King’s leadership resulted in one of the the greatest non-violent mass protests in the history of the western world. King represented a sense of hope and promise to the followers of the Civil Rights Movement. The most important aspect to understand in this debate is King’s non-violence. With many other African-American leaders, such as Malcolm X, taking a more aggressive, violent approach to change, King saw the potential in Ghandi’s peaceful protests. As Fairclough writes, “Few blacks believed that the city’s businessmen would have accepted desegregation but for the double pressure of the demonstrations and the economic boycott of downtown stores” (209). The only effective events in the Civil Rights movements were those that followed King’s system of non-violence. While Carson argues that rather than King’s presence, “the success of the black movement required the mobilization of black communities…”(219), this assertion is made under the assumption that a non-violent leader would organize the masses. Without King’s leadership, there may have been an violent uprising that only led to more tensions between the
King’s leadership resulted in one of the the greatest non-violent mass protests in the history of the western world. King represented a sense of hope and promise to the followers of the Civil Rights Movement. The most important aspect to understand in this debate is King’s non-violence. With many other African-American leaders, such as Malcolm X, taking a more aggressive, violent approach to change, King saw the potential in Ghandi’s peaceful protests. As Fairclough writes, “Few blacks believed that the city’s businessmen would have accepted desegregation but for the double pressure of the demonstrations and the economic boycott of downtown stores” (209). The only effective events in the Civil Rights movements were those that followed King’s system of non-violence. While Carson argues that rather than King’s presence, “the success of the black movement required the mobilization of black communities…”(219), this assertion is made under the assumption that a non-violent leader would organize the masses. Without King’s leadership, there may have been an violent uprising that only led to more tensions between the