Passive Resistance In The Civil Rights Movement

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Oscar Wilde, a renowned author, wrote, “It is through disobedience that progress has been made, through disobedience and through rebellion.” Although it is true that some forms of disobedience promote social progress, other types of rebellion can cause turmoil and chaos, without leading to any significant change. While progress can be achieved through peaceful protest, violent rebellions fail to bring about change. Peaceful rebellion draws the attention of the intended audience in a way that will persuade them to support the cause. One example of nonviolent protest that brought change was the disobedience of Rosa Parks during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s. In Montgomery, Alabama, the public buses were segregated and African Americans …show more content…

Gandhi advocated for passive resistance in order to fight against colonial oppression. As a young Indian man living in South Africa, he experienced racism and injustice. After he was removed from a railway compartment and beaten, Gandhi began developing and teaching the idea of satyagraha, nonviolent protest, as a way of defying authorities. In 1906, when a new law required Indians in South Africa to register with the government, Gandhi urged his followers to resist the discrimination and suffer the punishments. Over the eight year period of the movement, thousands of Indians were imprisoned and murdered for not complying with the new law. However, the public pressure caused by the movement was substantial, forcing the leader of South Africa to compromise. Gandhi later returned to India and sought to fight for independence from the British through his successful method of satyagraha. However, once violence broke out, he called for the end of the disobedience because he was afraid that violence would undo all of his work. Gandhi renewed the non-cooperation movement in India and called for the Salt March to peacefully protest against a salt tax imposed on Indians. The protest gained worldwide attention and had a major impact in the independence of India. Through Gandhi’s approach of nonviolent protest, he achieved progress for Indians in both South Africa and …show more content…

However, this way of protesting is usually unsuccessful, pushing the subjects to strengthen their force against the protesters. In Dallas, Texas blacks felt that they were being treated unjustly by the police force. In response to this discrimination, Micah Xavier Johnson killed 5 police officers and injured 9 others. Instead of getting the equality that he wished for, he was killed and the police became more violent and active. The police were fearful of more hatred attacks, and therefore raised their amount of officers and tightened their security. This type of incident not only occurred in Dallas, but across the world. The police feel more threatened after violent protest, and they just justify their actions as self-defense. If the protesters would have taken a more peaceful route to equality, maybe they would have achieved their

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