Premium Essay

Civil Disobedience In Selma By Martin Luther King Jr.

Submitted By
Words 393
Pages 2
Civil Disobedience Civil Disobedience is “The refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest” {google dictionary, “Civil Disobedience”}. Selma, a motion picture on the Civil Rights Act of 1964, is a perfect example of civil disobedience. Though, history hasn’t changed much since then. In Selma, Martin Luther King Jr. stood as an advocate for the rights of the people. He used nonviolent protests to stand up for what he believed was right. King and the people, not just of salem, but those who wanted equality for those of all races, marched on the grounds of Montgomery Alabama against Governor George Wallace and President Lyndon B. Johnson for the right to vote, not only for African-Americans,

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

The Life, Work, and Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

...Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights activist from the 1950 to 1968 with a strong religious background. A strong advocator for all minorities, King did all in his power to end barriers of community, poverty, racism and militarism. The principle he focused more on, however, was racism. King defined racism as prejudice, apartheid, ethnic conflict, anti-Semitism, sexism, colonialism, homophobia, ageism, or discrimination against disabled groups and stereotypes (Haskins). Later turning his efforts to poverty, King believed that the United States should have equal rights for all men, women and children. Martin Luther King Jr. had a strong philosophy of non-violent protests, called civil disobedience, to which he gained supporters, changing the jurisdictions of racism and poverty to create the American Dream for all. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, to Michael King Sr. and Alberta Williams King. Born as Michael King Jr., King lived in Atlanta, Georgia (How Did Martin). However, in honor of minister and civil-rights activist Martin Luther Baptist, his parents gave him the name Martin. In 1931, King’s father became the lead pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church, a very successful minister as his father and grandfather had been. A very intelligent man, King skipped ninth and eleventh grades, graduating from Booker T. Washington High School at the age of fifteen. Dealing with segregation at a young age, King believed...

Words: 2264 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Men and Women, Who Made a Difference in the Civil Rights Movement, Impact of Civil Rights Laws and the Effects from the Civil Rights Movement.

... who made a difference in the civil rights movement, impact of civil rights laws and the effects from the civil rights movement. A Paper By Jabioas A’Martinezs Glenn Submitted In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for History 2112 Submitted To: Dr. John L. Rhodes, Sr. FVSU November 14, 2012 Civil rights are a class of rights based upon birthright into a designation otherwise of human rights. The civil rights ensures citizen's ability to fully participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or political repression and protect the freedom of classes of people and individuals from unwarranted infringement into those rights by governments, private organizations and other entities. Many men and women help made a huge impact in changing the world during the civil rights movement. The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. Many men and women help make a difference during the civil rights. There were many but some just stood out in particular. Jesse Jackson and Martin Luther King Jr. are famous Civil Right leaders, often considered to be some of the greatest. They believed that African Americans should get more political power. Throughout the Civil Rights Movement they were always known as the people that TOOK action with what was given. Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the U.S...

Words: 2341 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Civil Disobedience In The 60's Research Paper

...Civil disobedience has always been a way of protest in America for many causes. During the 1960’s, there were several protests about racial inequality. Some of these protests were violent, while others were non-violent acts of civil disobedience. One of the most memorable examples of nonviolent civil disobedience during the 60’s was the March on Selma in March of 1965 led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King and his followers planned a march to obtain civil rights for African Americans. His peaceful march was met with violence from White officials when they started to beat and kill some of the participants in the march. In today’s society, there are still several acts of civil disobedience for many issues. In July of 2016, a janitor at Yale University had his own act of civil disobedience concerning a window at the university....

Words: 615 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

How Did Martin Luther King Influence The Civil Rights Movement

...Martin Luther King Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the civil rights movement from 1954 until his death in 1968. He is best known for advancing civil rights through nonviolence and civil disobedience, tactics his Christian beliefs and the nonviolent activism of Mahatma Gandhi helped inspire. King led the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott and in 1957 became the first president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). With the SCLC, he led an unsuccessful 1962 struggle against segregation in Albany, Georgia, and helped organize the nonviolent 1963 protests in Birmingham, Alabama. He also helped organize the 1963 March on Washington,...

Words: 381 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Martin Luther King Speech Analysis

...Throughout the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the idea that Justice is a Journey prevails as a recurring theme. In both his speeches and the documentary, King demonstrates his desire for a more peaceful world where the use of violence is simply unnecessary. Although many doubted that his stance of nonviolence would be successful, the outcome of his approach was very effective. He states, “I’ve been to the mountaintop and we will get to the promised land,” which shows that this ideal world is a possibility but getting there will be a journey. Through the use of nonviolence and civil disobedience, Dr. King serves as a significant model for a strong social justice character. In each of the marches and planned protests organized by King,...

Words: 541 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Mlk and the Civilian Rights/Voting Acts

...How important was Martin Luther King to the passing of the civil rights and voting acts 1964-65 The role of Martin Luther King Jr. in the passing of the Civil Rights/Voting Acts has been greatly disputed within the historical community. Some historians such as Anthony Badger argue that there was 'no person more important' than King, whilst others, such as Clayborne Carson believe the opposite: that even without King the civil rights movement would have 'followed a course of development similar to the one it did'. Differing from both these beliefs, there were factors more important than King in the passing of these acts, however, King was far from an inefficacious factor as Carson suggests. Rather he was an important political giant who was (along with his Southern Christian Leadership Conference) an instrumental aid to a number of vital incidents that massively helped catalyse the passage of the acts. Incidents such as the Selma march and the subsequent "Bloody Sunday" a well as his role in the Birmingham and Washington marches. His role as a prominent activist and talented orator added to King's importance as it allowed him to proliferate ideas of peaceful protest and civil disobedience to the masses. However, despite King's distribution of ideas to the masses, it is the masses themselves, or rather the local leaders of them, with whom the greatest credit for the passing of these acts must be placed due to the pressure they placed on the presidency to enact legislation. What's...

Words: 1852 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Civil War

...“separate but equal” doctrine that formed the basis for state-sanctioned discrimination, drawing national and international attention to African Americans’ plight. In the turbulent decade and a half that followed, civil rights activists used nonviolent protest and civil disobedience to bring about change, and the federal government made legislative headway with initiatives such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Many leaders from within the African American community and beyond rose to prominence during the Civil Rights era, including Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Andrew Goodman and others. They risked—and sometimes lost—their lives in the name of freedom and equality. Advertisement Freedom MarchPlay video Freedom March Bet You Didn't Know: Rosa ParksPlay video Bet You Didn't Know: Rosa Parks Condoleezza Rice: Memories of Dr. KingPlay video Condoleezza Rice: Memories of Dr. King BACKGROUND Because large segments of the populace–particularly African-Americans, women, and men without property–have not always been accorded full citizenship rights in the American Republic, civil rights movements, or “freedom struggles,” have been a frequent feature of the nation’s history. In particular, movements to obtain civil rights for black Americans have had special historical significance. Such movements have not only secured citizenship rights for blacks but have also redefined prevailing...

Words: 2087 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Civil Rights Movement In Australia

...political rights. The African-Americans and Indigenous Australians paid a steep price for the freedoms attained from different social problems throughout the civil rights movement with intensive revolts. Whilst both civil rights movements were significantly similar in reasons, social context, methods used, government and community response and success, there were several differences between the two countries’ movements. Reasons Before the civil rights movements, America and Australia had laws that created political and social inequality. The Jim Crow Law in America enforced...

Words: 947 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Civil Disobedience Research Paper

...Civil disobedience is the highest form of respect for a country that the government can receive. It shows that the people of the country love their country and expect it to be more than what it is now. Lately patriotism in this country has been defined by blindly following the status quo or an immense longing for the way things were. Although contemporarily modern civil disobedience is viewed with a scorning eye, civil disobedience is the cornerstone of a free society, and any society without civic engagement in the government is not a free society. The first amendment of our country guarantees that the right to free speech and the right to “petition the government for a redress of grievances” because our founding fathers were fleeing the tyranny...

Words: 665 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Henry David Thoreau's Resistance To Civil Government

...On balance, peaceful resistance to laws deemed unjust are provocative in nature, however, civil disobedience becomes necessary when considering how American progress did not result from inaction, but rather peaceful opposition. In other words, to sit idle and to watch the practice of unjust laws is contradictory to American values of liberty and justice. The Founding Fathers purposefully instilled civil disobedience as a crucial element to the American identity in order to protect the individual’s political beliefs. By forming this nation under one of man’s greatest creation - the Constitution - our Founding Fathers acknowledged that peaceful resistance positively impacts free society by preserving democracy and civil rights. Peaceful measures...

Words: 785 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Civil Disobedience Arguments

...We the Students Essay Contest In order to establish a free and just society, the people must be willing to reject unjust and immoral laws. This is because laws that violate the human rights of any individuals threaten everyone else as well. Civil disobedience is the violation of unjust laws and acceptance of the punishment that comes with breaking those laws. The punishment that comes with violating the law must be accepted in order to ensure that order is maintained and that so to draw a distinction between civil disobedience and lawlessness. Peaceful resistance to unjust laws is needed in order expose and call attention to laws that are unjust and therefore positively impacts society. The resistance must be peaceful or many may be unwilling...

Words: 582 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

African American Struggle

...African-American Civil Rights Movement or 1960s Civil Rights Movement encompasses social movements in the United States whose goals were to end racial segregation and discrimination against black Americans and to secure legal recognition and federal protection of the citizenship rights enumerated in the Constitution and federal law. This article covers the phase of the movement between 1954 and 1968, particularly in the South. The leadership was African-American, much of the political and financial support came from labor unions (led by Walter Reuther), major religious denominations, and prominent white politicians such as Hubert Humphrey and Lyndon B. Johnson. The movement was characterized by major campaigns of civil resistance. Between 1955 and 1968, acts of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience produced crisis situations and productive dialogues between activists and government authorities. Federal, state, and local governments, businesses, and communities often had to respond immediately to these situations that highlighted the inequities faced by African Americans. Forms of protest and/or civil disobedience included boycotts such as the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–56) in Alabama; "sit-ins" such as the influential Greensboro sit-ins (1960) in North Carolina; marches, such as the Selma to Montgomery marches (1965) in Alabama; and a wide range of other nonviolent activities. Noted legislative achievements during this phase of the civil rights movement were...

Words: 507 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Business

...COURSE: STUDY SKILL. PRESENTATION TOPIC: APARTHEID AND RACIAL SEGREGATION AROUND THE GLOBE. What is Apartheid and Racial segregation?: Segregation is separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, riding on a bus, or in the rental or purchase of a home. apartheid. the policy of strict racial segregation and political and economic discrimination against non-whites practiced in the Republic of South Africa, U.S . And also the genocide killings of Muslims in The Srebrenica massacre, also known as the Srebrenica genocide was the genocidal killing, in July 1995, of more than 8,000 Muslim Bosniaks, mainly men and boys, in and around the town of Srebrenica during the Bosnian War. This is also religious segregation and its also currently going on in different countries around the world that leads to fighting and wars. The negative effects of Apartheid, Racial , and religious segregations: 1:The Aparthied ,racial and religious segregation system divides any country along racial lines. 2:The white race are been promoted and seen as superior to the other races of the affected country. 3:Public facilities such as shops, toilets, beaches, parks and resturants were divided according to race. 4:White people utilised the best facilities and then the Indians, other races and black people below...

Words: 1416 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Truman

...Marshall pledged the U.S. to contribute billions of dollars to finance the economic recovery of Europe. * A policy not against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, and chaos – a New Deal for Europe. * The Soviet Union refused to participate – solidifying division. * Indirect way of spreading capitalism. NATO * In that same year, the U.S. Canada, and ten western European nations est. the North Atlantic Treaty Organization pledging mutual defense against Soviet attack. * Western Alliance of Nations * Future Defense Alliance * The Soviets responded with the Warsaw Pact – a formal eastern European alliance. Chairman Mao * Communist led by Mao Zedong emerged victorious in the Chinese civil war. * Blocked from the U.N. The Korean War * Occupied by Japan during WWII, Korea had been divided in 1945. * In June 1950, the North Korean army invaded South Korea, hoping to reunify the country under communism. * Korea became the first clear test of containment. Gen. Douglas MacArthur * Launched a counter-invasion and was successful. He even pressed towards the boarder of China. MacArthur wanted to use the A-Bomb against China. * Truman and MacArthur had a falling out. * The war settled into a stalemate around the 38th parallel, when in 1953 an armistice was signed but there has...

Words: 1448 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Civil Rights

...Civil rights Movement Truman Harry Truman is not a name usually associated with America's Civil Rights movement if only because the main 'points' happened after his presidency - Montgomery, Little Rock, Birmingham, the careers of Martin Luther Kingand Stokely Carmichael. However, some very important civil rights issues were covered in his presidency. Truman’s ancestors had owned slaves. His first recollection of African Americans was a household servants within his family - and he did not come from a prosperous family. While he was dating his future wife Bess, she claimed that he told her that he felt that one person was as good as any other as long as they were not black. He also criticised the Chinese in America, the Jews - to whom he referred to as "Kikes" and the Italians in America who he called "wops". Hence, Truman’s background produced what one would have expected and the young Truman would have had the same views as most other youths in Independence. When he got involved in politics at an early age, he did what any aspiring politician did in the South, he paid $10 to join the KKK. Public office changed Truman. Why? Did he feel that America could not claim to be the democratic  capital of the world while African Americans were treated thus? Or were his motives political? The African American population was big enough to have some political clout. Was he out to fish for their votes with his adoption of the civil rights cause? Truman and civil rights legislation: Before...

Words: 11349 - Pages: 46