Source Analysis: Letter from Birmingham Jail

Last updated about 3 hours ago

10 Nsɛmmisa

Ɛhia

Source Analysis: Letter from Birmingham Jail

Last updated about 3 hours ago

10 Nsɛmmisa

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Christian minister and civil rights activist in the 1950s and 1960s. He led the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), which used nonviolent direct action to peacefully protest the legal segregation of African American people in the United States.

During a 1963 protest in Birmingham, Alabama, King was arrested. From jail, he wrote his "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Look at the list of events in Birmingham. Then answer the question below.

January 1963: King and the SCLC are invited by a civil rights organization in Alabama to organize a protest in Birmingham, where African American residents faced constant discrimination and violence.

April 3: Activists launch their protests with a series of sit-ins, boycotts of downtown businesses, mass meetings, and marches. The protests occur during the busy Easter shopping season, putting economic pressure on business leaders.

April 10: In response to the protests, the city government obtains an injunction, meaning the state court forces the civil rights activists to stop.

April 12: King, local pastor Ralph Abernathy, and other civil rights activists disobey the injunction and are arrested and jailed in Birmingham.

April 12–16: While imprisoned, King writes his "Letter from Birmingham Jail" on pieces of scrap paper, which are smuggled out of his cell. A few days later, King is released from jail.

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Which of the following are true about the 1963 protests in Birmingham? Select all that apply.

Protesters used public disruption and economic pressure to target racial discrimination.

Local business leaders accepted the protests as necessary for ending racial injustice.

Civil rights activists continued protesting even though they had been ordered to stop.

King was invited to help a local civil rights organization with protests in Birmingham.

What were conditions like for African American people in Birmingham?

In the 1950s and 1960s, African American people in Birmingham were treated as second-class citizens and frequently subjected to violent attacks. Segregation laws affected all parts of life, making it illegal for Black and white people to share housing or space in restaurants, concert halls, or bus stations. The homes of civil rights activists were often bombed by the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), earning the city the nickname "Bombingham."

The Birmingham commissioner of public safety, Eugene "Bull" Connor, was responsible for much of the police violence against African American residents. King called Connor "a racist who prided himself on knowing how to handle the [African American person] and keep him in his 'place.'" In 1961, a bus full of activists rode through the South as part of the "Freedom Rides" to challenge segregation. When the bus stopped in Birmingham, Connor gave the local KKK fifteen minutes to assault the passengers before instructing the police to intervene.

King wrote his "Letter from Birmingham Jail" in response to another letter that had been written by prominent clergy, meaning religious leaders, in Birmingham. These white Christian and Jewish leaders had published an open letter in the newspaper criticizing the actions of Dr. King and other protesters. Civil rights activists felt that the Birmingham clergy letter did not accurately portray the reality that protesters faced.

King opened his "Letter from Birmingham Jail" by responding to the clergy's claims that Birmingham's racial strife would be better handled by local activists than by "outside agitators" like King. Read the passage from King's letter. Then answer the question below.

I think I should indicate why I am here in Birmingham, since you have been influenced by the view which argues against "outsiders coming in." 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. . . . Several months ago the affiliate here in Birmingham asked us to be on call to engage in a nonviolent direct action program if such were deemed necessary. We readily consented, and when the hour came we lived up to our promise. So I, along with several members of my staff, am here because I was invited here. . . .

But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. . . . Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.

cognizant: aware

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King rejects the clergy's use of the "outside agitator" idea. Which of the following statements best explain his reasoning? Select all that apply.

No one is truly an outsider in the United States, since local actions have nationwide consequences.

The SCLC had direct control over all Southern civil rights movements, so Birmingham leaders needed the group's approval.

The SCLC was invited by Birmingham civil rights activists to lead and support the city's nonviolent protests.

Since protests are local and do not affect protests elsewhere, it does not matter whether outsiders join Birmingham civil rights activists.

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King was criticized by the clergy for using direct action instead of negotiating more with city leaders. In response, he wrote about direct action and its effects. Read the following excerpt. Select one section that defines the purpose of direct action.

You may well ask: "Why direct action? Why sit ins, marches and so forth? Isn't negotiation a better path?" You are quite right in calling for negotiation. Indeed, this is the very purpose of direct action. Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored. My citing the creation of tension as part of the work of the nonviolent resister may sound rather shocking. But I must confess that I am not afraid of the word "tension." I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth. . . . The purpose of our direct action program is to create a situation so crisis packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation. I therefore concur with you and your call for negotiation. Too long has our beloved Southland been bogged down in a tragic effort to live in monologue rather than dialogue.

After discussing why he and the SCLC were working in Birmingham, King explained why they decided to act immediately rather than attempt more negotiations with city leaders. He argued that African American activists have always been told to wait for a better time to engage in direct action. However, King wrote, "This 'Wait' has almost always meant 'Never.'"

King argued that Black Americans were demanding rights immediately because they had already waited too long for equal treatment. He wrote that most white Americans did not feel the "stinging darts of segregation," and he listed several examples of mistreatment African American people faced in their daily lives.

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King describes the following scenarios in his letter. Which scenarios provide evidence of discrimination? Select all that apply.

King had to explain to his daughter that she could not go to an amusement park because it did not admit Black people.

White men often called a Black man "boy" regardless of his age, but Black men were always expected to call a white man "Sir."

When driving across the country, African American people often had to sleep in their cars because most hotels were open only to white customers.

Black and brown people in Africa and Asia were moving toward independence for their countries and racial justice for their people.

Laws in Birmingham and the state of Alabama enforced segregation in public spaces. Courts often denied protesters' permits to assemble for marches. Therefore, when African American activists in Birmingham intentionally entered into spaces reserved for white people and protested without a permit, they were breaking the law. The practice of breaking a law to challenge its morality is called civil disobedience.

The following excerpts come from famous writings about civil disobedience. Read the excerpts. Then answer the question below.

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Based on the excerpts, which of the following accurately describe civil disobedience? Select all that apply.

People have the right to disobey any law they find personally inconvenient.

People have the responsibility to resist unjust laws by refusing to obey them.

Peaceful resistance is a way to draw the community's attention to unjust laws.

Even if people break the law peacefully, they will still need to face the consequences.

King believed civil disobedience was necessary in the struggle for civil rights. In his letter, he explained why civil disobedience is effective for countering violence from segregationists as well as inaction by people he called "white moderates." Read the highlighted text about white moderates. Then answer the question below.

I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First . . . I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is . . . the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who . . . believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.

I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and that when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress. I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that the present tension in the South is a necessary phase of the transition from an obnoxious negative peace, in which the Negro passively accepted his unjust plight, to a substantive and positive peace, in which all men will respect the dignity and worth of human personality. Actually, we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with.

Negro: an outdated term for an African American person

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Why does King argue that the white moderates were a "stumbling block" to Black equality?

They had negative feelings toward Black people and so could never support desegregation.

They claim to value racial equality but do not support the action necessary to achieve it.

They demand that civil rights activists push for an immediate end to segregation.

They wanted to join civil rights activists but were not permitted to do so.

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The Birmingham clergy and King had different views about the treatment of civil rights protesters by Birmingham police under Commissioner of Public Safety Eugene "Bull" Connor. Read the excerpts from the clergy letter and King's letter. Then follow the instructions below.

Clergy letter

We commend the community as a whole, and the local news media and law enforcement officials in particular, on the calm manner in which these demonstrations have been handled.

We urge the public to continue to show restraint should the demonstrations continue, and the law enforcement officials to remain calm and continue to protect our city from violence.

King's letter

I doubt that you would have so warmly commended the police force if you had seen its dogs sinking their teeth into unarmed, nonviolent Negroes. I doubt that you would so quickly commend the policemen if you were to observe their ugly and inhumane treatment of Negroes here in the city jail; if you were to watch them push and curse old Negro women and young Negro girls; if you were to see them slap and kick old Negro men and young boys; if you were to observe them, as they did on two occasions, refuse to give us food because we wanted to sing our grace together. I cannot join you in your praise of the Birmingham police department.

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Decide whether each statement summarizes an argument from the clergy letter or from King's letter.

	Clergy Letter	King's Letter
The police attacked unarmed protesters, including young children.
The police should be congratulated for protecting the city from violence.
The police do not deserve praise because they acted violently toward protesters.
The police acted calmly when dealing with the protests.

King closed his letter by describing the South's "real heroes." Read the excerpt from King's letter. Then answer the question below.

I wish you had commended the Negro sit inners and demonstrators of Birmingham for their sublime courage, their willingness to suffer and their amazing discipline in the midst of great provocation. One day the South will recognize its real heroes. . . . They were in reality standing up for what is best in the American dream and for the most sacred values in our Judaeo Christian heritage, thereby bringing our nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in their formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

sit inners: people who protest segregation by sitting at whites-only sections of restaurants

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What does King mean when he says civil rights workers are the South's "real heroes"?

Their actions have persuaded the nation to adopt a whole new set of values.

They have managed to change an unjust system quickly and painlessly.

Their actions embody the deepest political and religious values of the United States.

Though violent, their actions have overthrown a violent and unjust government.

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Use what you have learned to match each argument against the Birmingham protests to King's response.

Mmuae Afoforo a Wobɛpaw:

People who believe in justice have a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws such as segregation ordinances.

King's movement was coordinated by Birmingham civil rights activists who invited SCLC to join their efforts.

Birmingham police have violently suppressed dissent and attacked African American residents during their protests and in the past.

It's worth temporarily disrupting the peace in order to fight for racial equality.

African American people have waited long enough for desegregation, so activists must start protesting immediately.

Source Analysis: Letter from Birmingham Jail

Source Analysis: Letter from Birmingham Jail

Which of the following are true about the 1963 protests in Birmingham? Select all that apply.

King rejects the clergy's use of the "outside agitator" idea. Which of the following statements best explain his reasoning? Select all that apply.

King was criticized by the clergy for using direct action instead of negotiating more with city leaders. In response, he wrote about direct action and its effects. Read the following excerpt. Select one section that defines the purpose of direct action.

King describes the following scenarios in his letter. Which scenarios provide evidence of discrimination? Select all that apply.

Based on the excerpts, which of the following accurately describe civil disobedience? Select all that apply.

Why does King argue that the white moderates were a "stumbling block" to Black equality?

Decide whether each statement summarizes an argument from the clergy letter or from King's letter.

What does King mean when he says civil rights workers are the South's "real heroes"?

Which of the following are true about the 1963 protests in Birmingham? Select all that apply.

King rejects the clergy's use of the "outside agitator" idea. Which of the following statements best explain his reasoning? Select all that apply.

King was criticized by the clergy for using direct action instead of negotiating more with city leaders. In response, he wrote about direct action and its effects. Read the following excerpt. Select one section that defines the purpose of direct action.

King describes the following scenarios in his letter. Which scenarios provide evidence of discrimination? Select all that apply.

Based on the excerpts, which of the following accurately describe civil disobedience? Select all that apply.

Why does King argue that the white moderates were a "stumbling block" to Black equality?

According to the excerpt, which of the following describe the goals of King's nonviolent direct action? Select all that apply

Decide whether each statement summarizes an argument from the clergy letter or from King's letter.

What does King mean when he says civil rights workers are the South's "real heroes"?

According to the excerpt, which of the following describe the goals of King's nonviolent direct action? Select all that apply