Black Lives Matter: The Failure Of The Civil Rights Movement

The African American population, has for centuries been mistreated by a predominantly white populace and government. The efforts for equality have moved from the bloody Civil War, to the boycotts, marches, and sit ins of the Martin Luther King generation. Today, the fight for equality is loosely under one name, Black Lives Matter. Though, unlike its predecessors, The Black Lives Matter movement has largely failed in comparison, especially in police brutality. As the fight against police brutality continues The Black Lives Matter not only fails to bring its own people together under one flag, but seemingly becomes more and more radical, separating itself from the general public. One of the main problems that the modern civil rights movement

lead his protests, he not only effectively brought entire communities together, but preached non violence. He once said “Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals.” Non violence effectively isolates persecutors of violence that stand against your cause, and also brings moderate people to your movement. Consequently protests of police brutality turn brutal. In Ferguson, after the shooting of Michael Brown, protesters raised chaos in the city for weeks. Massive amounts of looting and destructions, along with violent confrontations between police and protestors took place.(Buchanan NYT). This large disconnect from the lessons of Martin Luther King’s nonviolence helps to cause the Black Lives Matter movement to suffer from lack of appealment from the general population. Most people will often consider themselves moderates when it comes to social problems, never taking one side. When protests, like those in Ferguson became extremely radical and violent it disconnects the moderate Americans needed to help fuel social movements. When a group practices nonviolence, especially in cases where the opposing side is using violence, it elevates their cause. People are more likely to to support the group that stands tall as their beaten down by oppressors, then the group the causes massive riots, ruining everyone’s lives. Not only would nonviolence ennoble the Black Lives Matter cause, but it would degrade the support for the police, as moderate Americans will back down their support from a group that assaults a man preaching peace. The simple act of nonviolence could raise the Black Lives Matter movement to that of even Martin Luther King’s movement, causing massive national cries to end police