This week’s readings are Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter From A Birmingham Jail” and John Lewis’ March: Book One. These two readings focus on racism in the United States and the Civil Rights Movement. We must first understand the concept of nonviolent resistance and its role in revolutions. The meaning of nonviolent resistance is a much debated topic and varies between individuals. Typically nonviolent resistance involves defying an opponent in a peaceful, anti-violent manner. This practice can be deployed in many different ways but for the purpose of my research, I focused on nonviolent resistance as it applies to race particularly in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s. These included bus boycotts, restaurant sit-ins, and mass marches.
I first want to talk about the importance of Mahatma Gandhi in inspiring both King and Lewis. Gandhi was an Indian lawyer who led nonviolent protests in South Africa and India against British rulers. Gandhi chose a nonviolent protest because he strongly opposed the use of violence and, “he saw violence as the willful use of power to force a change in another’s behavior in such a way that the opponent is physically or psychologically harmed” (Nojeim, 4). Gandhi’s words and actions influenced King and Lewis to utilize nonviolent resistance in the battle they were fighting. Without Gandhi’s former successes, nonviolent resistance in the United States may not have been made possible.
Furthermore, nonviolent resistance revolutized the United States. According to author and civil rights activist Erica Chenoweth: “Today, campaigns in which people rely overwhelmingly on nonviolent resistance have replaced armed struggle as the most common approach to contentious action worldwide” (Chenoweth, 70). The practice became well-known in the 1950s, coinciding with the increasing popularity of TV’s, and only went up from there. The media coverage of nonviolent protests revolutionized the way in which people viewed protesters. The story was no longer solely in the hands of the white people as citizens at home saw protestors not inciting violence and still being attacked. The availability and growth of media is what drives the change behind nonviolent resistance. For our readings it is important to note that King and Lewis were following Gandhi’s definition of nonviolent resistance. We also need to remember that King’s letter was published all across the United States and reminded African Americans and whites alike of the intentions of the protest.
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Racism is a big factor of our society today. We see movements around the world to end such thing, with peaceful protests. But the majority won’t agree with such things. Everybody wants to be heard, but they get silenced.
I never have heard of the term called “nonviolent resistance.” I know the ideas of not using violence can lead to more success in the cause and have seen way better repercussions in history and today. I think these issues also make you think about the movements going on in 2020 recently and how similar they are. I agree with the fact that Gandhi was a great leader overall and a great role model for MLK. Intentions can be swayed in the media and it was smart of King to use nonviolent resistance to correct the misconceptions of the movement of his time.
I would also agree that the availability of the media is one of the driving forces that causes change behind nonviolent resistance. It can be used in beneficial ways but also in damaging ways. One example of media being beneficial is spreading the word of the protest. This can get more people to show up as well as create other protests in other areas of the country or even world. However, it can also be damaging because it can spark tension and create violent resistance. The media then shows this and it can make all protests seem dangerous and unproductive.
Thank you for showing me the meaning of nonviolent resistance. I agree with your point that “The availability and growth of media is what drives the change behind nonviolent resistance”. Every coin has two sides, same as media. Meida can publicize the nonviolent and make more people be attention with that issue, while media can also be one-sided, misleading, and biased.
I totally agree with your comment, people usually only stick to one particular media source to get all of their information, which is normally biased in one direction or the other. Thus, it can be difficult to get an accurate representation of everything covered. I think the media portrays protests in an extremely negative light, but I wonder why that is? Is it a political tactic? I am curious to hear your thoughts!
Hi Ellie!
Your presentation was super informative! I like how you connected Gandhi’s movement of non-violent resistance with Martin Luther King Jr’s and John Lewis’ methods of protest. There are so many similarities between their methods and ideologies. Your inclusion of the idea that the media helped with the accuracy of the portrayal of peaceful protests was interesting also. I agree with that, but especially with the protests occurring today, we can see that sometimes different media outlets switch the narrative and only highlight the few instances of violence in protests, and not the many other peaceful protests.
Hi Ellie! Your presentation was extremely informative and concise. I really enjoyed how you brought Gandhi’s perspective in and tied it with movements of non-violent resistance relating to Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis’ protest methods. I do agree with your point when you mentioned the availability of the media is a major force that causes change. I dislike how people rely so heavily on media’s views of protests because in most cases it is biased.
Hi Ellie! I really liked your presentation and how you used different cultures (and people) to relate to the same idea. I think it is important to recognize that racism is not only an issue in this country, but it has and still is an issue in many other countries around the world that needs to be addressed. A lot of people tend to focus on the United States because of the protests that are going on right now, as well as the Civil Rights Movement, but it is important to remember that other countries, such as South Africa with Apartheid are facing racial tension as well.
I wholeheartedly agree with everything your post said. It is true that when you first think of peaceful protesting and the success of it, you think of King Jr. and Gandhi. They showed what a peaceful protest could change in their times, and you now see these protests taking place in today’s society as well. Obviously, most recently have been the BLM protests. These have raised much awareness on the issues facing the USA today and have incited some changes already with their protests. It is an interesting thing to think about that these people first started this idea, as revolution had been the big step for change prior.
Hi Ellie,
I like how in the end of your post you mentioned how media today is shaping how we look at protestors. Differing media platforms portray what is currently going on in the world in varying ways and I think that is taking attention away from messages BLM and other protestors are trying to get at currently. It is unfortunate that so many rely on single news headlines and blindly follow others before looking at the facts when trying to figure out what is going on in world today. I believe protesting in a non-violent manner is definitely the more respected route to go, and peacefully expressing beliefs (while still not backing down) was a fundamental that was important to Martin Luther King.
Hi Ellie, I really enjoyed reading your post about nonviolent resistance! I really liked how you capitalized on the fact that MLK and Lewis got their ideas about nonviolent resistance from Ghandi. I think that is really important to note because it shows how effective these methods can be. These methods can also be seen today throughout the black lives matter movement which shows just how powerful they are. I also appreciated how you added the media representation into your ideas since it helps to relate your thoughts to modern day society as well. Your post was very informative as well as very interesting to read!
Hi Ellie,
Your thoughts on nonviolent resistance was very thorough. You did a great job on being both informative and passioned in your writing. I truly have a greater respect for the Freedom Riders, and John Lewis more now than ever before. It’s just beyond inspirational how they so fearlessly carried out their values in their day to day lives. One thing that had come to mind since becoming more knowledgable on this subject are the other activists we have yet to read upon such as Malcom X and the Black Panthers. Would Dr Martin Luther King Jr be as notable as he is if were not for his peaceful protesting tactics? And why is Malcolm X seen as lesser than, only because instead of asking for his right he demanded it? I understand it is my job to educate myself on these important topics, and i look forward to doing so in the coming week. Thank you for this very thought provoking piece.
Hi, Ellie. Thank you for sharing. I agree with you. Media dissemination has made non-violent protests more successful because people can see the peace of protesters. However, at the same time the media can also be biased and misleading.
Hi Ellie!
I really enjoyed that you focused your post on nonviolent resistance because I truly feel the importance of protest in a nonviolent way. It’s more effective and influential in many ways. It is also good to know Mahatma Gandhi influenced King and Lewis, I did not know that. I think it is essential that we learn from former success. Also, I think it is really interesting in your ending paragraph you mentioned how media today is so biased by only reporting the protester in a violent way to grab readers’ attention.
Hi Ellie, I find very interesting how you managed to connect all of Ghandhi’s influences on later generations with the common purpose of non-violent resistance. How the media has evolved allowing the issues at hand easily be presented to the public. Each of them fought for the common goal of avoiding conflict and that influence has led towards the Black Lives Matter protests that are happening in today’s society. While the evolution of the media helps spread the information it also allows for the manipulation of media and fake news.