How Did The Peaceful Protests Affect The Civil Rights Movement?

Peaceful protests are paramount in affecting change in a free society for a simple reason; those with power tend to keep it. Only through demonstration (or regulation) will they relinquish it. While this concentration of power is completely unjust, I don't blame the holders of it in the slightest. Although we humans are social creatures, we're nearly always out to ultimately better ourselves and carry on in our blissful ignorance that we aren't doing others any harm. This is where peaceful protests come in. Take Gandhi's famous salt march, for example. In an effort to avoid paying taxes on salt to the British government, he led a massive march spanning 24 days. While he was ultimately jailed for this for a short time, the march spurred on India's journey for independence. He acted as a catalyst, helping millions of people gain their freedom after years of tyrannical rule and oppression.
It was caused by a relatively small occurrence in which Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man, but it had a profound impact on the civil rights movement. Being one of the first large-scale demonstrations from African Americans against whites, it proved their resolve and propensity to work together for a common goal. Also, it was a pivotal moment in history as it is widely recognized as the United States' first mass protest. Furthermore, in it, Martin Luther King Jr. rose to prominence, and the fruits of his labors are globally recognized. Essentially, the Montgomery Bus Boycott helped to break down racial boundaries African Americans faced in America's