Reading Journal #1:
Understanding and Summarizing Letter from a Birmingham Jail by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Homework Process Points: 25 points
Directions: To help you summarize King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail, be sure to read over
Chapter 2 of TSIS (They Say I Say: Moves the Matter in Academic Writing). This chapter ends
with a list of Verbs for Introducing Summaries and Quotations. As you answer the questions
that follow, you will be summarizing King’s central ideas in the letter, by using these verbs, you
are also practicing MLA in that you will be working towards accurately citing your sources in
your own writing.
Part 1: Answer the following questions using complete sentences. For questions that ask you to
interpret, or summarize King’s ideas, be sure to use verbs to introduce your summary of King’s
ideas (your answers to these questions are summaries of specific parts of King’s letter). The
numbers that follow the question reflect the paragraph numbers where you can find the answers
to that particular question.
Questions:
1. [Summary] In paragraphs 1-3, what are King’s reasons for being in Birmingham?
a. Example: King provides...
2. [Summary] In paragraphs 1-3, how does King answer to the charge of being an
outsider?
a. Example: King responds to the charges of being an outsider by…
3. [Analysis] In paragraph 4, King writes, “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 is one of his most famous quotes. What does this mean for
individuals who have ignored the issues of Birmingham? What does this mean today for
each of us living in the United States? (4)
4. [Summary] According to the example in paragraphs 6-8, what are the basic steps of
nonviolent direct action? Why do you think MLK explains these steps to his audience,
the clergyman?
5. [Summary] What does King mean by “constructive nonviolent tension” and how does he
define its goal?
6. [Summary/Analysis] What does King mean by writing, “We know through painful
experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be
demanded by the oppressed”?
7. [Analysis] What is King trying to accomplish in paragraph 13? In other words, what
impact does this description of the life of African Americans during this time have on an
audience like the clergyman?
8. [Summary] King describes two types of law, just and unjust, how does he define each?
9. [Analysis] Can you give other examples in the present of unjust laws you feel a moral
obligation to obey? Would you be willing to accept the consequences?
10. [Analysis] What are the effects of segregation?
11. [Analysis] Do you need to obey you did not participate in creating? Residents in a
country, should they obey laws they did not participate in creating?
12. [Summary] What does King warn will happen if the Negro Community is not allowed to
demonstrate through nonviolent actions?
Part 2: Using the above responses to the SUMMARY questions, write a summary of King’s
Letter. Below, type up a 1-2 page summary of King’s letter. Start with the following main idea
sentence:
In Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter to a Birmingham Jail, he argues/defends/explains (choose a
verb you think captures his main thesis)...