Nonviolence In The US Civil Rights Movement

Throughout the 1950s and the 1960s, civil rights activists started protesting for change. In the US and Australia there were many significant protests undertaken by different groups of brave individuals all to invoke change. Some of the most influential protests were the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the American and Australian Freedom Rides. These protests mainly used the tactic of non-violent protests however, they also used boycotts and demonstrations. These protests brought great change to the way that the African Americans were treated in the US and the Indigenous people in Australia, because it forced the public to acknowledge the hardships that they had to face from segregation.

Martin Luther King Jr., he was a brilliant and potent leader of the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement was inspires by the writings of Gandhi and Thoreau. King had a commitment to try to end racial segregation and discrimination. King did speeches, petitions and got the U.S. people and government involved. Kings philosophy was a nonviolence resistance. In the Letter from Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King states “There are two kinds of laws: unjust and just laws.” (221-222). “An unjust law is no law at all,” stated Saint

Many people think that Martin Luther King, Jr. is a great warrior because no one stood up against the government, but he stood up against oppression against his race. Even when, threatened he kept fighting : “On September 30, 1956, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s house was bombed by segregationists in retaliation for the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott”. He didn’t run when he got attacked; He tried to save everyone. For example, when he experienced terrorism by a bad squad, he didn’t run away. I might be very scared, but Martin Luther King, Jr. didn’t run away and he tried to protect people from terror. Martin Luther King, Jr. knew many people thought oppression against race has to be changed : “ When he was a young man, Martin Luther King wanted a career helping people. He felt that as a minister, he could speak out “against racial injustice”. Following the example of the Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. King chose nonviolence as the keystone of his fight for civil rights”.

Martin Luther King Jr. lived in a world where racial tensions were high and not everyone was treated equally. He fought for a world where there would be no more segregation and no more disparity between the ways blacks are viewed compared to that of whites. In doing so, he preaches about nonviolence in order to keep the movement honorable. Although Machiavelli believed that the ends justify the means no matter how terrible those means were, the evidence will show that King 's ideas that the means used to reach an end should be pure are more reasonable.

Martin Luther King was a very passionate, influential and authoritative figure in the African American community. He was a man used his words to stand up for the people of color and try to convince others that blacks should receive the same rights as white individuals. But a large part of Martin Luther's movement was that there was an absence of violence. In his letter, Letter from Birmingham Jail, King writes to the clergy men explaining why African Americans deserve the same rights as any other individual.

The strategy and success of the Civil Right’s Movement was the ability to promote and implement nonviolent tactics in the fight for freedom and equal justice. The three types of nonviolent tactics that were used during the Civil Right’s Movement were conceived by Gene Sharp and included “protest and persuasion,” “methods of noncooperation,” and “nonviolent intervention,” (Chapter 6, P.146. "The Act of Disruption" from Engler & Engler This is an uprising: How nonviolent revolt is shaping the 21st century.) Each tactic was used and executed by the group for a specific purpose in helping to relay their message of equal rights, freedom and justice. Examples of how these tactics were orchestrated and carried can be seen in this week’s video, “No Easy Walk,” (No easy walk 1961–1963: Eyes on the prize—America’s Civil Rights Movement 1954–1985 [Video file]. (1994). Retrieved September 5, 2017, from

During the Civil Rights Movement, King and many of his followers and fellow activists deeply followed the path of non-violent protest, otherwise known as civil disobedience. After being arrested during the 1963 Birmingham Campaign, King received a series of critiques from fellow clergymen stating their disapproval of his actions. Of course, King addressed a letter, now more commonly known as “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, to his critics as well as the nation in order to defend his ideology. Though King does a great job at explaining to his audience the essence of his ideology, he fails to address the practicality or universality of civil disobedience.

A voice has more power than a fist. During the civil rights movement of the nineteen fifties and nineteen sixties, African Americans were discriminated against for having a darker completion. This segregation took place predominantly in the South, and strict laws prevented most African Americans from living a normal life. Though discriminated against, black Americans started a movement that mostly involved a non violence approach for the situation. Education and respect from white Americans were the basis of the movement. Peaceful resistance to laws positively impact a free society, which is demonstrated through Martin Luther King Jr. and other fellow leaders during the civil rights movement.

.Martin Luther King, Jr. encouraged blacks and whites to confront racism everywhere and spoke about “militant nonviolence” which called on blacks of all ages to who had the willpower to endanger their lives in order to freedom. He wanted

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.

What does it mean to be civil disobedient people have many different interpretations of it? To be civil disobedient is to refuse to follow certain laws or to not pay any taxes or fines. It is a form of peaceful political protest you are trying to get someone 's attention, in this case, the government. You are trying to make them listen to you and when they do not listen you do not do what they say. That’s what Thoreau did he grabbed their attention the only way he knows how he criticized their policies and did not pay taxes. He wanted to no part of the government and their actions he dissociated himself from them. He believes when the government or law is unjust people should refuse to follow the rule. And distance them. I believe civil disobedience has come a long way, but it is still to me the same thing when it was first mentioned. It Is expressed in certain American literature and throughout history, such as the civil rights movement.

Who Is It? Throughout the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King Jr. played a crucial role in organizing many nonviolent events such as the March on Washington and Selma to Montgomery March. These events eventually influenced the Congress to pass both the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. also led to dramatic impacts on later laws. Martin Luther King Jr. s the main reason why the 1960s US Civil Rights Movement succeeded, as he fought against de jure segregation and led to the changing of laws; however, this is justified only to a great extent, for he contributed little to social activism. Martin Luther King Jr. successfully influenced many government reforms through the act of nonviolence during the Civil Rights Movement.

Martin Luther King Jr. was nonviolent because he did not believe in fighting. " A person with violent is a weak person, a person who is afraid. (King Jr. 2:01)" He is saying violent is not the answer. Him fighting back with words instead of actions shows and give many people reasons to believe and look up to him. People knew Martin as a kind person with an open mind full of powerful words. "I believe in the intelligent use of police force, I think one who believe in nonviolent must recognize the dimension of evil within human nature. (King Jr. 6:00)"

The success of the fight for racial equality, also known as the Civil Rights Movement, in the United States was characterized by major campaigns of civil resistance. Between the 1950s and the 1960s, civil rights activists practiced non violence in hopes to end racial segregation and discrimination across the country and worldwide. Leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., Jim Lawson, and John Lewis believed strongly in this philosophy of nonviolence as the key of success for the Civil Rights Movement.

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s leadership of the modern American Civil Rights Movement, from December, 1955 till to April 4, 1968, African Americans accomplished more genuine progress toward racial equality in America than the previous 350 years had produced. Dr. King is broadly regarded as America’s pre-eminent advocate of nonviolence and one of the greatest nonviolent leaders in world history. Drawing inspiration from both his Christian faith and the peaceful teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. Dr. King led a "nonviolent movement" in the late 1950’s and ‘60s to accomplish legal equality for African-Americans in the United States. While others were supporting for liberty by “any means necessary,” including violence, but Martin used the power of words and acts of nonviolent resistance, such as protests, grassroots organizing, and civil disobedience to achieve seemingly-impossible goals. He went to lead similar campaigns against poverty and international conflict, always preserving loyalty to his principles that men and women everywhere, regardless of color or creed, are equal members of the human family