Excerpt #1:
“But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.”
Question: What conclusions can be drawn about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. based on this excerpt? Use evidence from the text to support your response.
Excerpt #2:
“There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, ‘When will you be satisfied?’ We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.”
Question:
What similarities between the time period Dr. King gave this speech and today (2016-17)? Use evidence from the text to support your response.
Excerpt #3:
“And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’”
Question: Explain what Dr. King meant by, "It is a dream deeply rooted in the American Dream". Use evidence from the text to support your response.
Excerpt #4
“And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.”
Question:
Why does Dr. King repeat the phrase “let freedom ring”? Use evidence from the text to support your response.