Letter From a Birmingham Jail

To whom is King's letter addressed?

• Black activists

• Other (white) clergymen

• White protestors

• Fellow clerical workers

Why, does King argue, is it okay to ignore the laws of segregation?

• Because "wait" most often means "never"

• Because "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere"

• Because "an unjust law is no law at all"

• Because, " he would rarely have time to answer anything else"

King believes that ___ causes the tension, which leads to negotiation

• direct action

• unjust laws

• superiority

• the city fathers

What "broken promise" lead to the most recent direct action (p.8)

• The promise to take down the degrading signs

• The promise to desegregate the water fountains

• The promise to desegregate bathrooms

• The promise to allow his children to attend amusement parks

VOCAB: because of the promise of the city fathers to take down the degrading signs, King calls a ___ on protests.

• good-faith

• moratorium

• engulf

• gainsaying

VOCAB: King says he ___ - or rarely - takes time to answer all the complaints he receives.

• consented

• seldom

• engulfs

• gainsaying

Which of the steps of a nonviolent campaign does King say that they have already tried

• Collection of the facts

• Negotiation

• Self-purification & Direct Action

• All of them

In his opening paragraph, King says that he rarely pauses to answer criticisms, but he is replying to the clergymen because

• their actions were unwise and untimely.
• their letter shows them to be extremists.
• he believes them to be sincere and good.
• he wants his letter to bring about change.

Tags

CCSS.RI.9-10.1

CCSS.RI.9-10.2

CCSS.RI.9-10.6

CCSS.RI.9-10.9

What is the basis for King’s argument against the idea that he is an outsider who came to Birmingham?

• He was born in Birmingham.
• He has organizational ties in Birmingham.
• He has many relatives in Birmingham.
• He went to college in Birmingham.

Tags

CCSS.RI.9-10.1

CCSS.RI.9-10.2

CCSS.RI.9-10.6

CCSS.RI.9-10.8

What is the argument in this letter?

• He was defending the laws already in place.
• He was fighting for woman's rights.
• Defending both his right and his moral grounds for organizing nonviolent protest activities in support of the civil rights of African Americans.
• He defends that view of breaking laws when those laws are unjust.