When injustice threatens the livelihood of which American values should stand, people have rightfully grown to fight for equal rights that should have already been bestowed upon them. Over the past few years, there has been a rise in the mention and attention towards peaceful protesting regarding human liberties. Matters involving the pursuit and acceptance of identity and necessity of rights is beginning to prevail as the new norm. People who live in a free society are obligated to speak their minds and to spread justified, true beliefs; a free society is based upon the proof of equality that people of all kinds are structured upon. Within a free society, peaceful resistance and protests positively impact the people, communities, and future …show more content…
Famous for his distinguished, non-violent actions for advancing civil rights in the 1950s-1960s, Martin Luther King Jr. remains a martyr through peaceful protests that are still currently ongoing. Following the death of Michael Brown, America was spun into action, and entire communities were devoted to the loss of of life; injustice was molded into a brand, BlackLivesMatter, where people of all walks of life came, and still come together as one to peacefully protest for righteousness. No stranger to peaceful activism, these protests have been endorsed by the country in its entirety and others who were wronged similarly, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and endless others, have stimulated thoughts that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” (MLK Jr.). The spark for these protests have been lit for a long time; they were not pursued simply from the unrighteous death. These advocates are protesting decades of abuse and intolerance, and like MLK Jr. said of the same in …show more content…
The ability to protest has provided people with the conclusion that transcends time: those who never move, never notice their
While there has been tangible progress made in race relations, inequalities still tarnish the country. In poor black communities across the nation, the lack of opportunity stifles potential and creates a cyclical chain of poverty and violence. Areas with high black populations struggling with violence and unequal policing, have prompted a modern civil right movement called “Black Lives Matter.” Critics of the movement often cite, the supposed inherent inequality in the idea. All lives matter, they argue, why should black lives matter specifically? The movement, however, does not argue that black lives matter more than lives of other races, the movement is saying that black lives matter just as much. Furthermore, it’s an exclamation, that calls for attention to be placed on communities ravaged by violence and poverty that are disproportion black. Similar to the movements of the 1960’s, the BLM movement is causing tension across the country. Like king argued, tension is the catalyst that inspires change and conversation. The nonviolent protests of BLM, seek to “dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored;” that is the “work of a nonviolent resister” (1310). Just as the march that was depicted in Selma, the BLM has sought to seek change without violence, but instead with protests and media campaigns. BLM methods parallel King’s use of non violent protest, in a
Through protesting people can express their beliefs in a nonviolent way in order to raise awareness and possibly gain support from
Protests are the foundation of our country. It was our ancestors protesting against the British that started the revolution and led to what is now the United States of America. The methods of protesting have been changing. Instead of using violent tactics, such as war and destruction, reformers such as Thoreau, Gandhi, and King have brought about a more impactful way of protesting. Nonviolent protests are one of the most successful ways to bring about change, and it is through this method that we achieve our goals while at the same time keeping the peace. Setting a precedent even in the 21st century, Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience underlines the basis of nonviolent protests, and his essay has been used in the works of Gandhi and King. Civil
The Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal” (Jefferson). As the United States was built with an emphasis on equality for all citizens, it is increasingly pertinent to ensure that these values are retained. Throughout this country’s history, many conflicts regarding the ultimate equality of all citizens have resulted in the people themselves resisting restrictive laws. Protests, when peaceful, have always had a positive effect on retaining the freedoms promised by the Declaration of Independence. In order to pass on these values, American children are taught about those who chose to resist. Henry David Thoreau, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Susan B. Anthony are only a few of
If a protest adheres to peaceful disobedience and accepts its consequences then there can be no averse affects to a free society. While the benefits of all civil disobedience movements are not as pivotal as the Civil Rights Act or memorable as Thoreau’s writings, they all are a sign of change. The Keystone Pipeline does not finish
Not all children are born into the perfect situation, some children are born into a drug oriented and gang related family. “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.” This a powerful quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. how we can benefit a student’s life. The Giving Children a Mulligan in Life interest group would be a locally funded group in Atlanta which would teach life lessons through the game of golf in a fun and interactive way. “Giving Children a Mulligan in Life” would help with the record high levels of dropouts in this city. Certainly with Atlanta having one of the highest dropout rates in not just Georgia, but in United States at 59.1% with an 8% rise in the last two years reported by the Georgia’s Department of Education (2014) is more than enough of a reason for this group to exist.
People do not acknowledge the struggles that African Americans had to endure for them to be treated equally, the way a true American is supposed to be treated. One of the ways they were not treated equally was by not being able to participate in sports with whites. From the beginning of our nation, colored people were highly disrespected and treated as if they were some type of animals, which have no say in what happens to them. They were not given any opportunities and were treated harshly because their skin color was different. Whites were able to practically do anything they wanted, unlike blacks, who were racially discriminated or beaten for no apparent reason. African Americans were among the worst treated races in the US; however,
On the eve of Martin Luther King day, the topic of civil disobedience seems particularly relevant. Civil disobedience is the method in which we, in the words of Dr. King, from his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, “present our very bodies as a means of laying our case before the conscience of the local and the national community”.
Peaceful protest is integral to American democracy. In the 1960s, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. marched for civil rights. From the eighties into the early twenty first century, gay rights activists marched for equality. Now there are once again marches for civil rights and even for refugees, people an ocean away. However, one must look further than the superficial aims of a protest to its motives to truly discover the root of the issue, that is, the protest’s impact.
The history of American, non violent, civil disobedience depicts how peaceful resistance can shape public opinion, voice dissent, and change unjust laws. In both Contemporary and past history do we see the role that protest has on our Democracy,and how dissenters, such as Susan B Anthony and Martin Luther King Jr, can become American heroes. The United States was founded on an act of civil disobedience, and even in Modern America, principled dissent has become the highest form of
Yet as revolutionaries themselves, they recognized the imperative of organizing and its centrality to a liberal democracy. Without the visibility afforded by protest, challenge to the cultural and political norms is impossible. Organization and protest have shaped America from abolitionism to temperance, unionization to gay liberation and continue to shape it today. More recently, Black Lives Matter activists have demonstrated the sheer power of grassroots protest, effectively using their freedom of assembly to challenge structural racism. On a personal note, my liberty to assemble has allowed me to protest at my school as well as to participate in various election efforts. I relish to challenge the status quo and express informed dissent. The Bill of Rights ensures Americans’ ability to do so, thereby ensuring the vitality of
If civil disobedience is abused, then our liberty and freedom of a nation are attacked. We mustn’t take our rebellion to the extreme of doing more harm than planned. Mrs. Parks, Mr. Ali, and Mr. Snowden’s acts were peaceful and got their message across, positively impacting our soiecty. And in the end, the trio ended violence, hatred, and confusion in our country; every action against the law must be carefully thought out or it can cause an outbreak of injustice to our
As compatriots of the United States, it is our responsibility and commitment to overthrow any type of social or civil injustice. In that process, we as American’s must ensure our rights by practicing a form of civil disobedience. In other words, we should not remain quiet in the roars of prejudice against a certain group of people. Leaders that derive from the civil rights movements like Martin Luther King Jr, Cesar Chavez, Malcolm X, Eleanor Roosevelt, and others have shown us that nothing we want will come into our laps, as humans we must work for the things that we want. In 1950’s through the 1960’s, there was a wave of activist who fought their way to the end of civil injustice, many used their orating skills and others recruited members
With peaceful protest, we see things in our society from women suffrage to civil rights movements. Concurrently, ideas such as ones by Edward Snowed are praised by some, and completely rejected and hated by others No matter their approval these peaceful resistances has led us to a greater and
A Biography of Martin Luther King Jr. "I have a dream…" are the famous words stated by Martin Luther King