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Letter From Birmingham Jail

Total questions: 18

Worksheet time: 32mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Which of the following is not a step in Dr. King's nonviolent campaign?

a)

negotiation

b)

collection of facts

c)

direct action

d)

disappointment

2.
To whom is the Letter from Birmingham Jail addressed?
a)
ministers who criticized King's efforts
b)
whites who arrested King for no reason
c)
his coworkers in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
d)
his wife and his lawyer
3.

Why was King in Birmingham?

a)

he was invited to help fight the segregation there

b)

he lived there

c)

he gave a speech there but drove over the speed limit on his way out of town

d)

he picked Birmingham as the next place to hold a non-violent protest

4.

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

a)

Democratically elected officials would not require African Americans to wait.

b)

Socrates would not have waited under the same circumstances.

c)

African Americans already have waited for more than 340 years.

d)

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

5.

Which statement is a position of Dr. King's opponents?

a)

Racial injustice in Birmingham must be stopped at all costs.

b)

The Boston Tea Party was an act of civil disobedience.

c)

Dr. King's peaceful actions are wrong because violence results from them.

d)

Demonstrations are necessary to break down segregation.

6.
King believes that resentment and frustration over racism should be channeled into...
a)
non-violent direct action.
b)
violent protest.
c)
religious belief.
d)
political discussions.
7.

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

a)

their actions were unwise and untimely.

b)

their letter shows them to be extremists.

c)

he believes them to be sincere and good.

d)

he wants his letter to bring about change.

8.

What is a moratorium?

a)

a temporary stoppage

b)

an unjust law

c)

a burial site

d)

an unacceptable excuse

9.
What is an allusion?
a)
something you see out of focus
b)
something that is seen but not real
c)
a reference to something else
d)
an exaggeration of principal
10.
What does King mean in lines 37–38 when he says, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”?
a)
All citizens are equally threatened by justice.
b)
Discrimination does not exist in rural areas.
c)
All laws are unfair and should be ignored.
d)
Everyone is affected when one person is hurt.
11.
According to King, the purpose of direct nonviolent action is to
a)
end the bombings of homes and churches.
b)
create tension so that people have to confront an issue.
c)
halt the activities of both merchants and consumers.
d)
draw the sympathy of the religious community and moderate whites.
12.
The main focus of Dr. King’s speech is
a)
getting more money for America’s black population
b)
convincing everyone to live in peace and tranquility
c)
celebrating the anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation
d)
ending segregation and racial injustice in America
13.
To RETALIATE means to
a)
Take revenge.
b)
Provide clues.
c)
Move back.
d)
Seek justice.
14.
"Are you able to except blows without retaliating?" is an example of which rhetorical device?
a)
metaphor
b)
allusion
c)
rhetorical question
d)
ethos
15.
What is the argument in this letter?
a)
He was defending the laws already in place.
b)
He was fighting for woman's rights.
c)
Defending both his right and his moral grounds for organizing nonviolent protest activities in support of the civil rights of African Americans.
d)
He defends that view of breaking laws when those laws are unjust.
16.

Which is NOT one of the four basic steps in any nonviolent campaign?

a)

Collection of the facts

b)

Physical retaliation

c)

Negotiation

d)

Direct action

17.

Which word most nearly means

state of unthinking or satisfied acceptance

a)

Stagnation

b)

postpone

c)

yearning

d)

complacency

18.

Identify the thesis statement (opinion, claim) in paragraph #3.

a)

"There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches..."

b)

"We have gone through all of these steps in Birmingham..."

c)

"But the political leaders consistently refused to engage in good faith negotiation."

d)

"In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: ..."