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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 does MLK state in his letter is the basic reason that he is in Birmingham?

2. How many affiliated organizations across the South does the Southern Christian Leadership Conference have?

3. What day did the newspapers show pictures of woman on the ground with policemen bending over them with raised clubs and children being faced by dogs?

4. In his letter, MLK states that he has heard the word "Wait!" for years and that this word "Wait!" has always meant what?

5. MLK states that white people don't understand that it is no more possible to be half free than what?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does MLK state that they could thank the segregationists for the revolution that started in Birmingham?

2. Why does MLK state that no revolution is like a ballet?

3. What does MLK say is the difference between just laws and unjust laws?

4. How does MLK answer the questions of the clergymen of "Why direct action? Why sit-ins, marches and so forth? Aren't negotiations better?"

5. When the campaign had sent out a request for volunteers, what did the six tiny youngsters ask Andy Young, and what did they do to help the movement?

6. What did MLK wonder about the media writers when they accused the campaign officials of "using" their children "in this fashion"?

7. How does MLK describe the "two" John Kennedys that he knew?

8. After Bull Connor asks his men to "turn on the hoses" on the Negros marching to a prayer meeting, MLK describes the event as one of the most fantastic events of the Birmingham story. Why?

9. What were the two reasons that MLK accepted bond to come out of jail in the beginning of "Black and White Together"?

10. What did MLK and the S.C.L.C. officers want to do to bring a new dynamic to the campaign that would receive criticism?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In "The Sword That Heals," MLK talks about the Negro population accepting nonviolent direct action. Why does he state that this took a certain sophistication on the part of the Negroes? What things does MLK state were ingrained in them and in society as a whole that made it so hard for the resistance of violence? Why do you think Negroes were ready to do anything for freedom? When they marched they did not back down. Why do you think that is? Do you think the guidance of MLK and other strong leaders helped the Negro population believe in what they were marching for? If so, how?

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

In 1963 the United States was preparing to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. Big productions were in the works for this celebration. What were some of the things that MLK mentions in Chapter 1 that the nation was going to do to celebrate this event? What kind of emotions and desires does this inspire in MLK? What kind of emotions and desires does this inspire in the Negro population as a whole?

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