letter from birmingham jail

cognizant

aware or conscious of

moratorium

a temporary suspension or agreed-upon delay

retaliate

to respond in kind to having been acting upon, often with harmful intent

precipitate

to cause something to happen rapidly or unexpectedly

complacency

contented self-satisfaction

manifest

to show or reveal

mores

established customs and conventions

provocation

an action intended to elicit an angered response

what was the nickname given to Birmingham, Alabama?

Bombingham

Why was Martin Luther King JR asked to join the existing local movement?

he was asked to join the existing local movement to spread the philosophy of nonviolence and use his notoriety to gain support

list three forms of peaceful protests used in the movement

sit-ins, marches, boycotts

why did martin luther king jr allow himself to be arrested

worried that failure to submit to arrest would undermine his credibility

when was martin luther king jr arrested

april 12, 1963

when was martin luther king jr released from jail

april 20. 1963

why did martin luther king jr write his letter while in prison

as a response to a letter by eight local clergymen published on april 12, 1963 in the newspaper

what type of document is the letter considered?

U.S. Seminal Document

where is the original manuscript of the letter located now?

now located in his alma mater Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia

what groundbreaking legislation was passed as a result of martin luther king jrs letter?

it was influential in passing the groundbreaking Civil Rights Act of 1964

list the three types of rhetorical devices that martin luther king jr uses in his letter

parallelism, irony, allusions, analogies, and rhetorical questions

what did segregationists do in birmingham as retaliation for reaching a compromise with demonstrators

segregationists responded with violence including the bombing of a baptist church killing four young girls