Activities
Suggested activities using this programme and the recommended websites:
Activity 1: Martin Luther King — An opponents’ view
Work in pairs or small groups. Go to the website The Truth about Martin Luther King Jnr. The author of the page alleges that King was guilty of various offences:
- He cheated in university and did not deserve his doctorate
- He was often unfaithful to his wife
- He was a communist
Your task is to prepare a response to this article. You could take several different approaches:
- You may choose to dispute what the writer says about King
- You may argue that none of these points actually matter
Activity 2: Martin Luther King and Mahatma Ghandi
Look at the site Phototour of the Civil Rights Movement (http://www.seattletimes.com/mlk/movement/PT/phototour.html).
The TV programme indicated that Martin Luther King was deeply influenced by the protests of Mahatma Gandhi in India. Watch the programme carefully and look at the website. Your task is to collect any evidence which supports the idea that King was influenced by Gandhi.
Explain your conclusions in a short presentation.
Activity 3: Remembering Martin Luther King
Use this programme, the Net Notes and the website Phototour of the Civil Rights Movement (http://www.seattletimes.com/mlk/movement/PT/phototour.html). Imagine the year is 1998, the thirtieth anniversary of Martin Luther King’s death. You are producing a tribute web page to King’s memory. Use the resources you have to create the page. It should be divided into sections such as:
- A brief biography of King
- An explanation of why he became involved in the Civil Rights movement
- An explanation of why he insisted on peaceful tactics
- Images of events in his career
- Extracts from his speeches or writings
- Extracts from newspapers or other material from the time
