmingham is probably the most completely segregated city in the United States. His ugly history of brutality is widely known. Black people have experienced grossly unfair treatment in the courts. There have been more unsolved shelling of houses and black churches in Birmingham than in any other city in the country. These are the hard and brutal facts of the case. Based on these conditions, the black leaders tried to negotiate with the city authorities. But the latter consistently refused to take part in bona fide negotiations."
