Civil Disobedience Essay Research Paper CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE

Civil Disobedience Essay, Research Paper

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

The Civil Rights movement provided a period of dynamic changes in the infrastructures as well as the social constructs that were embedded and internalized in this country for hundreds of years. The movement was a culmination of many emotions such as anger and tension which built up over time and lead to an all out rebellion. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke on the procrastination and subsequent denial of rights in his “Letter From a Birmingham Jail”, he says “justice to long delayed is justice denied the patience is over”(King, 63). He also says that “to arouse the conscience of the community” it was necessary that “justice must be demanded by the oppressed”(King, 62). During the middle fifties and through the sixties the Civil Rights movement captivated the media’s attention and segregation issues were a permanent fixture in the spotlight. It may seem that problems from segregation were limited to the South however, the issues were not. The South was often the cite of violence but racism was not limited to that region. The uprising of the oppressed was not a product of an overnight realization and many of the driving forces of the movement were deeply, if not wholly based on the ideals and principles of the past. For example, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who is often considered as the leader of the entire movement, practiced non-violent protests, which he had learned from Ghandi. Ghandi studied the essay of “Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau. The ideas and concepts behind the non-violent protests were described in detail in Thoreau’s essay. The essay provides extensive information to those who wish to learn of effective ways to generate change through nonviolence. In contrast to the peaceful idea of civil disobedience, the Civil Right movement often provoked violent reactions.

Thoreau felt that it was a sort of tradition in America to be defiant to authority. The European dominant culture who “created” our country did so through rebellion. It is important to note that “Civil Disobedience” was written years before the Civil Rights movement was ever suggested. The concept of justice and conscience are motivating themes in his essay. Civil disobedience supplied the movement with a sound foundation to build on. Moreover it gave the Civil Rights movement a sort of nobleness. The movement and demonstrations were carried out through peaceful actions with the demonstrators holding their heads high, knowing that they could, at any time, be beaten or attacked. “Civil Disobedience” called for a government that “governed not at all” (Thoreau, 11). Thoreau said that a “majority rule must be based on justice” (Thoreau, 13). The aspects of individuality and inclusive thinking that Thoreau used in civil disobedience were contrary to all the stereotypes and margins that the white dominant culture wanted the blacks to believe. However philo-sophical and deeply rooted in the theological the issues dealing with civil disobedience may seem, often the response to civil disobedience was physical and violent. King said “civil disobedience is not the creator of tension. It merely brings to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive”(King, 65). In contrast, the whites said that the action of civil disobedience “even though peaceful must be condemned because they precipitate violence”(King, 65-66). Bus boycotts, sit-ins, freedom rides, and marches are all forms of civil disobedience. In many cases the acts of civil disobedience turned violent when white supremacists would attack the demonstrators. The violence, subsequent arrests, and beatings were not unprepared for by the oppressed, King stated that it was ones “legal and moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws one who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly and with a willingness to accept the punishment”(King, 69).

Bus Boycotts were the flower that blossomed from the seed planted by Rosa Parks, and watered by segregation. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. provided the sunlight possible for the growth. The seating structure on buses worked as follows, the first ten rows were white only, and the last ten for blacks, the rows in the middle were not only for whites, but if seating was needed the whites had the right to the seat. Mrs. Parks did not agree with the rule and refused to give up her seat. The boycott was a well planned and thought out way to systematically force a change through nonviolence. The blacks would car pool in replace of public transportation. This led to a law stating that car-pooling was illegal because it hindered the bus industry’s profits. Through persistence and patience the boycott prevailed, and in December the laws that desegregated the buses were passed. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a success, desegregation was accomplished. That day, which was a joyful one for the blacks turned bloody. Angry mobs of whites attacked the buses that had been segregated. Snipers opened fire on the buses. All this violence whites said, was caused by the act of civil disobedience. They wanted you to believe that because the blacks nonviolently desegregated the buses it caused the whites to act out violently against it. It seems that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a pertinent point when he said that civil disobedience merely brought out the nature of the beast. For example, the Freedom Riders, and more specif