Anne Moody Thesis

Anne begins to worry that her efforts are not making a difference. She participated in the sit in at Woolworths in Jackson despite the number of violent threats that she received from whites. However Anne isn’t convinced that the sit in made a huge difference. She participates in other protests and eventually is arrested and jailed for a short period of time. After this Anne receives a letter from her Mom saying that her actions had an effect on her family back in Centreville. Anne Moody then follows Martin Luther King for a little while but after the I Have a Dream speech she concludes that his views are too idealistic. At this point Anne feels even more like her efforts are not making a difference and questions the nonviolent tactics after

hearing about the church bombing that killed four girls in Birmingham. She graduates, however her family does not show up to her graduation. The book ends with a frustrated, exhausted Anne Moody wondering if her efforts will ever change a the life of blacks in the United States.
Coming of Age in Mississippi describes the efforts of blacks to attain equality through the life of Anne Moody.

Throughout the book Anne is constantly frustrated with her family as well as many other people around her because they choose to avoid confrontation and not fight for equality. It angers her that they choose to live a life of discrimination. To sum this Anne Moody says, “I wonder, I really wonder,” referring to her doubt that her efforts will really help blacks across the country. This is why Anne begins to question nonviolent tactics. She hasn’t seen any considerable progress despite all of her hard work. At the end of the book she is still not in full support of violent tactics, but she sees little progress and is desperate to try something new. Anne also becomes increasingly aware of the African American deaths and develops a desire to fight back. Moody begins to support retaliation to white violence in instances similar to the Woolworth's sit in and the Birmingham church bombing. Many people following Martin Luther King’s nonviolent views were, at times, doubtful that his tactics truly worked. Many African Americans experienced the same level of doubt that Anne Moody

did.
Similar to Moody a man named Dave Dennis began to lean towards violent tactics. Three African Americans were murdered during the movement to allow blacks to vote in the southern United States. A number of events similar to these occurred during the Freedom Summer and caused people such as Dennis to question non violent tactics. Numerous acts of violence from whites towards blacks make it understandable that African Americans wanted to fight back. Dennis questioned the best way to fight for equality just as Anne Moody did because they were unsure that they were currently making a difference.
Martin Luther King and Malcolm X both had the same goal of reaching racial equality but had very different views on how it should be attained. Martin Luther King believed that nonviolent tactics were the most productive while Malcolm X believed equality could not be reached without a certain level violence. Many African Americans originally supported the Martin Luther King’s nonviolent views, however became increasingly frustrated that their efforts were not successful. Despite this Martin Luther King’s nonviolent approach was more effective than Malcolm X’s.
Martin Luther King will always be remembered as one of the most influential people in American history.

His leadership skills, intelligence, and dedication is what allowed him to become great. Martin Luther King sought to achieve equality by educating blacks in order to, as much as possible, pass the tests that are required to register to vote. Martin Luther King also brings up the idea of self defense and states that blacks should be able to resist retaliating to violent actions by whites. He understands that this can be difficult at times, but reminds African American’s of the hardships that their families go through on a daily basis and persuades them not to retaliate in order to better the lives of their loved ones. Also Martin Luther King knew it would be beneficial to have as much white support as possible and black aggression could potentially deter white supporters. King says that the heros will be people who go to sit ins, choose to not ride the segregated buses, and the ones who will willingly and nonviolently goto to jail. In a way he was right. Rosa Parks refusing to sit at the back of the bus and the little rock nine who bravely choose the attend a desegregated school are now key parts of American history. Lastly King favored nonviolence because his goal was not to only legally gain equality but to truly get along with whites. Although a violent strategy could potentially work faster to gain legal equality it the tension between races would be

greater.
Malcolm X had a completely different style than King. Violence was needed is his opinion. He states that it is one's natural right to defend themselves when they are being attacked. I believe this is true, but it draws more attention negative attention towards whites when they are violent with a black man who is not retaliating. It creates sympathy. Malcolm X also refers to the house Negroes as the ones who will not stand up for themselves and the plantation negroes are the ones who are willing to put up a fight. I completely disagree with this statement. I think it takes much more courage and strength to remain nonviolent when you are being physically and mentally harassed. Being able to stay composed during this harassment is far more difficult than violently reacting to the situation. Lastly Malcolm X argues that self defense is a right for all people in the United States and I doubt King would disagree with it. “We must be prepared to defend ourselves or we will continue to be a defenseless people at the mercy of a ruthless and violent racist mob.” Malcolm X’s quote is very true but remaining defenseless will draw sympathy necessary to gain equality. If blacks violently fight back whites will be more likely to fight against equality.
While Malcolm X does make some valid points in arguing that using violence was more productive, Martin Luther King’s strategy of nonviolence was ultimately more successful in reaching equality. King encouraging people to educate themselves and peacefully protest caused the poverty among blacks to decrease from about eighty percent in the early 1940s to less than forty percent in the late 1960’s. He had a lasting influence on not only on African Americans in the United States, but every group who was faced with inequality. King understood that violence may achieve legal equality, but it would not solve their problem. With violence tension between whites and blacks would very likely be equal or increased for many years to come. People such as Anne Moody and Dave Dennis certainly doubted themselves at times, and King understood this would happen, but he encouraged all African Americans to persevere and keep the end goal in mind. These qualities are what make Martin Luther King one of the greatest leaders of all time.