Time: 2-3 hours
Materials: Blackboard or chart
paper, chalk or markers
1, The World House
of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Optional: copies of the national
Setting: Middle school - Adult
activity, participants examine Dr. King's essay entitled "The
World House" to learn how his vision and commitment to action
transcend US-specific civil rights issues to include human rights
that affect all people.
Who was Martin Luther King, Jr.? (1 hour)
group what they know or remember about Martin Luther King. Record
their responses on the blackboard or chart paper as two lists under
the headings “Biography and “Human Rights Issues. Be sure to leave
ample room on the “Issues chart to add text to the right of each item.
Retain the charts for further use.
might look like this.
Right to vote
Worked among Blacks in
Right to equal use of public services
Won Nobel Peace Prize
Right to non-violent assembly
Was a Christian minister
Right to a living wage
If participants lack
information about King, you might ask them to interview elders in
preparation for discussion and/or add a few important biographical
facts. However, do not add to the list of issues.
the list of issues the group has generated. Explain that rights are
generally categorized in two groups, civil/political and social/economic
rights. Explain these definitions and/or write them on the chart.
Ask the group to determine which category each of the issues listed
belongs to and mark each issue “C/P or “S/E. This list will be predominantly
AND POLITICAL RIGHTS: The rights of citizens to liberty and equality,
sometimes referred to as first generation rights. Civil rights include
freedom to worship, to think and express oneself, to vote, to take
part in political life, and to have access to information.
AND ECONOMIC RIGHTS:
Rights that give people
social and economic security, sometimes referred to as security-oriented
or second- generation rights. Examples are the right to food, shelter,
and health care. There is disagreement whether the government is
obligated to provide these benefits.
and distribute the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), explaining
that it is the United Nations’ fundamental document that defines human
rights for all the peoples of the world. Ask participants to find
articles in the UDHR that match each issue listed. Encourage participants
to read aloud the article they find. Enter each on the chart.
You may wish to repeat this step using the Constitution and its Amendments.
Note significant differences, if any, between the two documents.
CONSTITUTION Articles Articles/Amendments
(C/P) Art. #______ ______
vote (C/P) Art. #______ ______
equal use of public services (C/P) Art. #______ ______
non-violent assembly (C/P) Art. #______ ______
living wage (S/E) Art. #______ ______
PART B: From Civil Rights
to Human Rights (1 hour or more)
that although most people associate Martin Luther King with civil
rights in the United States, he actually had a broader vision that
included all human rights and all human beings (even though the language
he used was not always gender inclusive).
into small groups. Give each group copies of “The World House and
ask them to read it aloud together. When finished, each group should
make a list of any new information they have gained about Dr. King’s
life or the issues he worked for.
groups have completed their reading, ask someone from each group to
present their list and add new entries to the original lists of biographical
facts and issues generated in Part A, Step 1.
As in Part
A, determine which of the new issues are civil/political rights or
social/economic and label them. The new issues will include many more
social/economic rights than the original list.
A, Step 3, matching the issues with the relevant article(s) of the
UDHR and entering the article number on the chart. Optional:
Do the same with the Constitution. Note significant differences, if
any, between the two documents.
of the following excerpts and questions to broaden participants’ understanding
of the issues for which Dr. King worked. No doubt, there will be conflicting
opinions on these controversial topics.
with whites will not solve the problems of either whites or Negroes
if it means equality in a world society stricken by poverty and a
universe doomed to extinction by war.
Why do you
think Dr. King believes that racial equality is not enough for the
realization of human rights?
over the world like a fever, the great masses of people are determined
to end the exploitation of their races and lands. They are awake and
moving toward their goal like a tidal wave.
wrote these words in the 1960s. Is this “tidal wave still going on?
Ask for examples that support or contradict this statement. How does
this statement relate to human rights?
era of colonialism, is at an end.... The earth is being redistributed.
Do you think
that power held by the so-called “western world or former colonial
powers is indeed being redistributed more fairly throughout the world?
Cite examples to support your view.
the moral imperatives of our time, we are challenged to work all over
the world with unshakable determination to wipe out the last vestiges
Why is eliminating
racism a “moral imperative? What progress has been made in eliminating
racism in the world? In your country? In your community? What evidence
is there that racism still exists?
time has come for an all-out war against poverty. The rich nations
must use their vast resources of wealth to develop the underdeveloped,
school the unschooled and feed the unfed.... If they would allocate
just two percent of their gross national product annually for a period
of ten or twenty years for the development of the underdeveloped nations,
mankind would go a long way toward conquering the ancient enemy, poverty.
nations indeed have a responsibility to use their wealth to help underdeveloped
nations? What do you think of King’s suggestion for a “Marshall Plan
for Asia, Africa, and South America? Does your country already contribute
to the development of poorer nations? If so, what percentage of its
gross national product does it contribute and how does that compare
with that given by other countries? Do people have a human right to
freedom from poverty? If so, whose responsibility is it to defend
that right? Do rich individuals have a similar responsibility?
well-off and the secure have too often become the indifferent and
oblivious to the poverty and deprivation in their midst. The poor
in our countries have been shut out of our minds, and driven from
the mainstream of our societies, because we have allowed them to become
ways are the poor in your community treated as “invisible? When and
where are poor people likely to be found? When and where would you
have personal conversation and interaction with people who are poor?
Do you believe that “The well-off and the secure have too often become
the indifferent and oblivious to the poverty and deprivation ... in
your community? In your country? What responsibility, if any, do “the
well-off and secure have to those who are neither?
problem that mankind must solve in order to survive in the world house
that we have inherited is finding an alternative to war and human
a human right? Dr. King suggests that the philosophy and strategy
of nonviolence is the way to end war. What do you understand by “the
philosophy and strategy of nonviolence? Do you think it can end conflict
on the international level? The national or community level? The interpersonal
the reasons that King gives for why rich nations should work to end
poverty in poor nations. Do you agree with these reasons? Are they
true for individuals as well as nations? How do King’s reasons relate
to human rights.
Choose a sentence or passage from the reading and write a reflection,
defending or opposing King’s position. For example:
Oppressed people cannot
remain oppressed forever.
In the final analysis
the rich must not ignore the poor because both rich and poor are
tied together. They entered the same mysterious gateway of human
birth, into the same adventure of mortal life.
In a real sense, all
life in interrelated. The agony of the poor impoverishes the rich;
the betterment of the poor enriches the rich. We are inevitably
our brother’s keepers because we are our brother’s brother. Whatever
affects one directly affects all indirectly.
We still have a
choice today; nonviolent coexistence or violent coannihilation.
This may well be mankind’s last chance to choose between chaos
These projects might be undertaken by individuals or small groups
and their results shared with the whole group.
Find out more about
King’s views on nonviolence.
What people and
philosophies inspired King’s ideas? Did his methods work? Why
or why not?
King’s nonviolence policy. Why?
methods been used in other political crises since King?
How is poverty
defined? What proportion of the population in your country or
community is “poor?
What kinds of people
are poor? Are they predominantly of a certain race, ethnic group,
What are some outcomes
related to poverty (e.g., crime, disease, infant mortality,
educational level, life expectancy)? How are these aspects of
poverty reflected in your community?
Compare the statistics
about poverty in your community, city, region, or country to
those of other communities, cities, regions, or countries. Do
you live in a “poor place?
Find out what policies
and programs your country has now to help end poverty in other
countries. Are these actions effective?
Find out what policies
and programs your country or regional government is doing to
help end poverty at home. Are these actions effective?
Find out what the
World Bank and the International Monitory Fund (IMF) are doing
to end poverty worldwide. Are these actions effective?
Create a MLK Report
Card for your community. (See Activity 7, p. 67, for ideas).
Select rights concerns that emerge from group discussion, identify
data to gather in your community, gather them, construct the
Report Card, and distribute it in your community (local media!).
Identify actions that need to be taken. Organize an action project.
Use King’s birthday to launch or culminate the activity.
Find out what organizations
are working in your community on the issues of racism, poverty,
and nonviolence that Dr. King advocated. Choose one or two whose
work you admire, contact them and find out how you can support
See other activities
in this manual for ways to become involved in your community.