Austin Crump
Hackleman
May 28, 2009
4th period
Letter from Birmingham Jail Analysis Questions
1. What are King’s reasons for being in Birmingham? Mr. King was in Birmingham
because injustice was there and he felt that he must do something about it.
2. How does he answer the charge of being an outsider? He states that “Anyone
who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere
within its bounds”.
3. What does the following quote mean for Birmingham citizens? What does it
mean for each of us today? “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of
destiny.” This quote means that injustice that happens to be in one city can easily
flow into more cities and states.
4. What are the four basic steps of nonviolent direct action? The four basic steps of
nonviolent direct action are collection of the facts to determine whether injustices
exist; negotiation; self purification; and direct action.
5. Why did King and others decide to delay their actions? They decided to postpone
their actions because Birmingham’s Mayoral elections were coming up.
6. What does King mean by “constructive nonviolent tension” and now does he
define its goal? He means that organized nonviolent action is the best way to get
the job done. The goal of this is to get across your point without violence.
7. Choose an example from U.S. History which represents the “painful experience
that freedom is voluntarily given by the oppressor.” The slaves were being
oppressed by their masters but at the same time, their master sometimes decided
to free some slaves.
8. Choose another example from history which illustrates his point that”justice too
long delayed is justice denied.” The freeing of slaves in the 1800’s was always
delayed and it was almost forgotten.
9. Choose from King’s list of injustices and compare three of them to the Bill of
Rights or the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
10. How does King define the two types of law; just and unjust? A just law is a man
made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a
code that is out of harmony with the moral law
11. Give an example of present day law you might feel a moral obligation to disobey.
I feel that I would disobey laws that are in other countries that make it illegal to
speak of God and the bible.
12. Must we obey laws we do not participate in creating? Why or why not? I believe
that we should obey all laws that are given to use by our government as long as
they do not go against the word of God. The bible tells us to obey and respect the
government that God has put before us.
13. Why does King think breaking an unjust law “lovingly” would be an expression
of respect for the law? He thinks it shows respect because you are willing to take
punishment for something you believe in.
14. What does King warn will happen if the Negro community is not allowed to
demonstrate through nonviolent actions? Is this a threat? He warns that their will
be another revolution on American soil because America can not live half white
and half black.
15. Why does King welcome the label extremist? Because he believes that he has
taken on an extreme task.