Why We Can't Wait

Many of the important figures described in the book, including King himself, are ministers. Why are so many ministers involved in the Civil Rights Movement in the South?

King makes frequent use of rhetorical appeals to persuade his audience. Identify and analyze his use of appeals to emotion, reason, and character in one of the chapters from the book.

King makes frequent references to "the freedom songs" throughout the book. What are the freedom songs? What are their origins? What role do they play in the political activities in which King and others engage?

Consider how King represents American history. According to King, how have race and racism shaped American history? How does King revise commonly-accepted ideas about American history by examining it through the lens of race?

Review King's descriptions of Birmingham and the events that took place there. Why did King and his peers select Birmingham as a site for massive protests? What were their goals? Does King, in the final analysis, believe those goals were accomplished?

King makes frequent references to children and young people in his book. How does he portray children and young people? How do these references help King to make the case for the urgency of immediate action on civil rights?

Although King emphatically rejects violence as a means of achieving political change, there are several instances of violence throughout the text and even in his own life, which ended in assassination. Why does King reject violence? How does he respond to violence over the course of the book?

In "Letter from Birmingham Jail," King argues that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" (87). What does King mean when he says this? What does he gain in making this particular argument?