The Civil Rights Movement vs. The Black Liberation Movement Essay

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 is a peaceful form of political protest for the refusal of certain laws or acts. In “Letter From Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr., segregation is explained when, “Negroes have experienced grossly unjust treatment in the courts…

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.

African American people have come a long way from the illiterate slaves, who were once picking cotton in fields, to powerful political leaders. A prime example would be President Barack Obama, the first African American president of the United States of America. But first we must ask ourselves, how did this occur? Who lead African Americans to better living standards? Civil rights leaders, such as Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, and Rosa Parks, just to name a few. However, among these great names in history, there is one that stands out, and that man is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King gave hope to those in need with his awe inspiring sermons he performed at the church his grandfather founded. He changed foes to

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 has been shown in a great amount of different ways throughout the years. Martin Luther king Jr. expressed his way of civil disobedience by taking direct action but in a calm way which was effective. He wanted the people to be aware of what was going on and open doors for better groups of people who weren't given the same rights as others. Henry David Thoreau on the other hand took action as well but in a different manner directly with the U.S. citizens and government because he wanted more individual rights for the people. Both had the same ideas but took action in different ways and at the end, ended up succeeding in their persuasive ways.

The 1960’s was a decade riddled with racism and discrimination towards African Americans, especially in the Deep South. Blacks were barred from voting through poll taxes and literacy tests too difficult even for decently educated whites. All public places became segregated after the Supreme Court’s decision in Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 and remained separated through the 60’s and even the 70’s. Groups like the Ku Klux Klan terrorized blacks, burning their homes and senselessly lynching thousands of black men, while many city and state governments in the South looked the other way.

The belief of civil disobedience that is evident in present day America was created by Henry Thoreau. In the history of mankind, Thoreau is most notably known for his creation of the ideology that encourages improvement of the government, but only for specific reasons. This belief created by Thoreau became known as civil disobedience through the publication of his essay titled “Civil Disobedience.” In the essay, Thoreau continuously advised for the improvement of a government and also the person in that society, which he also believed the government reflected the will of an individual. Thoreau believed that civil disobedience against the government was necessary, but only for specific reasons. In the reading, Thoreau stated many reasons why one should not conform to the government, such as “But when the friction comes to have its machine, and oppression and robbery are organized, I say, let us not have such a machine any longer” (Thoreau 3). Thoreau believed that one should change the government and not conform if that particular state has many injustices occurring against the masses in society. The metaphor in the quote establishes friction to resemble the government at work, such as laws passed and enforced on an individual. If the friction were to become unnecessary, harm the society, and benefit the government, Thoreau

Civil disobedience is an illegal, public and also a form of opposition to against the unfair rule and it is one of the way for people to disagreemnet the government and minority disagreement with a majority. The citizens have the freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. The people have the right to do that but they must try to be peacerful and non-violence way to change the society. The typical example is nationalist movements of Gandhi using non-violence civil disobedience to protest against the British colonial rule in India (Gandhi,2001). The other typical example is Martin Luther King Jr. who was using civil disobedience to protest against the racial discrimination in the US. (King, 1987) The other philosophers such as John Rawls used the justice theory to morally justify civil disobedience behaviour in some specific circumstances.

The Civil Rights Movement had a lot going on between 1954 and 1964. While there were some successful aspects of the movement, there were some failures as well. The mixture of successes and failures led to the extension of the movement and eventually a more equal American society.

People have been protesting unjust laws since laws were written. People have always been on both sides of whether a law is just or not. Henry David Thoreau proposed that when people were faced with a law they didn't believe in that they "obey them, amend them or transgress them." Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and Henry David Thoreau all shared the same thought, that you maintain respect for the law even while disobeying the law. Civil Disobedience is called specifically, civil, because it was always meant to be non-violent.

What does it mean to be civil disobedient people have many different interpretations of it? To be civil disobedient is to refuse to follow certain laws or to not pay any taxes or fines. It is a form of peaceful political protest you are trying to get someone 's attention, in this case, the government. You are trying to make them listen to you and when they do not listen you do not do what they say. That’s what Thoreau did he grabbed their attention the only way he knows how he criticized their policies and did not pay taxes. He wanted to no part of the government and their actions he dissociated himself from them. He believes when the government or law is unjust people should refuse to follow the rule. And distance them. I believe civil disobedience has come a long way, but it is still to me the same thing when it was first mentioned. It Is expressed in certain American literature and throughout history, such as the civil rights movement.

The Civil Rights Movement lead nonviolently by Martin Luther King in the 1960s is an important era to examine when analyzing the extent to which the ideology of Carl Schmitt remains relevant to domestic conflict outside of the interwar period. Schmitt’s theory assists in understanding the racial segregation in the United States as political. However, while King identified similar critiques of liberalism as Schmitt, he believed that nonviolent direct action was an effective, politically engaged method which sought to obtain equal civil rights for African Americans as opposed to usurping power from the state. While not inherently political, Schmitt argues that societal realms such as economic, religious, cultural, and for the purpose of

The Civil Rights Movement and Dr. Martin Luther King The Civil Rights movement is still identified by people across the world with Dr Martin Luther King. His day of birth is remarked with a national holiday in the United States and there are many historic sites dedicated to MLK across the nation. His funeral in Atlanta on 9th April 1968 was attended by political leaders from around the world and later in 1977 King was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom which stated that MLK was “the conscience on his generation” who…”saw the power of love could bring down segregation”.

The Civil Rights Movement of the 50's and 60's was arguably one of the most formative and influential periods in American history. Hundreds of thousands of civil rights activists utilized non violent resistance and civil disobedience to revolt against racial segregation and discrimination. The Civil Rights Movement began in the southern states but quickly rose to national prominence. It is of popular belief that the civil rights movement was organized by small groups of people, with notable leaders like—Martin Luther King, Jr, Rosa Parks, Medgar Evers, and even John F. Kennedy—driving the ship. That is partly correct. The Civil Rights Movement, in its truest form, was hundreds of thousands of people organizing events and protests,