The Civil Rights Movement: Armed Self-Defense

Civil Disobedience is defined as refusal to obey civil laws or decrees, which usually takes the form of direct action (Grolier’s Encyclopedia Online 2). Thoreau wrote that people practicing civil disobedience, break a law because they consider the law unjust. People want to call attention to its injustice. Thoreau voiced civil disobedience as, “An expression of the individual’s liberty to create change” (Thoreau 530). Years later Martin Luther King Jr. took the same idea of direct action to protest the injustices brought upon black Americans in the United States. One major example was the Birmingham bus boycott. Blacks where treated unjust and often had to give up their seats to whites, and had to listen to racial slurs made by the bus driver. King like Thoreau, did not take a violent approach, he often used sit-ins and rallies to unite the black community (Encarta

Civil Disobedience has been around for hundreds of years. This a practice first put into play by a man by the name of Henry David Thoreau who believed that if you didn’t agree with a rule then you should act against it in a nonviolent way, and be willing to accept any punishment that comes with it. His teachings were followed by famous activists such as Ghandi, and Martin Luther King Jr., and many others.

Civil disobedience is the refusal to obey laws, in hopes to get them changed for the better of humanity/ civilization of that specific or general community. Malala Yousafzai is a great example of civil disobedience. The whole reason she was shot in 2012 was because she dared to ‘fight’ back against the taliban by going to school and trying to make other countries aware of the harm that the taliban was causing to the homes and lives of her people.

Civil disobedience is defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as "a refusal to obey governmental commands especially as a nonviolent means of protest."(Jacobus) We can see an example of this in U.S. history, when this theory was applied during the Civil Right Movement. The laws back then restricted African Americans from being able to attend public schools or use public restrooms that were designated as "white only." Even though they had paid taxes like everyone else, these types of segregation laws targeted minorities and made them second-rate citizens. Martin Luther King, who was sincere in exposing

Civil disobedience is the act of nonviolently refusing to obey certain laws as a form of political protest. This usually results in accepting the consequences of breaking the law, such as jail time. Martin Luther King Jr., a proponent of civil disobedience breaks down this definition by stating the differences between two types of laws: just and unjust. One difference King makes states “A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law” (King 39). In other words, King states that a just law must agree with the principles of our own truths: what we perceive as right and wrong.

civil disobedience – refusal to follow laws as a way to form a peaceful political protest in order for change satyagraha – the Hindu term for the practice of nonviolent resistance, as advocated by Mohandas Gandhi; “hold fast to the truth” partition – the action of dividing a country by separating different areas of the government 1. Why were colonial elites just as likely to support imperialism as oppose it? Colonial elites were just as likely to support imperialism as to oppose it due to their Western education and lifestyle. These Western influences led them to be influenced by the belief that they needed to adopt some aspects of Westernization in order to form a successful independence.

Martin Luther King, Jr. defines civil disobedience as the act of nonviolently refusing to obey unjust laws as a form of protest, usually resulting in accepting the consequences of

I believe civil disobedience is the refusal to obey certain laws, usually without violence, but only if it’s to make a point. In Thoreau’s essay about civil disobedience, there were points made which I agreed with, but there were things that I disagreed with. Some points he made that I agreed with was that if someone wants something to change, they should do something and do it wholeheartedly. An additional point he made which I agreed with was to depend and think for one’s self. While he’s made points which I agreed with, there’s one I didn’t which was when he said that the military was programmed to do whatever the government says.

“If you make laws to keep us suppressed in a wrongful manner and without taking us into confidence, these laws will merely adorn the statue books. We will never obey them”(1). Mohandas Gandhi expressed this in his writing “On Nonviolent Resistance”. “Civil disobedience” is when people use their voice by protesting, non-violently, to stick up against unjust laws and unjust movements. The truths and values are proven and brought to attention in the writings of Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, and Henry David Thoreau. Civil disobedience can be the solution to unjust laws and violence around the world.

In other words civil disobedience indicates that the main objective of disobedience is to bring changes in the social or political order that would affect the freedom of citizens. Nonviolence is the right answer to moral issues and is crucial in politics for any government on our time the need for human mankind to overcome oppression avoiding violence without resorting to oppression with violence.

In a march against segregation and barriers for African-American voting rights, peaceful marchers were exposed to harsh treatment by the police, 50 being hospitalized by the terrorism inflicted on them (civilrights.org). The targeted protest became infamous in the Civil Rights Movement, marked “Bloody Sunday” and was crucial to gaining favor of the public (civilrights.org). The two causes went hand in hand in this, rocketing in support and becoming the main goal of the country - the end of segregation was the most dire problem that the Civil Rights Movement needed to solve. And with the 24th Amendment, Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Voting Rights Act of 1965 being ratified, the civil rights movement and the fight to end segregation reached its legal goal (infoplease.com). However, the nation’s mentality needed work - though the popularity of Civil Rights was rising, many riots and racial hate crimes continued to occur throughout the country, with many casualties resulting from them (infoplease.com). The ratification of these laws may have made the “separate but equal” rhetoric illegal for the U.S. but the citizens inside it still battled for their beliefs. As segregation and civil rights become national topics, their

Throughout American history are many examples of civil disobedience, and when we analyze the meaning of civil disobedience we realize that without this America would be a very different place. The Boston Tea Party, The Revolutionary War, The Civil Rights Movement are all a few major examples of civil disobedience that have shaped America into the world it is today. Civil disobedience, in a sense, is taking the law into ones own hands when they feel that the laws in place are unjust or unethical and want to change these laws to better ones own life and those of others. Sadly though, there are many lives on this Earth that cannot take the law into their hands, stand up for their rights, and change things for the better, and those lives are the

Civil disobedience is when a person peacefully refuses to abide by an unjust law, accepts the consequence, and it grabs the attention of society. Civil disobedience is a method in which a person or group of persons show that a law or act is unjust and highlight that there needs to be a change in policy. Henry David Thoreau set the precedent when he wrote Civil Disobedience. In this work, he defines what civil disobedience is and when it should be used. Thoreau’s method of gaining justice through civil disobedience is used throughout history by Mahatma Gandhi, African Americans during the Civil Rights campaigns, and can be used effectively today for groups that are fighting for domestic and international equality as it was effectively used in the past.

Civil disobedience is the refusal to conform to a society or a set of laws. Civil disobedience has come a long way from its beginning. It has been developing and will continue for generations to come, as it is considered a duty of a person. The opinions and beliefs of civil disobedience cultured in our society by both Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr. are still present in our modern-day society; nevertheless, these opinions and beliefs still need to be expanded in order to keep up with the fast-growing population.

Furthermore, a person who acts with civil disobedience means, in the words of Martin Luther King Jr., “One who breaks an unjust law… openly, lovingly…, and with a willingness to accept the penalty”. In other words, civil disobedience is respectfully breaking a law that is disagreed with, and then openly accepting the consequence. During the world’s history,