The Role Of Peaceful Resistance In The Civil Rights Movement

Peaceful resistance to laws positively impact a free society. In the case of the Civil Rights Movement, peaceful resistance led to desegregation.Civil disobedience aided in the decision of Brown v. Topeka which overturned the “separate but equal” decision of Plessy v. Ferguson. Plessy disobeyed a Louisiana law by not sitting in a Jim Crow car. This civil disobedience led to the Supreme Court decision. While this decision did not lead to desegregation, it was the beginning of a legal battle that would end segregation in schools. Civil disobedience causes the dramatization of the issue so “that it can no longer be ignored” (King, Letter). Take Rosa Parks, her refusal to give up her seat on a bus sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This led to the desegregation of buses. There are also other forms of peaceful resistance. For instance, the Labor Movement in the 1800s utilized unions to protest treatment of workers. Early in the Labor Movement, strikes ended in violence. The American Federation of Labor formed to better working conditions. It used collective bargaining to make the workers’ displeasure known. Marching is another form of peaceful resistance that draws the public's and the government's attention to the issues that some believe need to be addressed. In

It may be difficult to accept a slightly new way of life. The idea of peaceful resistance often changes society for the better. I value my right to vote which would not exist if it were not for the women’s suffrage movement. A right won through any form of protest is a right to be valued because at some point one did not have that right. Peaceful resistance, however, means that some may be injured in the fight over an issue, but the protesters will not have caused the injuries. In a speech at the Democratic National Convention, Michelle Obama stated “When they go low, we go high;” this statement is the embodiment of peaceful