Civil resistance is the act of opposing a law one considers unjust and peacefully disobeying it while accepting the consequences. In the autobiography, The Story of My Experiments with Truth by Mahatma Gandhi and “Letter From a Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr., both historical individuals have written about their experiences with civil resistance and how it overcome the injustices of their time including racial segregation and imperialism. With the use of civil resistance, Dr. King encouraged the African American community of Birmingham, Alabama to fight for civil rights with non-violence. Dr. King’s persistence led to the March on Washington for freedom in 1963. Shortly after, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. Similarly, when
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While Dr. King was arrested in Birmingham jail, he wrote to clergymen that “Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue.” Dr. King had been arrested for exercising his first amendment right, freedom of assembly, in response to the treatment of blacks in Alabama. He continues to write that civil resistance “seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored.” When community leaders force unjust laws, such as the Jim Crow Laws, which forced upon racial segregation in the 1900’s to African Americans, King says that there is a “moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” In a free community, there must be a clear communication between a leader and their people—a dialogue. However, when community leaders discard their citizens, direct action is necessary in order to inform leaders who in no other circumstances will listen. This way, there is a positive, free environment in our communities, one where every individual has a voice and can use it in order to be heard by an official who can make
While Dr. King was arrested in Birmingham jail, he wrote to clergymen that “Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue.” Dr. King had been arrested for exercising his first amendment right, freedom of assembly, in response to the treatment of blacks in Alabama. He continues to write that civil resistance “seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored.” When community leaders force unjust laws, such as the Jim Crow Laws, which forced upon racial segregation in the 1900’s to African Americans, King says that there is a “moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” In a free community, there must be a clear communication between a leader and their people—a dialogue. However, when community leaders discard their citizens, direct action is necessary in order to inform leaders who in no other circumstances will listen. This way, there is a positive, free environment in our communities, one where every individual has a voice and can use it in order to be heard by an official who can make