“Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. I am not unmindful of the fact that violence often brings about momentary results. Nations have frequently won their independence in battle. But in spite of temporary victories, violence never brings permanent peace.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.
Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Cesar Chavez practiced passive resistance, which is nonviolent protest, to obtain equal rights, fairer working conditions, and to change unjust laws. These men were very courageous, and they did not just want equal rights and freedom for themselves, they wanted it for all those who had been oppressed. They did all they could to make change, and finally won what they had been fighting for.
Gandhi influenced the idea of using ahimsa to make change in the community and to
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Three years later, in 1929 the Great Depression began. The Great Depression was when the stock market crashed and many people lost their jobs and money. He and his family had to move to California to find work. They became migrant workers on farms. Unfortunately, they worked long hours and received little money and had terrible working conditions. Chávez also was discriminated against because he was Mexican and spoke Spanish. That inspired Chávez to organize a union and use nonviolent ways to end the unfair working conditions. César researched how Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. used nonviolent means of protest. He wanted to help other migrant workers earn fairer working conditions and wages. He formed the National Farm Workers Association. They went on strikes, not working for the company they worked for. They boycotted stores that sold the products they picked. They continued to recruit other migrant workers to the union. His methods worked. Migrant workers in California were given better pay and working conditions, due to the Bill of Rights law in