Letter From Birmingham Jail Vocabulary List:
1. unfettered Adjective: not bound by shackles and chains
NOTES: 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
and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood.
2.
3.
passively Adjective: in a passive manner
NOTES: 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.
rabid Adjective: marked by excessive enthusiasm for and intense devotion to a cause or idea
NOTES: In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law, as would the rabid
segregationist.
4.
scintillating Adjective: emitting or reflecting light in a flickering manner
NOTES: Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the
deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities, and in
some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our
great nation with all their scintillating beauty.
5.
conversely Adverb: with the terms of the relation reversed
NOTES: Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.
6.
sweltering Adjective: to be uncomfortably hot
NOTES: On sweltering summer days and crisp autumn mornings I have looked at the
South's beautiful churches with their lofty spires pointing heavenward.
7.
terminology Noun: a system of words used to name things in a particular discipline
NOTES: Segregation, to use the terminology of the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber,
substitutes an "I it" relationship for an "I thou" relationship and ends up relegating persons
to the status of things.
8.
formulation Noun: inventing or contriving an idea or explanation and formulating it mentally
NOTES: One day the South will know that when these disinherited children of God sat down
at lunch counters, 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.
9.
existential Adjective: relating to or dealing with existence (especially with human existence)
NOTES: Is not segregation an existential expression of man's tragic separation, his awful
estrangement, his terrible sinfulness?
10. forebear Noun: a person from whom you are descended
NOTES: For more than two centuries our forebears labored in this country without wages;
they made cotton king; they built the homes of their masters while suffering gross injustice
and shameful humiliation -and yet out of a bottomless vitality they continued to thrive and
develop.
11. gadfly Noun: an irritating person, a nuisance who will often ask too many questions or lob
lots of criticisms in order to get his or her way.
NOTES: 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
and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood.
12. sanctimonious Adjective: excessively or hypocritically pious
NOTES: In the midst of blatant injustices inflicted upon the Negro, I have watched white
churchmen stand on the sideline and mouth pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious
trivialities.
13. inevitability Noun: the quality of being unavoidable
NOTES: Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the
tireless efforts of men willing to be co workers with God, and without this hard work, time
itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation.
14. integrating Verb: the action of incorporating a racial or religious group into a community
NOTES: I commend the Catholic leaders of this state for integrating Spring Hill College
several years ago.
15. categorize Verb: place into or assign to a category
NOTES: But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I
continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the
label.
16. creatively Adverb: in a creative manner
NOTES: We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do
right.
17. nonconformist Noun: someone who refuses to conform to established standards of conduct
NOTES: How we have blemished and scarred that body through social neglect and through
fear of being nonconformists.
18. mores Noun: (sociology) the conventions that embody the fundamental values of a group
NOTES: In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and
principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society.
19. relegate Verb: assign to a lower position; reduce in rank
NOTES: Segregation, to use the terminology of the Jewish philosopher Martin
Buber, substitutes an "I it" relationship for an "I thou" relationship and ends
up relegating persons to the status of things.
20. reiterate Verb: to say, state, or perform again
NOTES: But despite these notable exceptions, I must honestly reiterate that
I have been disappointed with the church.
NOTE:
The following words were left off of the previous vocabulary test and will
appear on this test:
1. quasi 2. acquisitive 3. devolution 4. recrudescence –
5. vigilante –
6. coercion - .
7. caprice -
8. salient
9. utopian
10. probity