Civil Disobedience Gandhi Legacy

Civil Disobedience: Martin Luther King Jr, Gandhi, and the Legacy of Peace They Left Behind

Peaceful protest has been present in society for over a hundred years. It has been introduced several times in the United States and beyond as a way for individual citizens to stand, calmly and united, against the forces that oppress them. By doing it this way instead of a more violent course of action, the protesters are showing their displeasure with what is happening in such a way that it sparks a change of the heart versus perhaps only a physical change. Civil disobedience is not easy but continues to be, however, beneficial to our society.
In America during the early 1800s, with industrialization as well as fierce underlying tensions between

states creeping in, a man entered the world who was strong of will and of heart, a transcendentalist who believed that if we could all just make ourselves closer to nature, we would be able to peacefully co-exist, a man named Henry David Thoreau. He penned books on how necessary it is to the human race that we stand up against what is wrong. No matter where injustice exists, he wrote, in the government and beyond, we must fight it. But we should do it peacefully so that government officials and the world see how powerful peace is. Perhaps their acts of civil disobedience of unjust laws would inspire others to take their stands against injustice in their own communities as well; thereby, creating a much safer world in which we could all coexist.
Across a great distance, in India about thirty or so years later, a man by the name of Mahatma Gandhi would uphold a very similar creed, speaking out against the caste system that was stratifying the Indian people based on social class.

Under the caste system, it was virtually impossible for anyone born in the lower class to escape such a harsh life of poverty or to get a decent job or wages. As such, those forced into the lower castes often remained there for the rest of their lives and were quite often discriminated against by those of the wealthier top tiers of the system. Unfortunately, another thing that pervaded India during this time was racism; often, the darker in skin color you were, the more you would be subjected to unfair treatment under not only other Indian people, but the British who owned India at the time. Much like Henry David Thoreau, Gandhi was a very firm believer in civil disobedience and encouraged his followers to stand peacefully against laws or treatment that they thought to be unjust. He was revered for these beliefs and it was through several non-violent protests that he was able to change so many people's views on the caste system. His birthday of October 2nd is also celebrated in India as a day of non-violence, which is fitting for this man who spent so much of his life trying to better his home country as well as the

world.
Back in America, during the 1960s, race was becoming an even greater issue.

People of color were no longer satisfied with the poor treatment that they were enduring. Although segregation of public schools had ended, state law still allowed for segregation of public facilities such as lunch counters, bathrooms, and water fountains. Violence was also breaking out across the nation in the form of riots, church bombings, and scattered attacks on individuals of color, both by normal citizens and government officials. Civil rights activists Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale formed the Black Panther Party and began banding together, taking up arms in order to be able to defend one another against the all-too-common threat of racially-motivated police brutality. They also began a food distribution program for the disenfranchised in California, to empower them in achieving their end-goal of freedom. People of color all over the nation were angry and afraid, unsure of what to do when individuals were being killed or beaten every day, simply for their skin color. Malcolm X spoke on television about this kind of fear, the fear that every day might be your last simply because of prejudice. It was in that time that Martin Luther King Jr. began to lead peaceful marches, protests, sit-ins. He was relentless in his quest for peace. His iconic "I Have A Dream" speech touched thousands of

lives.
In summation, civil disobedience is beneficial to a free society as it helps to ensure that society's continued freedom. It shows society silent, unbending courage in the face of screaming violence, prejudice, and hatred. It is an admirable stance. Civil disobedience has often proven to be very noble and will no doubt continue as a means of addressing grievances in the years to come.