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Martin Luther King Jr.-Read and respond

Last updated 11 months ago
14 questions
Read the following passages carefully and select your response to the question. Explain your answer in the attached text box.
As a child, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. attended segregated public schools. The law said that Black students like King had to go to their own schools, separate from White students. King was a good student. and he graduated high school three years earlier than most people do. He went to college in Atlanta, Georgia. King then went on to study theology, the study of religious faith, at a school in Pennsylvania. This school was not segregated. In fact, King's senior class was mostly White, and he was elected president of it. King's education wasn't finished yet. In 1953, he got yet another degree from a school in Boston: a doctorate in theology. A doctorate is the highest degree that universities give out. This is why King is called "Dr. Matin Luther King Jr."
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What is the main idea of the passage?

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What helped you identify the main idea? Give examples from the text that support your answer from the previous question.

In Montgomery, Alabama, and throughout the South, public transportation like the bus system was segregated. Black passengers had to sit in the backs of buses while White passengers sat in the front. As more White passengers got on, Black passengers were asked to give up their seats for them. On December 1, 1955, a civil rights activist named Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a White passenger when a bus driver asked her. "I don't think I should have to stand up," Parks said. She was arrested.
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According to the passage, why was Rosa Parks arrested on December 1, 1955?

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What helped you identify the cause of Rosa Parks' arrest? Give examples from the text that support your answer from the previous question.

After Rosa Parks' arrest, King helped organize a boycott of the Montgomery buses. When people boycott, they refuse to buy, use or do something to show that they're unhappy with a situation. During the Montgomery Bus Boycott, thousands of African-American people stopped riding the buses to protest bus segregation. Instead, they walked or carpooled. African-American taxi drivers also charged people less money so that more people could take taxis. The boycott lasted for 381 days. Ultimately, the Supreme Court ruled that bus segregation was against the US Constitution.
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Which of the following best describes a "boycott"?

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What helped you identify the meaning of "boycott"? Give examples from the text that support your answer from the previous question.

During King's time studying theology, he learned about the work of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi was an activist in the country of India. He used nonviolent, or peaceful, tactics to win freedom for his country. King admired Gandhi's work. He began to think that African-American people in the United States could also use nonviolence to protest unjust laws. King traveled over 6 million miles around the US, giving speeches and supporting nonviolent protests. He led marches and boycotts and joined sit-ins. A sit-in is a form of protest in which people sit in a place and refuse to leave. During the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans held sit-ins at restaurants that wouldn't serve them.
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Which of the following best describes the relationship between King and Gandhi?

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What helped you identify the relationship between King and Gandhi? Give examples from the text that support your answer from the previous question.

In 1963, King helped organize large, nonviolent civil rights demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama. The police reacted violently. They brought dogs and sprayed water from firehoses on the Black people who attended. Images of the violence were caught on camera and shown on television across the nation. This shocked many people and cause them to support civil rights. King and many other protesters were arrested and put in jail during the Birmingham demonstrations. Throughout his fight for civil rights, King was arrested 20 times. He was also threatened and attacked.
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Which detail from the passage shows the effect that television had during civil rights demonstrations?

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What was the cause of many Americans choosing to support civil rights? Give examples from the text that support your answer from the previous question.

In August 1963, about 250,000 people marched through Washington, DC. They did this to call attention to the unequal treatment of African Americans and to show their support for civil rights. At this march, King gave a powerful speech. He talked about his dream for the United States. He said that he very much wanted everyone, no matter what they looked like, to have equal rights.

In 1964, King became the youngest person to win a Nobel Peace Prize. This prize is awarded once a year to a person who has done great work to create peace. When he accepted his Nobel Prize, King gave a similarly powerful speech. He described how he believed that truth and love would conquer evil.
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What is the meaning of the word "dream" in the passage?

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What clues helped you to determine the meaning of "dream"? Give examples from the text that support your answer from the previous question.

King's work helped the Civil Rights Act of 1964 get passed. The Civil Rights Act ended segregation in public places like schools. It also said that someone could not be turned down for a job based on their skin color, their religion, where they come from, or whether they are male or female. President John F. Kennedy first suggested the Civil Rights Act. Some lawmakers from the South were against it. However, Congress ultimately passed it. It was signed into law by the president who came after Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, King and other civil rights leaders were there for the signing.
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Based on the passage, what became true after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed?

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What details in the passage support the changes in public places when the Civil Rights Act ended segregation?