As the Vietnam War sparked, this brought about a change in Civil Rights more than anything. With African American leaders such as Martin Luther King and Malcolm X fighting for civil rights for African Americans, this small group started to become more equal citizens in the eyes of the government. The Civil Rights movement came to a head during the 1960's, after much work in the 1950's, and the effects are still being felt today. In Document A from the SNCC in April of 1960, the idea of nonviolence was the main source of progress. “Through nonviolence, courage displaces fear; love transforms hate.” This idea of fighting with no violence was pushed by Martin Luther…
In the case of Charles Perkins, his methods worked great even though it may have been a rough start with negative backlash from the townspeople but with the assistance of the media he flipped it and in his own words from his autobiography, A Bastard Like Me, “ It brought, I think, to a lot of people, a confrontation with race relations in a very uncomfortable kind of way”. While on the other hand Martin Luther King’s philosophy of a non-violent protest did similarly and brought forth to light the issues which made the nation of America recognise the segregation occurring within their country. Through this recognition, even though his non-violent methods were being questions, King’s determination brought forth the civil rights act of 1964 and moreover the voting rights acts of 1965. Ergo, the two activists were similar in the fact that they were both non-violent and forced their countries to notice the issues happening beneath them and also especially cause action to be brought down through the voice of the…
In Dr. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” he shows that nonviolence is the way to get the positive attention that his plight deserved. He believed that to use violence was negative on a couple of points. First, violence always gets negative attention. Second, violence was the way the Klu Klux Klan went about their business. He wanted to expose unjust laws and do it in a fashion that conveyed his beliefs without causing other problems. In Dr. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” he is trying to convince his “fellow clergymen” (566) that his fight for the civil liberties is a just one, and that the march was a nonviolent one and one that was surely needed. Dr. King stated, “we are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny” (566). King is saying that it’s something that can no longer be ignored, that he can no longer sit on the sideline and be an idle observer. The black man has to take it to the streets. In this letter, Dr. King showed that nonviolence, direct action, and the ability to stand by one’s convictions are the right path.…
While the movement was triggered by a series of random sit-ins, the civil rights leaders and the youths were able to strategize using nonviolence as a method of exposing the truth about segregation. By reacting peacefully to the violence they faced by the angry mob, people were moved to call for an end against racial…
Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Nelson Mandela all achieved a revolution and independence in their countries through non-violence. The reason this worked is because the non-violent people would be beaten and killed for doing nothing wrong, this made the attackers look like idiots for killing defenseless people. This would make the attackers realize what they’re doing and they would grant the country independence. The documents provided could be situated into four categories: civil disobedience, self-control, willingness to accept punishment, and embracing the enemy.…
Starting in the mid 1950’s and continuing through the late 1960’s, the African Civil Rights Movement made historic strides regarding the equality of black and white citizens. As any such groundbreaking movement, there were moments of both peace and violence, from the Montgomery Bus Boycott to the New York City Race Riots of 1964. Perhaps the most influential and well-known leader of the Civil Rights Movement was Martin Luther King Jr. He lobbied for equal rights for African Americans, while also promoting peaceful protests and a message of non-violence in general. However, it would be incorrect to cite MLK as the only influential African American figure during the time. Malcolm X, the Black Panther Party, and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee also contributed the great strides of the movement that resulted in the Civil Rights act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. However, while these 3 figures/parties all dealt with the racial…
The Civil Rights movement that was initiated by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a result of needed change within our society. Dr. King believed that these changes could take place without the use of force and carried out by nonviolent actions. Dr. King began a movement that initiated civil disobedience in order to bring about a legal change within the society. Many of the clergymen that associated with Dr. King saw validity in some of his statements in his speeches and the efforts for nonviolence.…
Peaceful protesting was only doing so much, the alternative of Black Power had begun to flourish in the late 60’s because it demanded respect through violent, attention-grabbing approaches that were created to actually change segregation and equality. The 1950’s and early 60’s were eras driven by the consumer culture, the US was extremely wealthy, the automobile industry was booming, suburban lifestyle had grown, television became extremely popular, and the general view of America was good (to say the least). The only ‘bad’ aspect of the US was inequality and the unrecognized rights (Blacks deserved). The US originally opted for saving justice and peace amongst Black communities in civil and non-violent ways, but there was limited execution. In 1954, for example, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled segregation in public schools unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education. This landmark case began a series of significant Civil Rights movements with regards to desegregation and equal rights. The early 60’s brought upon new perspectives and the idea of peaceful resolution was one of…
By choosing to to stay peaceful even when they were being verbally and physically assaulted, told a lot about the character of each of those men and women fighting for their freedom. It says, I am done fighting for something that should not have to be fought for, for it is my constitutional right to be considered equal in everything the world has to offer me as an individual of African American decent. It says, I am a civilized, loving, patient human being just like every other American citizen no matter the color of their skin. The Civil Rights Movement showed America that African Americans have just as much character as any other human…
These students are much like the Students for A Democratic Society in the way they “supported the civil rights in the South… [they] gained popularity among college students across the nation.” It also got the attention they needed, to show the public how deep segregation was during this time period. The sit-in protests later led to the formation of the group known as the Student Nonviolent Coordination…
A lot of civil rights movements were nonviolent. There are many examples of these great leaders like Mohandas K. Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr and Cesar Chavez all used nonviolent methods to make a difference. Although all these amazing leaders made a difference none of them made such a great impact to my life like Cesar Chavez did.…
Returning violence for violence will only bring more hate and brutality on both sides. If African Americans were to fight for their justice with violence, they will lose because the police have higher defensive force and power. There will be many people who are likely to lose their lives or get injured on the field compared to nonviolent protest. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King’s moral view could be driven by their different experience in a different situation. Regardless of their background and experience, in order to bring a social change, violence should never be the answer no matter what the opposing side…
Some people say we've got a lot of malice some say its a lot of nerve. But, I…
Before the new negro movement World War I, made blacks think about the nature of their citizenship. Although the war didn’t change how blacks were treated it did change the way many of them thought about their conditions, their duties and privileges of citizenship. Whites separated themselves from blacks because they thought they were better. This caused blacks to lose trust in whites and be disloyal, but they couldn’t. African American’s during this time didn’t have a choice because they felt like they had no voice or place in society based upon how they were being treated. Black people during this time wanted to be accepted by whites…
The black freedom movement saw many different philosophies for how to acquire the progress they wanted, most notably being the contrasting “civil disobedience” and Black Power. Any group involved with the black freedom movement was faced with hardships like jailing, police brutality, bombings and riots by the anti-civil rights protestors. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was the face of the civil disobedience tactic, partnered with other organizations such as the NAACP, and the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). In his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, Dr. King explains the theory behind civil disobedience as a four-step process: collection of facts, negotiation, self-purification, and direct action. This process allowed for “constructive tension” to be implemented, which Dr. King felt was necessary for change to occur. Black Power, and emerging group the Black Panther Party, took different approaches to the obstructions that were felt during the black freedom movement suggesting that “freedom could be won only through a revolutionary struggle for self-determination.” When faced with police brutality or combating poverty against the black population, the Black Panther Party fought independently with armed self-defense…