“Letter from Birmingham Jail”
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(1963) A letter that Martin Luther King, Jr., addressed to his fellow clergymen while he was in jail in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963, after a nonviolent protest against racial segregation (see also sit-ins). King defended the apparent impatience of people in the civil rights movement, maintaining that without forceful actions like his, equal rights for black people would never be gained. King upheld the general use of nonviolent civil disobedience against unjust laws, saying that human rights must take precedence over such laws. He claimed that “one who breaks an unjust law must do it openly, lovingly”; such a person, King said, is actually showing respect for law, by insisting that laws be just.
QUIZZES
QUIZ YOURSELF ON PARENTHESES AND BRACKETS APLENTY!
Set some time apart to test your bracket symbol knowledge, and see if you can keep your parentheses, squares, curlies, and angles all straight!
Question 1 of 7
Let’s start with some etymology: What are the origins of the typographical word “bracket”?
First appeared around 1750, and is related to the French word “braguette” for the name of codpiece armor.
First appeared in 1610, based on the French word “baguette” for the long loaf of bread.
First appeared in 1555, and is related to the French word “raquette” for a netted bat.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT Words nearby “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
letter carrier, letter drop, lettered, Letterer-Siwe disease, letterform, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, letterhead, letter-high, lettering, letterman, letter missive
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
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