Birmingham

According to "Letter from Birmingham Jail", why is King “so greatly disappointed with the white church and its leadership”?

• King believes that the leaders have become entirely absorbed in secular rather than religious concerns.

• King believes that the leaders have not stood up boldly in support of civil rights.

• King believes that the church has nothing relevant to offer to the youth of the 1960s.

• King believes that the church has stolen and misused donations given by its poorest parishioners.

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In Letter from Birmingham Jail, King expresses discontent with the “moderates” who sympathize with but take no part in the civil rights struggle, saying: Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection. Which statement best explains why King would rather face outright opposition than “lukewarm acceptance”?

• He believes that those who oppose the movement may persuade the moderates to join them.

• He believes that as long as the moderates stand passively aside, conditions cannot improve.

• He believes that because opposition is violent, it does much more harm than passive acceptance.

• He believes that moderates who play no active role in the movement are secretly working against it.

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Read this sentence from Letter from Birmingham Jail:     [T]here are two types of laws: just and unjust. Which statement best describes the distinction King draws, in the letter, between two types of laws?

• Just laws are rooted in universal principles of fairness, while unjust laws are not.

• Just laws vary in harshness according to circumstances, while unjust laws do not.

• Just laws can realistically be enforced in actual life, while unjust laws cannot.

• Just laws apply to deep-seated human prejudices, while unjust laws do not.

Near the end of Letter from Birmingham Jail, King says, “I have no despair about the future. I have no fear about the outcome of our struggle. . . .” Which statement best explains why King feels so certain of ultimate victory?

• He senses that allies in other nations will soon rally to the cause of civil rights.

• He knows that the civil rights movement is better funded than those who oppose them.

• He knows that the size of the movement ensures that it can elect candidates who will abolish segregation.

• He believes that he and his followers are stronger than those who oppose them.

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Which excerpt from Letter from Birmingham Jail best supports the answer to Part A?

• Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy and transform our pending national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity.

• For more than two centuries our forebears labored in this country without wages . . . and yet out of a bottomless vitality they continued to thrive and develop. If the inexpressible cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail.

• Their witness has been the spiritual salt that has preserved the true meaning of the gospel in these troubled times. They have carved a tunnel of hope through the dark mountain of disappointment.

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CCSS.RL.8.3

Which of the following sentences from "Letter from Birmingham Jail" is an example of antithesis?

• My citing the creation of tension as part of the work of the nonviolent resister may sound rather shocking.

• We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.

• One of the basic points in your statement is that the action that I and my associates have taken in Birmingham is untimely.

• My friends, I must say to you that we have not made a single gain in civil rights without determined legal and nonviolent pressure.

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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.

What does King mean in lines 37–38 when he says, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”?

• All citizens are equally threatened by justice.

• Discrimination does not exist in rural areas.

• All laws are unfair and should be ignored.

• Everyone is affected when one person is hurt.

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CCSS.RL.2.6

CCSS.RL.8.3

According to King, the purpose of direct nonviolent action is to

• end the bombings of homes and churches.

• create tension so that people have to confront an issue.

• halt the activities of both merchants and consumers.

• draw the sympathy of the religious community and moderate whites.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'Birmingham' correctly in a sentence?

• Birmingham is a type of dance popular in the 1920s.

• The Birmingham of the cake was delicious.

• She visited Birmingham during her summer vacation.

• Birmingham is a color often used in modern art.

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