Who Was Martin Luther King, Jr.?

What role did King’s education and Christian faith play in his civil rights work? Why did he decide to become a minister, and how did his religious work connect to the cause for social justice? Use textual evidence from this book and other sources to illustrate, citing all sources.

Consider Rosa Parks’s life and work. What does her defiance and resistance to discrimination that sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott demonstrate about women’s role in the civil rights struggle?

Analyze King’s philosophy of nonviolence and its significance for the freedom struggle. Why did King insist that nonviolent protest was the most effective form of resistance to racism? In what ways did direct action challenge the Jim Crow system in the South? Incorporate textual evidence from the book and other sources, citing all sources.

What forms of violence did civil rights activists in the South face, and what was their response? What did such acts reveal about race relations in US society? How did King experience racial violence and intimidation? To what extent were acts on both sides constitutional? Develop an argument using textual evidence from this book and other sources, citing all sources.

Analyze the social changes that the civil rights movement instigated in the 1960s. What factors led to the landmark Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts? What did those victories signify for the course of the civil rights movement? Develop a short essay, incorporating textual evidence from the book and other sources, citing all sources.

Bader juxtaposes King’s nonviolent philosophy with Malcolm X’s political ideology and the later developments within the movement, like the Black Panther Party. How does the book describe opposing viewpoints to King’s approach in the freedom struggle? Does her approach illuminate the movement’s complex history? Why or why not?

Analyze King’s reaction and viewpoint toward the riots in the mid- and late 1960s. According to King, what did such acts of violence express? Why did he argue that violent protest was not the answer against racism and injustice? Use textual evidence to develop a brief essay.

After battling segregation, what forms of racism did King identify in the North? What did such patterns of discrimination reveal about the reality of racism in the US, and how did King attempt to expand his activist work? Incorporate textual evidence to develop an argument.