Question

letter from birmingham jail by martin luther king jr. as you read, highlight ideas related to king’s purpose in writing the letter. use another color to highlight allusions. record how he structures his argument. martin luther king jr. 16 april 1963 my dear fellow clergymen: while confined here in the birmingham city jail, i came across your recent statement calling my present activities “unwise and untimely.” seldom do i pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas. if i sought to answer all the criticisms that cross my desk, my secretaries would have little time for anything other than birmingham is untimely. some have asked: “why didn’t you give the new city administration time to act?” the only answer that i can give to this query is that the new birmingham administration must be prodded about as much as the outgoing one, before it will act. we are sadly mistaken if we feel that the election of albert boutwell as mayor will bring the millennium to birmingham. while mr. boutwell is a much more gentle person than mr. connor, they are both segregationists, dedicated to maintenance of the status quo. i have hope that mr. boutwell will be reasonable enough to see the futility of massive resistance to desegregation. but he will not see this without pressure from devotees of civil rights. my friends, i must say to you that we have not made a single gain in civil rights without determined legal and nonviolent pressure. —“letter from birmingham jail,” martin luther king jr. how does king rebut his critics’ counterclaim in this excerpt? by explaining that all people deserve the same civil rights by admitting that the new mayor has a kinder disposition by emphasizing the indifference of birmingham’s leaders by pointing out the suffering endured from

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze the excerpt from "Letter from Birmingham Jail". The critics' counterclaim likely relates to giving the new administration time. King rebuts by showing both the new (Albert Boutwell) and outgoing (Mr. Connor) administrations are segregationists, and that civil rights gains need pressure. Among the options, "by emphasizing the indifference of Birmingham’s leaders" aligns because he shows both administrations (leaders) are segregationist/dedicated to status quo (indifferent to civil rights progress without pressure). The other options: explaining civil rights for all is not the rebuttal here, admitting the mayor’s kinder disposition is a minor point, and pointing out suffering isn't the focus of this rebuttal.

Answer:

by emphasizing the indifference of Birmingham’s leaders