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American government often changes because a political issue or social condition is protested
publicly. Americans have a long tradition of gathering at city hall or the steps of Congress to
demonstrate for or against an idea.

One of the most important movements in the United States has been for civil rights ² economic,
political and social equality for African-Americans and other minorities. In the 1960s much of
the momentum for the civil rights movement came from public demonstrations. Demonstrators
were often jailed for disturbing the peace and similar offenses. In one such case in 1963, Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. and others were jailed in Birmingham, Alabama. King and the others
were strongly criticized. Eight Birmingham clergymen wrote a letter to express their criticism.
This letter appeared as a paid advertisement in a Birmingham newspaper.

King wrote a letter that explained his reasons for rallying local residents to demonstrate against
segregation. As King relates, his response to the eight clergymen was ³begun on the margins of
the newspaper in which the statement appeared while [he] was in jail, « continued on scraps of
writing paper supplied by a friendly Negro trusty, and concluded on a pad [his] attorneys were
eventually permitted to leave [him].´

As you read the portions of King¶s letter, try to decide why he and others used protest methods
they knew were likely to send them to jail. Then, based on what you have read and what you
know of the civil rights movement in the 1960s, answer the following questions:

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1.? ‰hat guarantees in the First Amendment are relevant to King¶s protest actions? Explain
why.

2.? ‰hen King referred to ³constitutional and God-given rights,´ what do you think he
meant?

3.? ‰hat did King hope to accomplish by demonstrating publicly?

4.? King wrote that he had ³no alternative´ but to demonstrate. Explain why he reached that
conclusion.

5.? Instead of demonstrations, what alternatives would his critics have recommended?

6.? Conflicts of values are inevitable. ‰hat are some of the values that were confronted in
civil rights protests? ‰hich of King¶s values were in conflict with values of those who
criticized him?

7.? In the face of large demonstrations, what were the legal responsibilities of the
Birmingham police? How can police tell the difference between lawful protest and unruly
or dangerous gatherings?
 X.? King gave direct evidence for ³unavoidable impatience.´ ‰hat are his examples?

9.? According to King, what is a ³just law´? an ³unjust law´?

10.?‰hat laws and social conditions did King want to change?

11.?‰hat is a ³moderate´? ‰hat is an ³extremist´?

Use these four questions for a more in-depth study of King¶s use of language.

12.?Consider King¶s audience. ‰hy was it important for King to include the churches¶
response to the freedom movement and biblical allusions?

13.?‰hich shared values did King use to convince his critics of the rightness of his position?

14.?How was his argument strengthened through references to St. Augustine, St. Thomas
Aquinas and Martin Buber?

15.?In addition to concrete language, King used allusion and figurative language. ‰as his use
of allusion persuasive when he used examples of ³an extremist´? Give examples of
figurative language. How is this a useful rhetorical device?

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Educators, for your assistance, the following list specifies the major concepts covered in
Questions.

á? The First Amendment guarantees rights to the demonstrators:

Y? Free expression of religion. King believed blacks had been denied their ³God-
given rights.´

Y? Freedom of speech. King publicly called for civil rights at the demonstrations.

Y? Freedom of assembly. King organized the demonstrations.

Y? Freedom to petition the government for redress of grievances.

Y? This was one goal of King¶s protest.

á? ‰hen Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. refers to "God-given rights," he is referring to
inalienable rights, those rights that the government does not define or create. Rights such
as life, liberty and happiness are considered inalienable. Constitutional rights are
established by federal and state constitutions and refined through legislation. These rights
include voting rights, equal protection of the laws and due process. In America a special
group of rights exists that are both constitutional and inalienable. For more than 200
 years, United States citizens have relied on the First Amendment to prevent government
interference with the inalienable rights and freedoms of belief and expression.

á? Time was part of his argument. Blacks had been told many times to wait for change,
which never happened. King was demanding freedom and justice ³too long denied.´ Note
his use of ³wait,´ ³patient´ and ³unavoidable impatience.´ The demonstrations were
demanding freedom now.

á? King was educating the clergy and public through this letter. He was trying to let people
everywhere know what conditions blacks faced in their lives. He wanted to show how his
protests were related to the rights others already enjoyed. He also said freedom is never
given by oppressors unless the oppressed demand it.

á? King acknowledged the importance of maintaining law and order, and protecting the
public from disturbances and violence. Patience and waiting, negotiation and other less
vocal, less public actions like letters to the editor or lobbying city councils or legislatures
have all been tried. They had no recourse but nonviolent direct action.

á? King was willing to take the legal consequences of nonviolent direct action. Often a
permit is required to preserve free speech and to ensure public safety at large assemblies.
‰ithout a permit the gathering may be unlawful. Protests that experience suggests may
lead to   , such as ,  or  

, are also subject to
tight restrictions. Emotional demonstrations may start out lawful, but turn dangerous. The
police must judge how the participants and observers are behaving, and suppress speech
only if it is likely to incite immediate lawless behavior. The basic principle involved is to
find a way to allow speech and assembly to happen rather than to stop the expression.

á? The urgency of blacks¶ demands for equality was in conflict with the belief in slow
change.

á? King never forgets his primary audience ² ³my Christian and Jewish brothers,´ clergy
from Roman Catholic, Jewish and different Protestant traditions. There was more to unite
than to separate them. In his conclusion he refers to the ³disinherited children of God,´
³sacred values in our Judeo-Christian heritage,´ ³great wells of democracy which were
dug deep by the founding fathers´ and ³strong in the faith.´ King felt both sides respected
the law, though he felt compelled to break ³unjust laws.´ He was a ³fellow clergyman
and a Christian brother.´

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1. Read the letter addressed to King. ‰hat is the rationale for asking ³outsiders´ to refrain
from demonstrating in Birmingham? List the main points presented in the letter.

2. Dr. King begins his response by justifying his reasons for being in Birmingham. He presents
an argument through analogy by comparing his situation to that of the Apostle Paul. How
does that analogy help justify his presence in Birmingham? Is it an appropriate analogy?

3. A further argument in support of his presence in Birmingham is the ³interrelatedness of all

communities and states.´ Explain.

4. King then describes the four basic steps to a nonviolent campaign. ‰hy does he state that
³we had no alternative except that of preparing for direct action´ in Birmingham? Provide
examples.

5. How does he address the counter-argument that negotiation alone is ³a better path´?

6. ‰hy is nonviolent civil disobedience needed? ‰hy shouldn¶t they ³wait´? How does King
justify their impatience? Discuss the anecdotal evidence presented. Is it effective?

7. How does King justify breaking the law? ‰hat laws should be broken?

X. How does he differentiate between a just and an unjust law? Compare King¶s reasoning with
Thoreau¶s (³Resistance to Civil Government´).

9. How does King address the counter-argument that disobedience of the law leads to anarchy?

10. King presents another Biblical analogy to further justify civil disobedience. Explain

11. How does King address the concerns of the Birmingham clergymen that describe his
measures as ³extreme´?

12. King discusses his disappointments with ³white moderates´ and the white churches. How
does his frustration with these groups contribute to the justification of his actions in
Birmingham?

13. Toward the end of the letter, King presents another Biblical analogy to support his
argument. Explain.
14. Review the letter from the clergy to King. Does he successfully address their concerns and
refute or qualify their arguments? Compose an outline of King¶s letter.
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