Disobedience In The Civil Rights Movement

Civil disobedience is present in our day to day lives. During the civil rights protests occurring in Birmingham, AL, Eugene Connor was the Commissioner of Public Safety who publicly attacked African Americans with fire hoses and dogs. The Boston Tea Party was a rebellion which led to major tax reformation. Another moment in history of disobedience would be the Civil Rights movement. Oscar Wilde claims social progress is promoted through disobedience and rebellion which is valid.

In Thoreau 's essay Civil Disobedience he makes the point that bystanders are just as bad as criminals and that people should stand against unjust crimes even if it means going against the law. And to some extent I do agree because in the past people have broken unjust laws and have created change. A well-known example would be when Rosa Parks sat on the bus in the "White-only" seating area, which lead to important events that helped push the Civil Rights movement forward. But I think that it depends on which laws they choose to break and how far they choose to go with it.

On January 21, 2017, an estimated 500,000 Americans marched on the National Mall, continuing a longstanding tradition of protest on this public space. On this particular day, protesters sought to send a message to President Donald Trump regarding women’s rights. Known as the Women’s March, this event is only one of the more recent examples of large-scale protest and dissent on the National Mall. Throughout American history, protest movements have often made their way to Washington, D.C., the capital city and political center of the United States. Although the National Mall was not necessarily designed in a way that fosters protest, it quickly became the foremost venue for American demonstration. As AIDS activist Cleve Jones once stated, “the

What is civil disobedience? Civil disobedience is the opposing of a law one finds unjust by refusing to follow it and accepting the consequences. So many people have performed acts of civil disobedience from Martin Luther King Jr. to everyday people. But what people did as civil disobedience a hundred years ago is completely different today. It is such an important part of a free society because it helps to define what a free society is, shows the true meaning of freedom of speech, and shows the government that citizens are not willing to follow an unjust law without violence.

When you think of a lunch counter you rarely think of a sign hanging on top saying “whites only”but yet you think of a mixture of races speaking and laughing together. In 1950’s it was all different, there was a sign...and you rarely saw blacks and whites talking… back then it was segregation. In February 1st, 1960 four black freshmen at North Carolina A&T State University, Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, Ezell Blair, Jr., and David Richmond(Greensboro four), took a seats at the segregated lunch counter of F. W. Woolworth's in Greensboro, North Carolina. They were refused service and sat peacefully until the store closed. They returned the next day, along with about 25 other students, and their requests were again denied. The Greensboro Four inspired similar

The success of the boycott of the Montgomery buses and the court case Brown vs. Board of education led African Americans into the 1960’s with the belief that non-violent protest and legal action could make a difference. In the beginning of the 1960’s, students held sit in’s at segregated lunch counters throughout the south. February 1st 1960, was the day of the first sit in at a segregated lunch counter. Four seventeen year old freshman at North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro- Franklin Mccain, Ezell Blair Jr., Joseph Mcneil, and David Richmond- peacefully and politely took seats at the lunch counter and asked for coffee. “By the end of the month similar protest were beginning in thirty one cities and seven southern states” (“The

Another significant transformation took place in the Civil Rights Movement in terms of its strategies. In analyzing this facet of the movement, we notice a great shift from nonviolent demonstration to forward, forceful action. Specifically, at the start of the Civil Rights Movement, lunch counter sit-ins were evident throughout the nation, as were Freedom Riders. Starting in Greensboro, North Carolina at a luncheonette called Woolworths, young black citizens would seat

February 1, 1960, four African American freshman from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University sat down at a lunch counter in a Woolworth store but there was a whites only policy at the counter. They were refused service because their color of their skin and when they were asked to move they refused to move a muscle. “ Despite threats and intimidation, the students sat quietly and waited to be served” (Sit-In). They sat there until it was closing time. This was the begin of a non-violent protest, the civil rights sit-in was born. The second day the four men came back but this time they brought with twenty-five other students from the college. And on the third day,

The word resistance holds a negative diction in todays society. Resistance is seen as a taboo thing to many people because it means raising your voice when it is quiet and it is know that many don't like the noise. However, peaceful civil resistance has made a change throughout history. Although many feel like peaceful resistance is detrimental to a free society one cannot avoid the fact that does make a society more aware of issues pending in the country.

Today, the word disobedience carries a negative connotation that acts as a deterrent for necessary disobedience. The common way in which people view disobedience is as a rejection of a rule, law, or a simple standard. Historically, rules were implemented in ways that were deemed immoral by society. Therefore, civil disobedience is justified to combat immoral standards implemented in society. However, civil disobedience is only justified under these circumstances, mainly for the betterment of society. Historic figures such as Rosa Parks, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. all acted civilly disobedience, but society benefitted from their movements. Civil disobedience is the underlying theme of Sophocles’ Antigone and Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter From Birmingham Jail. The main character of Sophocles’ Antigone, Antigone, acts civil disobedience, just as Dr. King acted civilly disobedient. Both Antigone and Martin Luther King Jr. fought to gain justice for the people who they believed were denied the rights of society. Although Antigone believes she is fighting for a just cause, she acts civilly disobedient by advocating for a traitor to society, deeming her civil disobedience unjust. Martin Luther King Jr., in contrast, did fight for a just cause by advocating for equal rights of all persons, which justifies his civil disobedience.

Civil disobedience is the refusal to conform to certain laws as a form of harmless political protest, while being aware of the consequences that could result because of it. Peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts a free society because actions are taken due to people letting their voice be heard. While some may argue that the main reasons of this are the five basic rights mentioned in the first amendment (freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition), this issue goes far beyond that. Without civil disobedience, many historical events might have not played such an important role as they did to the point that they changed America in numerous ways; not to mention the courageous people who still take part in protests today to claim the rights they should have.

Imagine a beautiful fairytale kingdom. The ruling-class elite of this country have blood that flows gold in their veins and eyes that shine silver like stars. Over time, two groups of people in the country have formed: those golden-blooded and silver-eyed, and those without either characteristic. The gold & silver are dominant in population, at least numerically, and their council seats hold the majority as well. Thus, they make decisions for the country. Yet they do not speak for those without the desired characteristics—and how can they, being so different?

On February 1, 1960 four African American freshmen attending North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University walked into a Woolworths department store. After purchasing toothpaste and other items from a desegregated register, the men, later referred to as the Greensboro Four, continued on to the lunch counter. In accordance to the stores policy, a counter designated as “whites only” could deny service to any and all African Americans. Therefore, the employee denied the men the coffee that had asked for. The four students simultaneously protested Woolworth’s refusal of service by occupying the seats until the store closed that day. This effort continued in subsequent days, weeks, and months while growing in size, publicity, and notoriety. Over the course of the protest, Woolworth lost over $200,000 in sales, which is equivalent to $1.6 million in today’s economy. The act of defiance led by those four men eventually led to Woolworth’s repealing their segregation policy. On a bigger scale, the Greensboro sit-in sparked a national trend of organized protests. This protest reminded me of my sixth grade year when my school’s entire student body opposed the newly enforced seating arrangement in the lunch room. The basis behind my school’s protest was similar to that of the Greensboro

All throughout world history, human beings have participated in acts of civil disobedience. However, in the last two centuries the belief and practice of it has been in full swing and has even brought on major historical events, especially concerning equal rights and just laws. Three major firm believers and activists in civil disobedience were Henry David Thoreau, Martin Luther King Jr., and Gandhi. All three of these men participated in acts of civil disobedience but each in his own way and for different reasons. Henry David Thoreau believed that a certain war tax was unjust during the Mexican War and he refused to pay it. This then lead to his arrest and one day in jail where he wrote the essay "Civil Disobedience." Martin

In 2017, civil disobedience is alive and well. In fact, it seems to be flourishing under the presidency of Donald Trump. The NAACP promises more peaceful and legal protests with regard to our new US leader. Occupy Inauguration protest erupted throughout major metropolitan areas on the day he took office. Federal employees are now enrolling in civil disobedience classes. Workers are showing their internal dissent and are showing their contempt for the government administration. Freezes on federal hiring, firing of the Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, and new regulations hindering the entrance into the US by certain targeted Muslim-based countries is causing great disdain. Immigrant rights and racial equality are at the base of public uprisings in our current