Stride Toward Freedom: Reading Questions

According to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., what are the three ways that people deal with oppression?

• Acquiescence

• Apathy

• Ambivalence

• Violence

• Nonviolent resistance

According to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which is the most effective and moral way to fight oppression?

• Acquiescence

• Violence

• Nonviolent resistance

According to Dr. King, why is acquiescence immoral?

Choose two.

• "To accept passively an unjust system is to cooperate with that system" (King).

• "To accept injustice or segregation passively is to say to the oppressor that his actions are morally right" (King).

• "It seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding" (King).

• "It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible" (King).

According to Dr. King, why is violence impractical?

Choose two.

• It preserves the "immediate comfort and safety" (King) of the oppressed.

• It "never brings permanent peace" (King).

• "It is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all" (King).

• It allows the oppressed to fight "the unjust system while loving the perpetrators of the system" (King).

How could we describe Dr. King's tone in Stride Toward Freedom?

• Melancholic and hopeless

• Sarcastic

• Confident and calm

• Angry and quarrelsome

How could we describe Dr. King's diction in Stride Toward Freedom?

• Cacophonous

• Ambiguous and ordinary

• Sharp and vulgar

• Concrete and moralistic

Which quote uses loaded language to persuade?

• "Some people are so worn down by the yoke of oppression that they give up" (King).

• "Religion reminds every man that he is his brother’s keeper" (King).

• "If the Negro is to achieve the goal of integration, he must organize himself into a militant and nonviolent mass movement" (King).

According to Dr. King: "The movement for equality and justice can only be a success if it has..."

• "instigators and practitioners of violence" (King).

• a "mass and militant character" that is "committed to nonviolence" (King).

• "falsehood, malice, hate, or destruction" (King).

• "negative freedom and resignation that often engulfs the life of the oppressed" (King).

Which quote uses logical processing (explanation of ideas)?

• "A few years ago in the slum areas of Atlanta, a Negro guitarist used to sing almost daily: 'Been down so long that down don’t bother me'" (King).

• "A voice echoes through time saying to every potential Peter, 'Put up your sword'" (King).

• "To accept passively an unjust system is to cooperate with that system; thereby the oppressed become as evil as the oppressor" (King).

Which of the following makes the best thesis statement for Stride Toward Freedom?

• Oppression can be responded to in three ways: acquiescence, violence, and nonviolent resistance; of these three, Dr. King supports acquiescence.

• Acquiescence is cowardly.

• Violence is one way that people deal with oppression.

• Oppression can be responded to in three ways: acquiescence, violence, and nonviolent resistance; of these three, Dr. King supports nonviolent resistance.