In his book "Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story", Martin Luther King Jr. states it best: "Nonviolent resistance was one of the most potent weapons available to oppressed people in their quest for social justice.(1)" Time and time again, throughout history, this has been proven true; civil disobedience can positively alter our nation's policies and sociological behavior. Not only do nonviolent protesting acts change certain legislation, like when the Court ruled 2-1 that the city’s bus segregation laws were in violation of the Constitution due to copious seat-refusals that were taking place in Montgomery(2), they also open the public's eye on important social/economic issues. For example, in more recent events, there was a controversy
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"To me," stated Kaepernick, "this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.(3)" After his first couple protests, Kaepernick was joined by other players, including teammate Eric Reid and non-teammate Jeremy Lane, in their right to protest the national anthem. Furthermore, after spreading light on the issue by causing social unrest, Kapernick donated 1 million dollars to various community organizations that deal with ending racially-charged violence(4). Nonetheless, Colin Kaepernick wasn't the first to use multimedia as a way to spread awareness. While Kaepernick was never arrested for using her civil liberties, the 19th century philosopher and author Henry David Thoreau was. After releasing his work, "Civil Disobedience", in 1949, he brings to light the issue of supporting an unjust system. Specifically, he was protesting the racial/slavery issues occurring at that time in the country(5). …show more content…
While the Suffrage Parade (where it occurred) took place in March 1913, seven years before the 19th Amendment was put into action, this herald-horse-mounted protest helped raise $14,000 to help with the National American Women Suffrage Association(11). Therefore, indirectly, MilHolland helped support the later-enacted legislation. Overall, while people could argue negative impacts due to 'civil disobedience', albeit nonviolent, lots of positive impacts have been made due to it. Not only has nonviolent strikes, boycotts, and protests led to women being able to vote, it also has helped other legislation, like discontinuing bus segregation and overall racial discrimination. While formal protests may seem outdated now, celebrities with higher platforms, like Kaepernick, have taken harmless protests to raise awareness over issues they see unfit for this nation. In conclusion, people will always be against certain issues; by not using violence and mainly using emotions/passion to reach the majority's awareness, nonviolent disobedience has positively altered our
"To me," stated Kaepernick, "this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.(3)" After his first couple protests, Kaepernick was joined by other players, including teammate Eric Reid and non-teammate Jeremy Lane, in their right to protest the national anthem. Furthermore, after spreading light on the issue by causing social unrest, Kapernick donated 1 million dollars to various community organizations that deal with ending racially-charged violence(4). Nonetheless, Colin Kaepernick wasn't the first to use multimedia as a way to spread awareness. While Kaepernick was never arrested for using her civil liberties, the 19th century philosopher and author Henry David Thoreau was. After releasing his work, "Civil Disobedience", in 1949, he brings to light the issue of supporting an unjust system. Specifically, he was protesting the racial/slavery issues occurring at that time in the country(5). …show more content…
While the Suffrage Parade (where it occurred) took place in March 1913, seven years before the 19th Amendment was put into action, this herald-horse-mounted protest helped raise $14,000 to help with the National American Women Suffrage Association(11). Therefore, indirectly, MilHolland helped support the later-enacted legislation. Overall, while people could argue negative impacts due to 'civil disobedience', albeit nonviolent, lots of positive impacts have been made due to it. Not only has nonviolent strikes, boycotts, and protests led to women being able to vote, it also has helped other legislation, like discontinuing bus segregation and overall racial discrimination. While formal protests may seem outdated now, celebrities with higher platforms, like Kaepernick, have taken harmless protests to raise awareness over issues they see unfit for this nation. In conclusion, people will always be against certain issues; by not using violence and mainly using emotions/passion to reach the majority's awareness, nonviolent disobedience has positively altered our