As Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “The nonviolent approach does not immediately change the heart of the oppressor. It first does something to the hearts and souls of those committed to it. It gives them new self-respect; it calls up resources of strength and courage they did not know they had”. (King) The conflicts met between the Civil Rights Movement protesters and the white people of the South were incredibly gruesome. While peace and equality for African Americans was the driving force of the protests, violence and inhuman resistance was the force of the white people. In the March Trilogy Books, written by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, and in the movie Selma, written by Paul Webb and directed by Ava DuVernay, we are given a …show more content…
Twenty-one children were injured and four young girls lost their lives that day. [Figure 1]
Lewis asked, “How could our quest for human dignity spawn such evil?” (3:16). Another example that they both showed in common was the tension portrayed at the time of the first attempt to march across the Edmond Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. Lewis and Hosea Williams led the marchers. As they were walking across the bridge, Williams asked Lewis, “Can you swim?” (Lewis and Aydin 3:197) as if to insinuate that going over the bridge may be what was to come, not knowing what they were to face at the end of the bridge. Where a crowd of resisters was waiting for them. Even though the marchers faced violent opposition and met with conflict, they continued their demonstrations. The books and the movie displayed controversy throughout. One example is during the first attempt to cross the bridge, when the marchers were met by the Alabama State Troopers. It went very dark, very quick, as the troopers barged towards them, making this day known as “Bloody Sunday”, March 7, 1965. When asked for his comments in the movie by the press after the merciless attack on the marchers, King says “While rageful violence continues towards the unarmed people of Selma, while they are assaulted with tear gas and batons like enemy in a war, no citizen of this country can call themselves blameless, for we all bear a responsibility for our fellow man. I am appealing to men and
As demonstrated in “The Student Voice,” civil rights organizations of the 1950s opted for passive resistance and catered specifically to black Christians. In “The Social Organization of Non-Violence”, King advocates for conviction but also pacifism when faced with oppression, famously stating “there is more power in socially organized masses on the march than there is in guns in the hands of a few desperate men.” Antithetically, Robert Williams, whom King is writing in response to, encourages the black community to take up arms and contends that nonviolent protest, however admirable, is not always an effective form of direct action. Williams essentially argues that the struggle for equality and against oppression inescapably necessitates violent resistance. A philosophy of violent activism, espoused in Williams’ writing, gained prominence in the early 1960s and indicated the progression of a militant black movement alternative to the Civil Rights Movement.
The marchers gathered at the Washington Monument before dawn as planned on August 28, 1963. At 11:30, 100,000 to 200,000 of them began marching towards the Lincoln Memorial singing “We Shall Overcome” (“The March on Washington” 12). At the memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered multiple speeches along with other African Americans about segregation and discrimination issues. During one of his speeches, King Jr. declared that “we will not hate you, but we cannot obey your unjust laws. Do to us what you will and we will still love you…But we will soon wear you down by our capacity to suffer. And in winning our freedom, we will so appeal to your heart and conscience, that we will win you in the process” (“Negro Protest Movement” 507). This statement by King Jr. describes his plans of further nonviolent protesting against “unjust laws” to convince others of the civil rights movement’s cause. He furthers this statement and elaborates his ideas in his infamous speech, “I Have a Dream.”
In March book 2, author and activist, John Lewis, delivered a speech on August 28, 1963. Before John Lewis delivered his speech, there was a lot of ciaos occurring backstage about revising Lewis’ speech. Mr. Randolph wasn’t pleased with the way John Lewis worded parts of his speech and demanded for him to change it. After Lewis negotiated with Mr. Randolph, Lewis was still content with the arrangement of his speech. Lewis confronts his sentiments to the people regarding racial inequality. He emphasizes on the unfair acts that are implemented among the African American working class. John Lewis states, “While we stand here, there are sharecroppers in the Delta of Mississippi who are out in the fields working for less than three dollars a day, twelve hours a day” (Lewis Aydin 166). In this statement, Lewis explains his reasoning for assembling his speech. His objective was to arouse the public on the realism of the nation’s unjust behavior towards African Americans. Lewis explains the march on Washington is occurring because blacks don’t receive the same wages as whites. Lewis declares, “We do not want our freedom gradually, but we want to be free now” (Lewis Aydin 169). He proclaims that African Americans have been fighting for their freedom long enough and they are not willing to be patient. With his skillful use of appeals, Lewis applies powerful logos to illustrate racism, emotional pathos to connect with the audience, and ethos to appeal to the segregation and discrimination towards African Americans.
The movie Selma is about 1965 campaign by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to protect the equal voting right for African-American citizens. So the main theme of this movie is that every citizen should have a right to vote and all citizens should have equal voting rights. This movie is likewise loaded with religious and profound themes in regards to the power of love, encounter with insidiousness and abhors, the power of confidence, the power of religious groups, boldness, and freedom. Selma demonstrates a significant occasion in current U.S. history and with remedies for its deception identifying with President Johnson, can upgrade a unit on the U.S. Civil Rights Movement and additionally
In a march against segregation and barriers for African-American voting rights, peaceful marchers were exposed to harsh treatment by the police, 50 being hospitalized by the terrorism inflicted on them (civilrights.org). The targeted protest became infamous in the Civil Rights Movement, marked “Bloody Sunday” and was crucial to gaining favor of the public (civilrights.org). The two causes went hand in hand in this, rocketing in support and becoming the main goal of the country - the end of segregation was the most dire problem that the Civil Rights Movement needed to solve. And with the 24th Amendment, Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Voting Rights Act of 1965 being ratified, the civil rights movement and the fight to end segregation reached its legal goal (infoplease.com). However, the nation’s mentality needed work - though the popularity of Civil Rights was rising, many riots and racial hate crimes continued to occur throughout the country, with many casualties resulting from them (infoplease.com). The ratification of these laws may have made the “separate but equal” rhetoric illegal for the U.S. but the citizens inside it still battled for their beliefs. As segregation and civil rights become national topics, their
Laws and additional rights started to change due to the events of “Bloody Sunday,” on March 7th, 1965 in Selma, Alabama. What started as a fifty-four mile march to the Alabama’s capital protesting for African American voting rights, soon became a brutal assault by heavily armed state troopers and deputies. Fifty of the
Throughout the book of March the people of color are continuously fighting for equal rights. Even when they are faced with countless acts of violence they continue to fight back but in non-violent ways such as Marches. Even when there seems like there is no light at the end of the tunnel John Lewis along with many of his peers also known as the SNCC(Student Nonviolent Reconciliation Commitee) begin to see results. Slowly but surely it all pays off in the end when people start to realize the segregation between races is not only morally wrong but also against the law. There are many different marches/ sit-ins throughout the book but the most important ones begin on...
Many fantasize about invoking change in this world and to touch the hearts of it’s civilians, but few revolutionaries materialize these ambitions. Martin Luther King Jr. is a prolific figure of the civil rights movement whose non-violent words and protests became long-lasting staples of academia and elicited necessary conversations of the institutionalized racism that African Americans suffered through that conservative, white America feigned ignorance for a false sense of comfortability. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” King illustrates a rich vision for audiences detailing the mistreatment of African Americans in America’s segregation and the importance of non-violent protest to invoke change in a system that cared very little for the sentiments of the
In the midst of this event and countless others involving reckless violence throughout the South, African Americans in Selma, Alabama had planned and participated in a historic march to Montgomery demanding for the rights of blacks to vote. They were stopped at the Pettus Bridge a white police men, who demanded they disperse. At their refusal to do so, as many as fifty African American where hospitalized after these policemen used tear gas, whips, and clubs against them. The incident, later labeled "Bloody Sunday" by media outlets and reporters, is considered the catalyst for the enactment of the Voting Rights Act five months later. This was, indeed, another hard fought victory for African Americans during the Civil Rights
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. , president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and most recognized human rights activist in the sixties, tries to convince the clergymen that his non violence sit ins are the only way to get freedom for the Negros in Birmingham Alabama in his ”Letter from Birmingham Jail”. He is responding to the clergymen argument that his non violent sit ins are untimely and unwise. He uses a mixture of rhetorical analysis factors to get his point across. King formulates his cause through logos, ethos, and pathos, by giving several key points to make his argument in his letter. He argues that his direct action program is the only
This tragic occurrence gave King and the demonstrators the motivation to fight harder for what they wished to be achieved. On March 7th of 1965, King organized the first march from Selma to Montgomery, the capitol of Alabama, with hopes to deliver a petition to Governor George Wallace. Though Martin Luther King Jr. was unable to lead and participate in the first march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the march was led by “his SLSC colleague, Hosea Williams, and the SNCC leader, John Lewis ”. This first demonstration, commonly known as ‘Bloody Sunday’, attracted the attention of the entire nation as the beating of marchers with clubs and injuring with tear gas was broadcasted live on television. The brutality continued as the helpless activists fled to safety. Several were severely injured, one of them being Lewis. Their efforts to fight for rights as citizens did not come to a stop
Even though the marchers faced violent opposition and met with conflict, they continued their protests. The books and the movie displayed conflict throughout. One example is during the first attempt to cross the bridge, when the marchers were met by the Alabama State Troopers. It went very dark, very quick, as the troopers barged towards them, making this day known as “Bloody Sunday”, March 7, 1965. When asked for his comments in the movie by the press after the brutal attack on the marchers, King says “While rageful violence continues towards the unarmed people of Selma, while they are assaulted with tear gas and batons like enemy in a war, no citizen of this country can call themselves blameless, for we all bear a responsibility for our fellow man. I am appealing to men and women of God and goodwill everywhere, white, black and otherwise. If you believe all are created equal, come to Selma. Join us. Join our march against injustice and inhumanity. We need you to stand with us”. The second attempt to cross the bridge on March 9, 1965 brought clergy, men, and women from all over to join. But faced conflict as well, this time between Martin Luther King Jr, and the marchers themselves. However, there was a major difference regarding this attempt to cross, between the books and the movie. In the books, the marchers were met on the bridge by a Federal Official who
Many decisions had to be made when approaching discrimination and segregation; many wanted this to end. The debate on what was best to approach the dangers of fighting for what you believed was weighed down to two options; violent protests or nonviolent protests. In the graphic novel titled “March” written and experienced by John Lewis himself with designs by Nate Powell, depicts the struggles of civil rights and the fight to earn it. The novel goes off to show mostly nonviolent protests, but outside of the novel during the 1960’s depicts and describes a different approach; Violent and free Protests. Two of the most impactful civil rights leaders Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael despised the clean and peaceful protests as they thought it was
Extreme injustice, such as the events depicted in Selma, is, at its core, a relatively easy target for emotional manipulation. However, Selma did not take the traditional
In the movie Selma, directed by Ava DuVernay showcases a lot of social injustice during the 1960 's. The portion of the film that I focused on in Selma was the migration scene, which is about seventy minutes into the movie. Within the migration scene from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, several cinematic devices play a pivotal role in understanding why white supremacist attacked black people during the 1960 's. The scene showcases a group of African Americans that band together from the city of Selma and wants to march in a peaceful manner to Montgomery, Alabama. However, their movement was halted when police block the town 's bridge. The townspeople decide not to back down and want to continue their migration; however, the police argue that if they do not return home, the cops will assault them. This leads to the simple assault of African Americans by white supremacist American cops, which was documented by an undercover news reporter. The scene cuts back and forth between the rioting between the blacks and police and shouting and yelling of Caucasian supremacist bystanders that proudly showcase their Confederate flag and racial slurs. During the whole debacle, the song "Walk with Us" by Martha Bass is played and has considerable importance for African Americans at this time. This scene shows that there is a long-standing racism against African Americans from white supremacist Southerners and only became more riled up with the equal rights movement in the 1960 's. Ava