11.2 - WK 2 - Letter from a Birmingham Jail

To whom is the Letter from Birmingham Jail addressed?

• ministers who criticized King's efforts
• whites who arrested King for no reason
• his coworkers in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
• his wife and his lawyer

What counterargument does Dr. King present to the advice to wait?

• Democratically elected officials would not require African Americans to wait.

• Socrates would not have waited under the same circumstances.

• African Americans already have waited for more than 340 years.

• The 1954 Supreme Court decision has made it impossible to wait.

Who was the Negro's "great stumbling block," according to MLK Jr.?

• Birmingham Police Department

• Ku Klux Klan

• White Citizen's Council

• White Moderate

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice...

• ...in some places."

• ...in the south."

• ...everywhere."

• end of sentence.

What does MLK believe about breaking the law?

• Laws should not be broken under any circumstances.

• Only the wealthy are allowed to break the law because they can afford to pay the price.

• If a law is deemed unjust, then it must be broken.

• Laws may be broken if the Bible says so.

Identify the rhetorical appeal Dr. King employs:

"...when you have to concoct an answer for a five-year-old son who is asking: 'Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?'..."

• ethos

• kairos

• logos

• pathos

"I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state..." is an example of

• ethos

• pathos

• logos

In paragraph 24, King notes that "...they [white moderates] fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress". Identify the rhetorical device present above.

• Simile

• Metaphor

• Juxtaposition

• Irony

King believes that resentment and frustration over racism should be channeled into...

• non-violent direct action.
• violent protest.
• religious belief.
• political discussions.

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.