Examples Of Nonviolent Protests

The nonviolent action that was being taken inspired President Eisenhower and the U.S. Congress to take action by introducing the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which made it a crime to deny citizens their right to vote, and provided trials of people who were denied their right to vote, (Richardson & Luker, 2014, p. 19). Another example of nonviolent protest can be seen in the Greensboro sit-in, where four members of the NAACP Youth Councils waited to be served at the lunch counter in a Woolworth, (Richardson & Luker, 2014, p. 20). The police were called, but refused to arrest the four students because they had not been violent, and within a number of days, hundreds of students began to protest the segregation not only of retail stores, hotels, beaches,
The nonviolent approach to the movement was upheld in the South to set a moral tone for the movement, (Wehr, 1968, p. 67). Examples of nonviolent protests can include the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Greensboro sit-in, the March from Selma to Montgomery, and many more demonstrations utilized in the Civil Rights Movement, (Wehr, 1968, p. 74). This was because it was felt that if the movement remained nonviolent, the Civil Rights Movement would appeal to more people, as it would connect to others by displaying conscience and the moral nature of those demonstrating peacefully. Essentially, Civil Rights Activists felt that a nonviolent approach to the movement would be most effective in achieving the movement’s goals, which were mostly in relation to desegregation, equal treatment in society, and equal rights to white people in the country, (Wehr, 1968, p. 69). It was felt by many in the movement that nonviolence was the best and the only atmosphere which would allow for justice for the African American population, (Wehr, 1968, p. 67). Additionally, a nonviolent movement ensured not to reinforce a popular stereotype that was believed at the time, which was that African American people were dangerous to society and were criminals, (DuVernay, 2016). Therefore, the approach of nonviolence, though sometimes appearing submissive was, in fact, crucial for the success of the Civil Rights Movement because a violent approach likely would have reinforced a falsehood that has negatively affect the African American community in the United States throughout history, (Wehr, 1968, p. 74). While the nonviolent approach to the Civil Rights Movement was extremely important for successfully changing issues in society in the United States, there were also drawbacks to this