50 Years After MLK

Which is a central idea of the article?

• The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed racial segregation.

• Fifty years after Martin Luther King Jr.’s death, important strides have been made toward achieving racial equality, but the country continues to struggle with discrimination.

• King co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

• The civil rights movement paved the way for the election of the first black U.S. president.

Which statement best supports that central idea?

• "King was willing to say things that he knew . . . would make him less popular.”

• “[When] a small fraction of people . . . come together . . . they can make a big difference.”

• “The . . . issues that people are wrestling with now . . . are the same issues King was wrestling with then.”

• “He was incapable of hating.”

What does revere mean in this statement? “Though many people revere King today, that wasn’t always the case when he was alive.”

• ignore

• criticize

• hate

• admire

Why might the author have included a quote from President Lyndon B. Johnson?

• to illustrate that King knew influential people

• to show that Johnson was in office in 1968

• to highlight the different kinds of statements U.S. presidents have to make

• to show that King’s death had a widespread impact across the country

According to the text, where did four black college students stage a lunch counter sit-in?

• Greensboro, North Carolina

• Little Rock, Arkansas

• Memphis, Tennessee

• Birmingham, Alabama

Which of these statements is an opinion?

• King was an advocate of nonviolent protest.

• The Civil War resulted in the end of slavery.

• “I Have a Dream” is the most important speech in U.S. history.

• King was one of the most recognizable figures in the civil rights movement.

Which statement is true?

• Many young people in the 1960s thought King was too radical.

• King was born in Memphis, Tennessee.

• A poll showed that many Americans disapproved of King in 1967.

• The Civil Rights Act of 1964 gave voting rights to African-Americans

What was an effect of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown v. Board of Education?

• African-Americans no longer had to give up their bus seats to whites.

• Segregated public schools were outlawed.

• African-Americans gained voting rights.

• Woolworth’s started serving African-Americans.

Which of these happened first?

• King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech.

• President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act.

• Nine black students were blocked from entering an all-white high school in Arkansas.

• Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger

Which of the following details should be included in a summary of the article?

• James Earl Ray died in prison in 1998.

• King’s legacy has influenced a new generation of activists who continue to fight for equality.

• King’s decision to speak out against the Vietnam War drew widespread condemnation

• The Montgomery bus boycott led to the U.S. Supreme Court declaring segregation on public buses unconstitutional.