Civil Disobedience And Civil Rights

Throughout the history of society, civil disobedience has become a key tool in combating laws seen as unjust. It was used thoroughly in the civil rights movement and was integral to the advancement of equality. The reason that civil disobedience plays such an important role in the advancement of rights is because of how effective it has been. The best way to make people aware of and relate to a movement is to make it well known. Events such as Bloody Sunday and the Montgomery Bus Boycott helped the civil rights movement gain much of the momentum that guaranteed its success. Leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Ghandi and Nelson Mandela have demonstrated how effective and sometimes necessary peacefully disobeying the law can be.

MLK Jr. exemplified the importance of civil disobedience in his famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” King was in Birmingham jail for the peaceful protest he had lead in the city. He had prepared not to retaliate and was fully aware of the consequences when he decided to stage the protest. In his letter he explains this and why the use of civil disobedience was needed in Birmingham to clergymen who had criticized him for it. Responding to the clergymen who told King to let the battles be fought in the courtrooms, he explains that without some form of action the movement would not be able to gain any progress. He points out that the African American community had been denied their Constitutional and God given rights for over three hundred years and in order to right this injustice, direct action needed to be taken. He also explains the organized protests that he lead were for the goal of catching the attention of the public, helping them to realize how poorly the African American community was being treated. Events such as Bloody Sunday showed citizens of all races how bad the circumstances were and helped to grow support for the Civil Rights

A huge surge of civil disobedience took place after president Trump's inauguration. People are protesting the newly elected president because they disagree with his policies. While this may not directly improve or change anything, the fact that we have the right to protest like this shows just how free we are in this country. In some countries protests like these would never be allowed and could even be seen as treason. Having the freedom to speak out against government is an incredible gift that we are guaranteed by our constitution and we should never take for granted. Events like the Tiananmen Square protests, where hundreds of students were massacred while protesting show us how lucky we are to have this right. The ability to freely practice civil disobedience has lead to huge advancements towards racial equality, and it is part of the reason that the United States gained its independence. While the true act of civil disobedience can be corrupted or misinterpreted I think that it is one of the most important freedoms granted to the people of this