INSTRUCTIONS:
Make sure to get the PDF-formatted version of King’s letter so that you will have page numbers to cite in your discussion post when you briefly summarize and quote from this scholarly source in support of your own argument. (I ATTACHED THE PDF-FORMATTED LETTER) HIGHLIGHT THE LINES THAT YOU WILL QUOTE IN YOUR RESPONSE TO THE PROMPT, BELOW, IN YOUR PDF FILE.
It is important to recognize that in his Letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr. King outlines an effective strategy for a peaceful act of civil disobedience, a non-violent campaign or protest that was effectively designed to create positive social change in the nation and that would involve 1) collection of facts to determine if social injustice was occurring, 2) negotiation with government officials if injustice was occurring, 3) direct action if negotiation failed, 4) self-purification.
(ANSWER THESE QUIESTIONS)
1. When, where, and why did King write The Letter from Birmingham Jail?
2. To whom did King address his letter and why? (Hint: A Call for Unity criticisms)
3. What are the two kinds of laws that King differentiates in his letter?
4. Which kind of law does he say that we should obey and which kind does he say that we have a moral and ethical duty to disobey?
5. What law did King and his group break that caused him to be incarcerated in Birmingham? Considering your answer to #3, which kind of a law did they disobey?
6. What was an unjust law that King and his group were protesting at the time?
7. Considering that Dr. King was the President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and grew up in the Baptist church, how do you think that affected his sense of ethics? Do you think that he could he have been inspired by a well-known parable, Daniel in the Lion’s Den? (Did King go into the lion’s den in Birmingham, figuratively speaking?) How might that biblical story have influenced his philosophy that when we break unjust laws because we are morally and ethically obligated to do so, we must be willing to do it publicly, not in secret, and to openly face the consequences with great faith? What are some similarities between the parable and Dr. King’s actions in Birmingham?