Unit 3 - Martin Luther King Jr. And Civil Disobedience

Read the excerpt from "Letter from Birmingham Jail." We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. King includes this sentence to

Read the excerpt from "Letter from Birmingham Jail." In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime—the crime of extremism. Why does King use this allusion?

Read the excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail." You express a great deal of anxiety over our willingness to break laws. This is certainly a legitimate concern. How does King rebut his critics' claim?

Read the excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, so must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice. Why does King use this allusion?

Read the excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town. Why does King use this allusion?

Read the excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct action campaign that was "well timed" in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. What is the author's purpose for including this sentence?

Read the excerpt from "Letter from Birmingham Jail." In our own nation, the Boston Tea Party represented a massive act of civil disobedience. Why does King use this allusion?

Read the excerpt from "Letter from Birmingham Jail." I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. What is King's purpose for including this sentence?

Read the excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Of course, there is nothing new about this kind of civil disobedience. It was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar, on the ground that a higher moral law was at stake. King uses this allusion to

Read the excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. What is the author's purpose for including this sentence?

Read the excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail." If I sought to answer all the criticisms that cross my desk, my secretaries would have little time for anything other than such correspondence in the course of the day, and I would have no time for constructive work. What is the author's purpose for including this sentence?

Read the excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail." I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth. How does King support this claim in the rest of his letter?

Read the excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Sometimes a law is just on its face and unjust in its application. How does King support this claim?