Letter from Birmingham Jail

What did Martin Luther King Jr. lead?

• a violent protest in 1963 against segregation.

• a nonviolent protest in 1963 against segregation.

• a boycott in 1963 against segregation.

• a company in 1963 against segregation.

What was passed in 1964 with his leadership?

• The Segregation Act

• The "I Have a Dream" Act

• The Civil Rights Act

• The Nobel Peace Prize

Identify 1 claim opposing King’s work to which he is responding in the first paragraph of the letter.

• King is responding to the claim that his work is "wise and timely" (lines 4-5)

• King is responding to the claim that his work is "unjust and unlikely" (lines 4-5)

• King is responding to the claim that his work is "unwise and untimely" (lines 4-5)

• King is responding to the claim that his work is "unique and unhinged" (lines 4-5)

To whom is he responding to? Why is this audience significant?

• He is responding to the public and media, which is significant because they can help his cause.

• He is responding to the police officers who arrested him, which is significant because they can release him.

• He is responding to a group of fellow clergymen/religious leaders, which is significant because he can address them seriously as equals and he can expect them to be thoughtful people, not angry racists.

How was King cognizant of injustices in Birmingham if he did not live there?

• King was informed by an affiliate organization that is present in Birmingham.

• King was informed by family members that are present in Birmingham.

• King was informed because he lived there.

• King was informed by media coverage that was present in Birmingham.

Identify a religious allusion from King's letter. Explain why King included religious allusions in his letter.

• King alludes to priests in the tenth century B.C. and the Apostle Raul. He was writing to a newspaper so he could expect them to share his letter.

• King alludes to prophets in the eighth century B.C. and the Apostle Paul, who carried the word of the gospel beyond their home towns. He was writing to clergymen, so he could expect references to Biblical events to resonate with them.

Why do you think King might have taken the time so early in the letter to go into such detail about steps taken and recent events in Birmingham?

• King is responding to the claim that his work is "untimely" but he is showing that he is very patient and willing to wait.

• King is responding to the claim that his work is "untimely" by carefully detailing the evidence that shows, on the contrary, that his work is long overdue.

• King is responding to the claim that his organization is wise to protest right now and that eventually racism will end.

Identify the parallel structure used in this passage.

What effect does this use of parallel structure have on King’s argument.

• King repeats "when you", by using parallel structure to link examples of the injustices faced on a daily basis by African Americans, King makes clear to readers the pervasiveness of this pattern of discrimination.

• King repeats "brothers and sisters", by using parallel structure to link examples of his family members facing discrimination.

• King repeats "your", by using parallel structure to link examples to things belonging to him and no one else.

Identify all the instances of the word tension in lines 104-119.

• King uses the word tension 2 times (lines 106 and 107)

• King uses the word tension 7 times (lines 106, 109, 111, 112, 114 and 117)

• King uses the word tension 5 times (lines 106,109,111, 112, and 114

Identify the ways in which the meaning and tone of the word tension changes over the course of the paragraph. (Positive/negative connotations?)

• At first, tension seems to hold a negative connotation, but as King refines its meaning, the tone surrounding tension becomes clearly positive.

• At first, tension seems to hold a positive connotation, but as King refines its meaning, the tone surrounding tension becomes clearly negative.

• Tension seems to hold a negative connotation only.