Question

How did king respond to the charge that the protests in birmingham were "unwise and untimely"? how would you respond? what rationale did king offer for his actions? why did he think that the struggle against segregation could not be confined to courtrooms and polite negotiations?

Answer 1

King responded to suggestion that the Birmingham protests were untimely by stating that Albert Boutwell was not different enough to warrant patience. He further states that privileged groups are always certain to oppose any action that threatens the status quo. King justified his actions by stating that an individual has the right to reject unjust laws, and that the black community had waited more than 340 years for justice.

I would respond to the claim that the protests were untimely by stating that the speed at which negotiations were moving only extended the suffering period of the black community. The continued election of racist leaders only made patience an unnecessary virtue.

King discredited the law because the majority forces the minority to adhere to it while not following it as required. He states that the laws are both unjust and undemocratic to minorities rendering courtrooms and negotiationsuseless in the struggle against segregation.