King Institute Resources



	Part Three: Letter from Birmingham Jail

	Activity/Instructions

	Debrief the role play and introduce the Eyes on Prize documentary. Watch only up to the student arrests. This will add a visual element to the events and people from the previous day’s role play. Either as a class or in smaller groups have students read and answer the analysis questions for the Letter from Birmingham Jail. Depending on the level of your students, you may choose from two versions of the letter with analysis questions. Finally, play the audio of the letter. You may want to pause the audio and allow students to discuss their answers to the analysis questions.

	Materials/Links

	Handouts:			Resources:
	Letter from Birmingham Jail Letter from a Birmingham Jail Analysis 1 Letter from a Birmingham Jail Analysis 2			Audio exerpt of Letter from Birmingham Jail - Quicktime King Encyclopedia

	Assignment Options:
	Journal entry Complete remaining analysis questions Begin work on culminating project


	Questions: What were the goals of Project C and how were these goals to be accomplished? In “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” how does King explain the purpose and effectiveness of nonviolent direct action?

Related Topics

Birmingham campaign, Letter from a Birmingham jail, Lesson plans

Related Resources

“Letter from Birmingham jail” (1963)

Birmingham Campaign

King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail

This lesson encourages students to reflect on nonviolence as an instrument to change unjust laws by studying the Birmingham Campaign of 1963.

Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, 16 April 1963

King writes an impassioned defense to eight clergymen critical of his involvement in the Birmingham Campaign and calls for the church to support the movement.

Part Three: Goals of the Boycott

Part Three of the LC Lesson Plan: The Montgomery Bus Boycott

The Montgomery Bus Boycott: A Model for Social Transformation

The Montgomery bus boycott serves as an ideal historical model for teaching social movements, not only because the boycott achieved an end to segregated seating on city bus lines; but it also illustrates some of the key elements of achieving social transformation: sustained commitment, intense strategizing, and intricate cooperation.

Part One: Rosa Parks; historical figure or a legend?

Part Two of the LC Lesson Plan: The Montgomery Bus Boycott

The Childrens Crusade & the Role of Youth in the African American Freedom Struggle

This lesson plan focuses on the role young people played in the African American freedom struggle, specifically the Children’s Crusade in Birmingham, Alabama.

Letter from Birmingham Jail: Part One

Part one of the LC lesson plan "Letter from Birmingham Jail".

Strength to Love (1963)

Albany Movement

The Children’s Crusade: Additional Activities

Part Five of the LC Lesson Plan: The Montgomery Bus Boycott

Why We Can’t Wait (1964)

Letter from Birmingham Jail: Part Two

Part two of the LC lesson plan "Letter from Birmingham Jail"

Part Two: Claudette Colvin

Part Two of the LC Lesson Plan: The Montgomery Bus Boycott

Letter from Birmingham Jail: Essential and Sub Questions