think privileged groups seldom want H u m a n i t i e s

After reading the letters from Birmingham sent by religious leaders to Martin Luther King, Jr. and the response of Dr. King back to those leaders. Answer these questions based on your own experiences, thoughts and insights.

1) Dr. King is accused of being an outsider—someone not from Birmingham—who is making trouble for the local black community. One of his responses is to say, “I am in Birmingham because injustice is here.” When you look around the globe today, what are some forms of injustice that you see today? Give three examples of injustice in our world today, from your perspective, AND the root cause of that injustice—from your perspective.

One injustice I see in the world today is…

I think this injustice is cause by…

A second injustice I see in the world today is…

I think this injustice is caused by…

A third injustice I see in the world today is…

I think this injustice is caused by…

2) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is famous for saying, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Do you agree with his statement or not? If you agree with his statement explain why; if you disagree with his statement, then explain your reasoning.

3) Dr. King notes that “privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily…” While that was certainly true in the 1960s when Dr. King was writing his letter from the Birmingham jail, do you think it is still true today? Why or why not? Give several reasons for why you think privileged groups seldom want to give up their power or why you think privileged groups are different today than in the past:

4) There is a YouTube video about privilege at What Is Privilege? (Links to an external site.). Watch the video and write about two privileges you have that help you to have an advantage in life and two in instances where you would not be able to take a step forward or would have to take a step backward if you had been participating in the video. What have you tried to do to overcome your lack of privilege?

5) Not everyone is like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who was willing to stand up against injustice. What do you think motivated him to take a stand, while others did not? Describe at least two ideas that you think motivated Dr. King