Essay On Civil Disobedience And Women's Rights
Civil Disobedience and Disobedient Women
When people think of peaceful resistance, they often think of the Civil Rights Movement. Many civil rights activists were influenced by Martin Luther King’s nonviolent opposition to unjust laws. Helena Hicks, a college student, was one of these activists influenced by King. In January 1955, she participated in the very first lunch counter sit in. Later that year, Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man and she began to work with King. Over sixty years later, women from all across the world organized one of the largest protests in United States history and marched peacefully for their rights. Peaceful resistances to unjust laws in the U.S. by
Helena Hicks and Rosa Parks desegregated …show more content…
public accommodations and continues to be the preferred method of resistance for protesters in 2017.
Helena Hicks decided she was going to be the difference in her community, segregated Baltimore, Maryland.
She, like all African Americans, was denied service from restaurants and lunch counters because of her skin color. A popular chain in Baltimore at the time was called Read’s Drugstore. African Americans were allowed to purchase items from the store but were not granted service at the lunch counter. One of these chains was located at the same corner as the bus stop Hicks took to and from Morgan State College, where she was taking classes at the time. On a cold day in January 1955, Hicks and her friends decided to order hot drinks from the lunch counter in Read’s. They were refused and the manager threatened to call the police. They left, but Hicks and her friends made the local newspaper and started a movement in their community. When Hicks went to school that day, she spread the word and people started to get involved. Students and staff members staged more sit ins at different branches of Read’s. The first Read’s lunch counter that Hicks and her friend sat in desegregated on January 22, 1955. While the rest of the chains did not desegregate right away, Hicks won a major victory for activists in Baltimore and sparked the sit in movement in her city. (1,
2)
A seamstress from Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks was never satisfied with the treatment of African Americans. She and her husband worked for the NAACP, where she was the secretary of the Montgomery branch. Parks was used to having to give up her seat for white people on the bus, but on December 1, 1955, she decided to stay seated when the bus driver asked her and three other passengers to give up their seats. The bus driver noticed that Parks remained seated and threatened to have her arrested so that the white man would not have to sit in the same row as an African American. The bus driver called the police who arrested her. She was taken to the local jail. This act of civil disobedience led to the 381 day Montgomery Bus Boycott. African Americans walked or carpooled everywhere they needed to go instead of taking the bus in an effort to change the humiliating segregation law. The protesters worked hard to make national news. Eventually, the Supreme Court dealt with the Browder v. Gayle case, which led to bus desegregation. (3)
On January 21, 2017, millions of men, women, and children held signs and marched in response to Donald Trump’s inauguration to demonstrate the need for tolerance and acceptance in a divided America. This march is known as The Women’s March due to the purpose of protesting for women’s rights, as well as expressing the importance of sexuality and religious tolerance. In Washington D.C. alone, there was an estimated crowd of half a million people and estimation of 4.6 million participants worldwide. These protesters held signs and listened to speeches that touched on various issues that women felt strongly about. While there have been no immediate results, the protesting has not ceased. Women are leading other nonviolent protests against proposed laws. These protesters demonstrate their right to freedom of speech and have gone about it in a nonviolent way. While these laws and orders have not been passed by Congress, Americans have already decided that they will not obey or tolerate them if they become reality. (4, 5)
While not every peaceful protest had immediate results, the activists and protesters did not give up hope. Helena Hicks involved her school in a sit in movement to better her community, Rosa Parks took a bold stance which led to the desegregation of the bus company and women are sticking together to promote tolerance and acceptance instead of violence. Peacefully protesting may be a slow process, but the results have helped the U.S. take a step forward.
When people think of peaceful resistance, they often think of the Civil Rights Movement. Many civil rights activists were influenced by Martin Luther King’s nonviolent opposition to unjust laws. Helena Hicks, a college student, was one of these activists influenced by King. In January 1955, she participated in the very first lunch counter sit in. Later that year, Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man and she began to work with King. Over sixty years later, women from all across the world organized one of the largest protests in United States history and marched peacefully for their rights. Peaceful resistances to unjust laws in the U.S. by
Helena Hicks and Rosa Parks desegregated …show more content…
public accommodations and continues to be the preferred method of resistance for protesters in 2017.
Helena Hicks decided she was going to be the difference in her community, segregated Baltimore, Maryland.
She, like all African Americans, was denied service from restaurants and lunch counters because of her skin color. A popular chain in Baltimore at the time was called Read’s Drugstore. African Americans were allowed to purchase items from the store but were not granted service at the lunch counter. One of these chains was located at the same corner as the bus stop Hicks took to and from Morgan State College, where she was taking classes at the time. On a cold day in January 1955, Hicks and her friends decided to order hot drinks from the lunch counter in Read’s. They were refused and the manager threatened to call the police. They left, but Hicks and her friends made the local newspaper and started a movement in their community. When Hicks went to school that day, she spread the word and people started to get involved. Students and staff members staged more sit ins at different branches of Read’s. The first Read’s lunch counter that Hicks and her friend sat in desegregated on January 22, 1955. While the rest of the chains did not desegregate right away, Hicks won a major victory for activists in Baltimore and sparked the sit in movement in her city. (1,
2)
A seamstress from Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks was never satisfied with the treatment of African Americans. She and her husband worked for the NAACP, where she was the secretary of the Montgomery branch. Parks was used to having to give up her seat for white people on the bus, but on December 1, 1955, she decided to stay seated when the bus driver asked her and three other passengers to give up their seats. The bus driver noticed that Parks remained seated and threatened to have her arrested so that the white man would not have to sit in the same row as an African American. The bus driver called the police who arrested her. She was taken to the local jail. This act of civil disobedience led to the 381 day Montgomery Bus Boycott. African Americans walked or carpooled everywhere they needed to go instead of taking the bus in an effort to change the humiliating segregation law. The protesters worked hard to make national news. Eventually, the Supreme Court dealt with the Browder v. Gayle case, which led to bus desegregation. (3)
On January 21, 2017, millions of men, women, and children held signs and marched in response to Donald Trump’s inauguration to demonstrate the need for tolerance and acceptance in a divided America. This march is known as The Women’s March due to the purpose of protesting for women’s rights, as well as expressing the importance of sexuality and religious tolerance. In Washington D.C. alone, there was an estimated crowd of half a million people and estimation of 4.6 million participants worldwide. These protesters held signs and listened to speeches that touched on various issues that women felt strongly about. While there have been no immediate results, the protesting has not ceased. Women are leading other nonviolent protests against proposed laws. These protesters demonstrate their right to freedom of speech and have gone about it in a nonviolent way. While these laws and orders have not been passed by Congress, Americans have already decided that they will not obey or tolerate them if they become reality. (4, 5)
While not every peaceful protest had immediate results, the activists and protesters did not give up hope. Helena Hicks involved her school in a sit in movement to better her community, Rosa Parks took a bold stance which led to the desegregation of the bus company and women are sticking together to promote tolerance and acceptance instead of violence. Peacefully protesting may be a slow process, but the results have helped the U.S. take a step forward.