Finish presentations on Declaration of Independence.
Hand out Birmingham Jail assignment.
Download assignment here.
Background, excerpted from this article by Lucinda Gunnin:
[...] It seems that we [often] hear excerpts of King's famous "I have a dream" speech. The speech is one of the most recognized in the history of the 20th century and yet in many ways the message sent by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in that speech pales by comparison to his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail".
The letter, written almost exactly a year before his assassination, is the basis and justification for all forms of nonviolent protest that have happened since.
Dr. King was arrested in Birmingham after taking part in a peaceful march to draw attention to the way that African-Americans were being treated there, their lack of voter rights, and the extreme injustice they faced in Alabama in 1963.
Addressed to his fellow clergy members in the south, the letter was written four months before Dr. King gave his "I have a dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. While the speech articulates better than almost anything else, the vision for peace and equality in the United States, Dr. King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" is the blueprint to getting there.
Dr. King wrote an open letter to the coalition of Christian ministers in the American South. Dr. King found himself the subject of extreme criticism from his fellow clergymen for his protest, specifically the illegality of the protest. In his essay, Dr. King attempts to appeal to the ethical, emotional and logical sides of countrymen to show them that the laws that he was breaking were unfair and unjust in and of themselves.
HW: Vocab words due tomorrow; start reading Letter from Birmingham Jail.