How Did Nonviolence Impact The Civil Rights Movement

When fighting for Indian independence Gandhi declared, “Nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man” (Prabhu). In other words, every individual has the ability to harness the force of nonviolence to combat oppression. In the United States during the Civil Rights Movement between 1954 to 1968, nonviolent protest gained popularity as a means to end discrimination and racial segregation against African Americans while positively impacting society by changing national views and laws. Nonviolence successfully protested racial discrimination, causing positive change by focusing national attention on pressing civil rights issues. Throughout the
The most famous boycott of the movement, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, drew national attention to the racial issues at hand from December 1955 to December 1956. The protest began with Rosa Parks. She refused to relinquish her seat to a white woman and was subsequently arrested. This incident upset the African-American community in Montgomery. To combat the unfair treatment, they united as a community under the guidance of an up-and-coming leader—Martin Luther King, Jr. Together, African Americans boycotted citywide public transport in order to achieve a “more humane implementation of segregation.” However, with increasing national attention, the Montgomery Bus Boycott sparked a revolution across the country to end segregation not only on buses, but also at lunch counters, schools and public facilities. The expanding awareness also elevated Martin Luther King, Jr. to a household name. The national attention to
Numerous marches culminated in a variety of nonviolent actions such as speeches and sit-ins. These acts proposed progressive goals for groups to unite forces and fight. The significant March on Washington outlined a specific set of goals and “drew a media assembly larger than the Kennedy inauguration two years earlier” (Getting to the March on Washington). The extensive media attention suggests that the public was interested in pleas for change. The media coverage and public attention given to the march also allowed the Civil Rights Movement to be catapulted to a debate of utmost national importance. For example, the lasting words of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech delivered at the pinnacle of the March on Washington, still resonate throughout America today. The March on Washington showed that change can happen when protesters have refocused goals. The march re-lit the sputtering fire of nonviolent protest. Events that had recently occurred such as the murder of Medgar Evers (an activist leader) and the jailing of King angered protesters almost to the point of giving into violence, but the march reinvigorated their peaceful efforts by reestablishing protesters’ achievements and goals