Civil Disobedience Essay

Civil Disobedience Alone is not Enough After the Reconstruction era and the abolition of slavery in America, Jim Crow laws were put into place in order to enforce the segregation of African Americans from white people. This racial caste system was designed in the form of state and local laws. These laws were created so that whites could reassert their idea of supremacy by denying African Americans basic social, economic, and civil rights, such as the right to vote. These laws were claimed to be “separate, but equal” but in reality these laws disenfranchised African Americans and subjected them to inhumane acts of violence by white southerners. As African Americans in the 1950s began resisting these forms of oppression, the Civil Rights Movement
Civil disobedience is the intentional refusal to follow civil laws with the primary intention of creating a change in the governmental system, and is usually achieved through the use of non-violent methods and passive resistance. All through history, many have resisted policies and legislations that were unjust and meant to oppress the people. They have done this through mass demonstrations, boycotts, sit-ins, protests, even refusal to pay taxes and other forms of non-violent civil disobedience. The purpose of these types of actions are to fight for the rights of the people who are subjugated by those in authority. Although civil disobedience can be a powerful instrument for resisting and reforming unjust laws and its historical associations may be appealing, the practice is complex in its theoretical basis and problematic in its potential practical effects. More significantly, civil disobedience cannot
During Dr. King’s era African Americans faced police brutality as well as biased judicial systems. In both the abolition and the civil rights movements, efficient use of nonviolent direct action only further encouraged advocates of slavery and Jim Crow. This allowed for radical anti-black groups like the KKK that took charge by passing discriminatory laws known as the black codes, which gave whites almost unlimited power. Members of this racist institution distinguishingly masked themselves and terrorized black people by burning black churches, burning black schools, beating them, murdering them, and lynching them as they pleased. Even though violence was heavily perpetrated against African Americans non-violent civil disobedience was still advocated. As African Americans acted non violently they allowed the injustices to continue because they did not give the perpetrators any consequences to fear. They only reacted with violence when it was already too late. At that time, the demonstration of verbal or physical force, especially in retaliation to whites, warranted an equal or more violent response. Often, those who were partaking in civil disobedience were not violent and did not resist arrest. Nevertheless, the use of fire hoses, armed police,