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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Birmingham give up when they decided to close down the parks instead of having them integrated?

2. Who said, "Those who act boldly are recognizing right as well as reality"?

3. Who was MLK's executive assistant?

4. What does MLK talk about in "The Negro Revolution-Why 1963" that celebrates it's 100th birthday in 1963?

5. What was the next stage of the "crusade" that began on April 6th?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happened to MLK while he was was at a Harlem department store signing copies of one of his books?

2. With the number of volunteers increasing after the boycott of Birmingham businesses, what other campaigns were the demonstrators able to accomplish?

3. What kind of doctrine did the Negro ministers preach to their congregations about the fight for racial justice?

4. In the introduction of Why We Can't Wait, MLK talks about a young Negro girl. Describe the setting that MLK describes for this girl.

5. Which two revolutions in history does MLK liken the civil turmoil and violence of the Negro's "battle" to?

6. What were the mass meetings that were held in the Negro community, how many were there, and where were these meetings held?

7. How does MLK describe what it would be like to be a Negro baby born and brought up in Birmingham?

8. What are some of the questions that the girl and boy ask themselves?

9. What did Marcus Garvey propose to the Negro race, and why was his plan doomed according to MLK?

10. What does MLK state that Bull Connor prided himself in?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The book, Why We Can't Wait, is written by Martin Luther King, Jr. about the time of the civil rights movement during the 1960s in which Birmingham became the center of attention for the nation to watch those "fighting" for freedom. How do you think MLK's perspective on the details of these events affected the reader of the book? How would the details of the events be told differently if we were reading a book by Bull Connor? How about a book by Jesse Jackson? Explain your answers and use evidence from the book to support those answers.

Essay Topic 2

In Jesse Jackson's afterward, he describes some of the impacts and results that the movement in Birmingham had on the country and on the south. He speaks about Atlanta being able to host the Olympics and Orlando being about to be the number one tourist destination in the country. None of this would have been possible in the Old South. What does Jesse Jackson describe as different as far as the nation's Presidents are concerned? What does Jackson mean when he says that "great change rarely comes from the top down"? What does that quote have to do with this book? Explain your answers, and use specific examples from the book to support your views.

Essay Topic 3

After MLK and the other leaders had decided to lead a demonstration on April 12th, they received what type of bad news? What did this news do to the hopefulness of the leaders? Why was MLK told that he could not go to jail now? What did MLK think about when he was presented with this news? MLK states that he walked to another room by himself. He says, "I think I was standing also at the center of all that my life had brought me to be." What does he mean by these words? Why did MLK not back down after the bad news, and why did he decide that he would have to go to jail if needed?

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