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Peaceful protests was one of the ways African Americans tried to make a change. Many sit-ins occurred where whites and blacks would sit together integrated at white bars and refuse to move. By refusing to move many people through things such as ketchup, mustard, fries, milkshakes, vinegar, and everything on the counter. Mobs of people would harass them and even hurt them to try and get them to move. (Document 4) White cops would arrest those people sitting at the counter eventually, but they wouldn’t protect them from white violence. Police officers also used fire hoses and dogs on peaceful protesters showing that they would not protect African Americans. (Document 5) African Americans also started to integrate into schools. John Meredith
Civil disobedience was key in the pursuit of equality for African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement. Through forms of peaceful protest, African Americans were able to bring to light the socio-economic inequalities they faced and forced the government and general public to do something about it. Sit-ins, one method of practicing civil disobedience, took root in the early 1960s and quickly became a popular and effective form of peaceful protest. James Baldwin makes a very brief note of sit-ins in his essay “Down at the Cross”. Its brief mention is probably due to the time at which the essay was written, just before sit-ins became a national phenomenon. At first glance, one may think that Baldwin doesn‘t think much change will happen from the sit-in movement. However, the urgency to take immediate action as described in his essay hints toward sit-ins as being a possible solution to ending discrimination in public spaces.
The NAACP used peaceful protest methods such as marches, public speeches, and boycotts to achieve aspirations. This was also done by Martin Luther k...
While non-violent protests were politically correct, many participants often put their lives, families and property in danger. Particularly in the south, the KKK and other white supremacist groups gained a reputation for church bombings, lynching and other violent acts against minorities. Despite pacifist idealism in a public protest, it didn’t mean black were willing to let their homes, churches and loved ones go undefended. Many took it upon themselves to arm and protect their communities through any means necessary, and by acquiring as many weapons they could get their hands on. Many black southerners were prepared to meet violence with
The punishment of the African American race was harsh; when those punishments were mixed with how they protested for civil rights, it only got worse. Not all the time does one stop and realize that some whites felt the need to help out in some way. Whether they could relate or they just truly had sympathy, these whites helped protest. When someone protests, they express their objection to something. Whether it was more a silent protest or an aggressive protest, punishments to both races were given.
In 1865, congress passed the thirteenth amendment, which was ratified on December 6, 1865. The thirteenth amendment abolished slavery in the United States permanently. It was thought by many African Americans that there would finally be peace, and that they too would be treated as fairly as the whites. This was sadly not the case. African Americans were brutally segregated and entrusted to hard times and conditions. Whites began to insist on racial segregation, which had been practiced before, and gave the feeling of superiority to the whites over African Americans. Many whites resisted the social changes, leading to revolting movements such as the Ku Klux Klan, whose members attacked African americans to maintain white dominance. This sparked the civil rights movement. Also called “freedom struggles”, these movements took place to obtain equal rights for African Americans. The sit in’s had a major impact on the psychological impact on African Americans. Not only was it the first African American sitting in, but other students started to follow the path of the Greensboro four and started to participate in sit ins as well. The sit in’s allowed for the civil rights for African Americans to be finally broadcasted live throughout the world. Even though the protesters heckled and beaten, they still sat and never moved, showing the resiliency of the protesters, and was a great role model for other African American protesters who decided it was time to fight against discrimination and fight for rights.
The Civil Rights Movement brought many accomplishments to African Americans such as the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. The key issues that African Americans fought for were voting rights, integration and racial equality. They were tired of the discrimination and humiliation they received as a result of the segregation laws imposed on them. “State laws mandated racial separation in schools, parks, playgrounds, restaurants, hotels, public transportation, theaters, restrooms and so on” (Blumberg 40). Lawsuits had been tried to gain rights such as the unsuccessful Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 and the successful Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. Although, the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka declared the “separate but equal” clause unconstitutional, de facto segregation continued in the South. During the 1960s, two methods were used: nonviolence and violence. Violence proved to be ineffective since it perpetuated social tensions among Whites and Blacks. Nonviolence was the most effective method in bringing social change in America during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement because it attracted sympathy towards Black people, provoked positive media attention, and promoted unity among African Americans.
There are people in America that make us wonder why there is a world to begin with. There are people who represent the greater good of the world, and there are others who are unfortunately not for the greater good of the world. We have to constantly deal with those whose only goal in life is to bring the lives of others down to the ground; to shatter and to break them. This is what is happening now in the world, and this most likely will never change. As a result of trying to change the ways in which we live and interact with these people, there was a movement that wanted to change the lives of African-Americans, as well as other races.
Civil disobedience has been around for a long time. In Bible times Christians would disobey laws that would go against their beliefs, such as the law that they couldn’t preach. (Acts 4) Christians still disobey laws in many countries that do not let them practice their faith, some end up in jail or killed.
One of the first documented incidents of the sit-ins for the civil rights movement was on February 1, 1960 in Nashville, Tennessee. Four college African-Americans sat at a lunch counter and refused to leave. During this time, blacks were not allowed to sit at certain lunch counters that were reserved for white people. These black students sat at a white lunch counter and refused to leave. This sit-in was a direct challenge to southern tradition. Trained in non-violence, the students refused to fight back and later were arrested by Nashville police. The students were drawn to activist Jim Lossen and his workshops of non-violence. The non-violent workshops were training on how to practice non-violent protests. John Lewis, Angela Butler, and Diane Nash led students to the first lunch counter sit-in. Diane Nash said, "We were scared to death because we didn't know what was going to happen." For two weeks there were no incidences with violence. This all changed on February 27, 1960, when white people started to beat the students. Nashville police did nothing to protect the black students. The students remained true to their training in non-violence and refused to fight back. When the police vans arrived, more than eighty demonstrators were arrested and summarily charged for disorderly conduct. The demonstrators knew they would be arrested. So, they planned that as soon as the first wave of demonstrators was arrested, a second wave of demonstrators would take their place. If and when the second wave of demonstrators were arrested and removed, a third would take their place. The students planned for multiple waves of demonstrators.
One hundred years after the Emancipation Proclamation was written, African Americans were still fighting for equal rights in every day life. The first real success of this movement did not come until the Brown vs. Board of Education decision in 1954 which was followed by many boycotts and protests. The largest of these protests, the March on Washington, was held on August 28, 1963 “for jobs and freedom” (March on Washington 11). An incredible amount of preparation went into the event to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of people attending from around the nation and to deal with any potential incidents.
Throughout the millenia, there have been several revolutionaries who have prefered the actions of nonviolence protest to that of violence. These ranks include those of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Ernesto "Che" Guevara, and the list goes on and on. However, in modern day America, African Americans are constantly fighting for more rights and equality. In 1865, the 13th ammendment was passed and slaves were given citizen ship. Since then, there has still been racism amongst the people and battles for equality. On the other hand, another form of revolution is that of violence and to force your voice to be heard. The most prominent person for the African Americans was that of Malcolm X. He voiced his opinion very strongly and made his voice heard amongst his opposers as well as his followers. These two methods are very different, but in the end, Malcolm X made a stronger point to benefit the African American's.
Peaceful resistance to laws positively impact a free society because if there isn't, how will people hear the voices of the oppressed and mistreated? Peaceful resistance comes a long way in trying to advance the rights and customs of the oppressed today. For example, The Salt March of 1930 was based on the Salt Act of 1882, which excluded the people the India from producing or getting salt, only British officials. Mahatma Gandhi was the leader of this protest. According to an article by time.com, it says that "The protest continued until Gandhi was granted bargaining rights at a negotiation in London. India didn’t see freedom until 1947, but the salt satyagraha (his brand of civil disobedience) established Gandhi as a force to be reckoned with and set a powerful precedent for future nonviolent protestors, including Martin Luther King Jr.(Sarah Begley,2015)" This means the salt march was a start for India's independence. Also, Gandhi's brand of civil disobedience set precedents for future nonviolent protests. Another Example of how peaceful protests
From the Boston Tea Party of 1773, the Civil Rights Movement and the Pro-Life Movement of the 1960s, to the Tea Party Movement and Occupy Wall Street Movement of current times, “those struggling against unjust laws have engaged in acts of deliberate, open disobedience to government power to uphold higher principles regarding human rights and social justice” (DeForrest, 1998, p. 653) through nonviolent protests. Perhaps the most well-known of the non-violent protests are those associated with the Civil Rights movement. The movement was felt across the south, yet Birmingham, Alabama was known for its unequal treatment of blacks and became the focus of the Civil Rights Movement. Under the leadership of Martin Luther King Jr., president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, African-Americans in Birmingham, began daily demonstrations and sit-ins to protest discrimination at lunch counters and in public facilities. These demonstrations were organized to draw attention to the injustices in the city. The demonstrations resulted in the arrest of protesters, including Martin Luther King. After King was arrested in Birmingham for taking part in a peaceful march to draw attention to the way that African-Americans were being treated there, their lack of voter rights, and the extreme injustice they faced in Alabama he wrote his now famous “Letter from Birmingham.”
African Americans had been struggling to obtain equal rights for scores of decades. During the 1960’s, the civil rights movement intensified and the civil rights leaders entreated President Kennedy to intervene. They knew it would take extreme legislature to get results of any merit. Kennedy was afraid to move forward in the civil rights battle, so a young preacher named Martin Luther King began a campaign of nonviolent marches and sit-ins and pray-ins in Birmingham, Alabama to try and force a crisis that the President would have to acknowledge. Eventually things became heated and Police Commissioner Eugene “Bull” Connor released his men to attack the protesters, which included many schoolchildren. All of this was captured and televised to the horror of the world. Finally this forced the President into action and he proposed a bill outlawing segregation in public facilities. The bill became bogged down in Congress but civil righ...
On Friday, January 20th the 45th president of the United States was inaugurated. This momentous event was both celebrated and protested throughout America. For Donald Trump and his supporters, this day was unforgettable: Donald was sworn to the presidency, Obama departed from the white house, Trump had the traditional congressional luncheon, the inaugural parade took place, and Donald signed one of his first documents as president. Many of Trump's supporters celebrated this by throwing galas and promoting their new president in any way possible. However, at the same time, protests, both peaceful and violent, were held all over the world. Some of the more violent protests happened in downtown Washington, Seattle, New York, and Oregon. However,