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Teachers' Resource Web Study Questions on Martin Luther King, Jr. "Letter from Birmingham Jail" (1963); "I Have a Dream" (1963); "Declaration of Independence from the War in Vietnam" (1967) Al Drake, UCI, Writing 39B: Civil Rights and Civil War "Letter from Birmingham Jail" (1963) 1. King's public "Letter from Birmingham Jail" (April 16, 1963) is written in opposition to a specific opinion piece signed by eight clergymen and published in the Birmingham News. At the letter's beginning, what is King's bearing or attitude toward these clergymen who have called him an impatient outsider and troublemaker? What image of his critics does he create early in the argument? In what relation to them does he place himself? 2. How does King dismantle the argument the clergymen and others have made about "outside agitation?" What four steps does King say are necessary in every nonviolent campaign? How does he say that his followers and allies have carried out these steps in seeking to achieve racial justice in Birmingham? According to King, what is the immediate purpose of direct, nonviolent action? Why does he believe that the peaceful protests he has been organizing throughout the South do not amount to merely passive behavior, but instead rise to the level of dramatic action? 3. What seems to be the proper relation between the individual and the community, and between the local community and society in the broader sense? Track as many of the letter's references as you can to the great personages and events of history. Why are there so many of them, and why does King also weave in so many references to the ordinary person--as in the passage beginning "We know from painful experience . . ." as well? Find some instances in which he classifies individuals and groups, whether for better or for worse. Why does he keep doing that? 4. Explain what King means by his phrase, "the myth of time." What version of history does he offer in its place? What is the vehicle of historical change and progress? "I Have a Dream" (1963) 1. King compares vital American documents like The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution to a check. What does that comparison imply about the intentions of the founders who wrote these documents? What does the comparison imply about America's treatment of African Americans both before and since the Civil War of 1861-65? 2. It is easy--too easy--to concentrate on King's optimism. But to what extent does his speech actually function as a catalog of injustices--in short, to what degree does the speech dwell upon the American nightmare, not the dream? What injustices does he accuse white America of perpetrating against black Americans? 3. Question one notwithstanding, King's speech is optimistic. What is his dream? What is the source of that dream--I'm asking from what religious roots King draws his inspiration. 4. King bases his strategy firmly upon the principle of non-violent action. But can you find passages in his speech where he implies that this strategy might not prove to be the permanent, or only, choice of African Americans? In other words, does he imply what consequences might follow if America's white power structure does not cease oppressing blacks? If he does, what is the relation between his philosophy of non-violence and violent action? "Declaration of Independence from the War in Vietnam" 1. Near the beginning, King says there are seven major reasons why must speak out about the United States' involvement in Vietnam. He names three of them, but what are the other four? 2. What historical and political overview does King offer of the struggle in Vietnam—what happened, that is, before America's involvement there? What connections does he suggest that we make between America's attitude toward Vietnam and its attitude toward the poor and racial minorities in America? 3. Overall, what image of Vietnam—both its peasants and its leaders—does King offer his listeners? Is the view positive, negative, or something in between? Based on what you know about how people on the homefront generally view an enemy with whom their country is at war, why would the image King offers generate controversy? 4. How, according to King, does the U.S.'s involvement in Vietnam threaten its own ideals and its reputation with the rest of the world? In the last few pages, King refers to a "world revolution" and then explains what he means by that phrase. In what way does America's stance toward this world revolution threaten the country's self-image? 5. How would you describe the balance in this speech between King's customary optimism and his doubts about America's ability to do right by its own people and those of other countries? Do the scales tip one way or the other? At what points, specifically, is King optimistic? At what points is he pessimistic?
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