Dustin Vincen

Hist 1700
Jennifer Macias
7/21/14
Martin Luther King, Jr. and Non-violence
When we look at the civil rights movement, among African Americans, we see a long history of
different people, taking the reins and chiseling away at inequalities. Racism was something that
blemished Americas history, and we cant erase it. There has been so much bloodshed in the fight for
African Americans to be treated equal. We should be thankful for how far we have come. One man in
particular, led people in a movement, which was unique in the Movement for Civil Rights amongst
African Americans. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a leader for the cause that chose to not answer violence
or conflict with violence. His non-violence approach and timing changed America. We should take a
look at how he was able to do so much in such a short time, by seeing the goals, who helped him lead,
what role women played, the tactics employed and how successful the movement for civil rights by
using non-violence were.
For so long, bloody conflict was often the outcome of racial inequality. Martin Luther King, Jr.
had learned from his father that you can engage in conflict without shedding blood. As a boy, Martin
Luther King, Sr. took his son shoe shopping. When the clerk told them they did not sell to African
Americans. Martin, Sr. and his son left. His son questioned why they left without shoes. Martin, Sr. told
his son they would find someone that would be thankful for their business. This left a lasting impression
on Martin Luther King, Jr., and he had wanted to change how African Americans were subjugated in
America. He studied ministry, like his father, and became a pastor, because he felt how a minister can
move people with words. While studying at Crozer, he became fascinated with how Gandhi was able to
force the British out of British occupied India, without acts of violence. He adopted this approach and
put it into work in his own fight in America.
A non-violence confrontation is a resistance to persecution in an assertive, spiritual way, by
persuading persecutors of the benefits of your cause. If violence is inflicted upon the resistor, he/she
does not stoop to the level of the persecutor, by not answering violence with violence. The resistor
must understand that the persecutor is a victim of the same injustice as the resistor. The resistor must
hold strong to his faith that the just cause will always prevail. This was to be used to confront racism
and Jim Crow Laws head on, but turn the other cheek, in faith that racism would fall.
There were many leaders in the civil Rights Movement. Abraham Lincoln, Lyndon B. Johnson,
John F. Kennedy could all be considered leaders to a certain degree. Malcolm X could be considered a
civil rights leader, even though his fight was to keep blacks separated from the white people. The Black
Panthers considered themselves leaders, even though they turned out to be more of a gang. Martin
Luther King, Sr., Martin Luther King, Jr., Charles Hamilton Houston, Rosa Parks, Diane Nash, John Lewis,
A. Philip Randolph were all leaders of the non-violent movement against civil Rights among African
Americans. But Martin Luther King, Jr. was the leader among leaders of the non-violence movement.
His speeches moved America, and still live, even though he met an untimely death. America celebrates
a national Holiday in Martin Luther King, Jr.s name. He wrote books, and is the first African
American(and the youngest at the time) Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Women played just as big of a part in the non-violence movement as men did. There was no
sexual discrimination on who could resist persecution from racists. Many women were in marches, sit
ins, boycotts and other tactics used in the non-violence movement for civil rights among African
Americans. Rosa Parks refused to sit at the back of a bus during segregation. Her arrest sparked the
Montgomery bus boycott, spurred by the Womens Political Council, which later lead to the
desegregation of bus systems. Diane Nash was one of the heads of the Student Non-violent
Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Women played a major role in the movement.
The tactics used in the Non-Violence movement for civil rights were well thought out. Groups
were formed, such as The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP),
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Student Non-Violence coordinating committee
(SNCC), the Womens Political Council (WPC) and others of the likes, resisted persecution from racism by
using non violent acts, by the use of the legal system to fight injustice, educating African Americans of
their constitutional rights, pushing for African Americans to become registered voting citizens,
organizing marches in areas of severe persecution, organizing boycotts and silent protests against
segregation. All of these tactics had a risk of creating violence, but the resistors were to be assertive,
but never create, or answer with violence. One could say that the timing of this movement used the
media as a tactic to their advantage. At an early age where television and radio could spread news
quickly, when violence erupted, the non-violent return was on the news to show the rest of America
how savage racism was. It brought America to the stage, by putting these accounts right in their living
room.
The non-violent movement was a huge success. It was the most effective resistance towards
racism, because it made America feel what African Americans were facing, and recognize how heinous
racism is. The American Constitution now has amendments protecting Americans from discrimination of
people based on the color of their skin. The non-violence movement was the reason bus segregation
fell, work and military segregation fell and school segregation fell. It is the reason Civil Rights Legislation
is in place. The movement is the reasons African Americans now have equal voting rights. In America,
unfortunately there will always be ignorant racism to some effect. But man has never been as equal as
they are now.