Question

The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.

Part A

Near the end of “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” King says, “I have no despair about the future. I have no fear about the outcome of our struggle. . . .” Which statement best explains why King feels so certain of ultimate victory? Choose the correct answer.

A. He senses that allies in other nations will soon rally to the cause of civil rights.
B. He believes that he and his followers are stronger than those who oppose them.
C. He knows that the civil rights movement is better funded than those who oppose them.
D. He knows that the size of the movement ensures that it can elect candidates who will abolish segregation.
Part B

Which excerpt from “Letter From Birmingham Jail” best supports the answer to Part A? Choose the correct answer.
A. Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy and transform our pending national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity.
B. Their witness has been the spiritual salt that has preserved the true meaning of the gospel in these troubled times. They have carved a tunnel of hope through the dark mountain of disappointment.
C. For more than two centuries our forebears labored in this country without wages . . . and yet out of a bottomless vitality they continued to thrive and develop. If the inexpressible cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail.
D. Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.

Answer 1

Part A: B

Part B: C

Explanation (brief): King expresses confidence based on the long history and resilience of Black Americans — if slavery and its cruelties could not destroy them, current opposition will fail — which is captured in excerpt C.