What is King suggesting by acts of civil disobedience, and what does this involve?
In April 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. was arrested for participating in a planned non-violent civil rights campaign in Birmingham, Alabama. Local clergy had criticized the movement and King’s involvement in it. In Letter from a Birmingham Jail, King discusses his views on civil rights, the role of the church, and his involvement in non-violent protest.Read the letter then answer the questions below in paragraph form. Remember to use in text citations and list references.In your first paragraph, summarize what King’s major points are in the letter. Consider:What was the purpose of the Letter from a Birmingham Jail? Why was King more troubled by the White moderate than the KKK? What does King view as the reason for law and order, and how is that different from how the white moderate was viewing it?What is King suggesting by acts of civil disobedience, and what does this involve? Can it be considered legal action?Can this type of non-violent campaign be successful?In your second paragraph, address how King’s main ideas in his letter could be applied to today:What are some modern-day civil rights struggles?How do the points in his letter relate to modern-day civil rights struggles?If King lived in this era, what would he be saying about these movements and regular people’s responses to them?
