civil_rights_mvt_ii_dp

=Progress of Civil Rights=

Which effects the most effective change violence or civil disobedience? Violence will effect change, but it will only breed hatred and unpredictibility: the aggressors are now the oppressed; the oppressed are now the force to be opposed. Conversely, civil disobedience reveals the immorality and brutality of the oppressors. Though it may be slow, it is better in the long run.

Such approaches were adopted by Ghandi and eventually by Martin Luther King Jr. Ph.D. Peaceful protests and boycotts were met with extreme violence and demoralizing oppression. An early peaceful protest was in response to the Rosa Parks incident: the Montgomery Bus Boycott, led by a young Dr. King. The boycott was met with great success. It cascaded into great changes in American society.

Various protests were conducted by private citizens, the NAACP, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the Congress Of Racial Equality (CORE), the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and a host of others. Some of the more common protests included marches and sit-ins. Protests were met with cruel violence. Those participating in sit-ins were beaten, drenched in condiments, and caked with food. Those participating in marches were beaten, fired upon, attacked by dogs, and sprayed with high-pressure water hoses. Some of the more notable marches include The March on Washington- Dr. King gave his "I have a dream" speech- and The Selma March- 200 troopers and deputized citizens brutally assulted peaceful protesters as they left Selma, AL via Edmund Pettus Bridge.

Even with steady progress, many Afro-Americans grew impatient. The Black Power Movement grew from mostly young Afro-Americans. The movement promoted self-defense and even violence as acceptable approaches to gain more rights. Another group, the Black Panthers, adopted the idea that revolution was necessary. Intimidating many, they bore arms as they marched about the streets.

The Civil Rights Movement had many factions in the 1960s. Legislation for economic aid to Afro-Americans was less likely to be provided to such a divided movement. In an effort to force the Johnson administration to act, Dr. King started another campaign to lobby the government to provide billions of dollars to impoverished people of the U.S. He began in Memphis, Tennessee and that is where he ended. Dr. King was assassinated by a sniper as he stood upon his hotel balcony in Memphis.

Back