During the civil rights movement of the 1960's, designed to break down racial segregation and discrimination against African-Americans in the US, the Rev. Martin Luther King became a pre-eminent leader. He chose the path of non-violent resistance, using tactics of sit-ins, street demonstrations, refusal to ride on segregated buses, and the like.
In the Spring of 1963, Birmingham, Alabama, became the center of King-led protest demonstrations. Ultimately, as a result, King himself was arrested and spent several days in Birmingham jail. From that cell, he wrote one of his most famous defenses of his tactics, and of the civil rights movement in general, the so-called "Letter from Birmingham Jail". The occasion for the letter is to defend himself and the civil rights movement against published charges leveled by a group of White Christian clergymen in Birmingham. These clergymen could probably be classified as White moderates who saw the civil rights movement as pushing too hard, too fast -- as threatening social stability. They favored discussion over protest, social change by tiny increments. Some would say they actually favored doing nothing to rock the segregationist boat.
You have two things to accomplish:
- Read King's letter online by choosing the "Letter from Birmingham Jail" at the Stanford University Martin Luther King site found by clicking here. (You might find other items there to be of interest as well, but for this present educational activity, you are only required to read the one item.)
- Write a brief essay of about 300 words in which you explore the Christian theology King relied on in his defense of the civil rights movement and of his tactics in Birmingham.
(People often see the civil rights movement as being political. King in his letter talks quite a lot about political strategy, but his ultimate defense of the movement is based on theology. Look for that theology.)
Your mini-essay will count for two possible temporary points, graded on the basis of organization, clarity, depth, and ties to what King actually said, with things like grammar and spelling also taken into account. In other words, don't just slop it together at the last minute.
The essay should be printed out, using 1.5 or double line spacing, with your name in a top corner. No cover sheets or folders, please.