Martin Luther King Jr. and Civil Disobedience Answers

Read the excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”I have tried to stand between these two forces, saying that we need emulate neither the "do nothingism" of the complacent nor the hatred and despair of the black nationalist. How does King support this claim?

You suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six year old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children.

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.

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?

We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.

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?

Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.

It is unfortunate that demonstrations are taking place in Birmingham, but it is even more unfortunate that the city's white power structure left the Negro community with no alternative.

In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law, as would the rabid segregationist.

But such an ordinance becomes unjust when it is used to maintain segregation and to deny citizens the First-Amendment privilege of peaceful assembly and protest.