Oppression has been a tenet of man since the beginning of time. Today, oppression based on race feels equally as old. It is a wonder how we find ourselves studying the great leaders of civil rights movements past, as we look for answers to fix current day problems. Despite what is going on in the world now, there have been several people throughout history who made the choice to stand up to their oppressors and fight for the rights of themselves and those around them. By asking how they could change the world around them, these people set out to make a difference; to have their voices heard. Mohandas Gandhi once said “A small body of determined spirits, fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission, can alter the course of History.”
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who used the same strategy for his nonviolent direct action during the Civil Rights Movement. A young, charismatic pastor from Georgia, King received a Ph.D from Boston University in 1955 and returned to the South out of a sense of moral duty for the oppressed peoples he had witnessed while growing up in Atlanta (Diggins 290-294). It was during this time that King introduced a new strategy of civil disobedience. Instrumental in King’s adoption of the Christian theory of agape was Gandhi’s satyagraha. According to King, agape meant disinterested love. It symbolized the willingness to love one’s enemy and to sacrifice in order to achieve a more harmonious community. The importance of agape in regard to nonviolence is the idea that all men are brothers and to hurt one would be to hurt the other (King, Stride Toward Freedom 104-105). In his work Stride Toward Freedom, King claimed that he believed the most ethical and efficient way to assist oppressed people in their struggle for freedom could be found in the nonviolent resistance philosophy of Gandhi (King, Stride Toward Freedom 97). This philosophy of nonviolence can be characterized by the following aspects: (1) “Passive resistance” objects physical aggression, but requires strong spirituality through open mind and emotion in order to convince the opponent he is wrong. (2) In order to achieve an adored community, a nonviolent resister will exercise compassion to his opponent rather than trying to degrade or defeat him. (3) Nonviolent attacks are to be carried out against the “forces of evil” and not the people who act on its behalf. (4) A resister must willingly accept the consequences of his actions. Be it mental or physical suffering, he will do so without retaliation against his opponent. And (5), nonviolence rejects hate, both externally (physically) and internally (spiritually) (King, Stride Toward Freedom
who used the same strategy for his nonviolent direct action during the Civil Rights Movement. A young, charismatic pastor from Georgia, King received a Ph.D from Boston University in 1955 and returned to the South out of a sense of moral duty for the oppressed peoples he had witnessed while growing up in Atlanta (Diggins 290-294). It was during this time that King introduced a new strategy of civil disobedience. Instrumental in King’s adoption of the Christian theory of agape was Gandhi’s satyagraha. According to King, agape meant disinterested love. It symbolized the willingness to love one’s enemy and to sacrifice in order to achieve a more harmonious community. The importance of agape in regard to nonviolence is the idea that all men are brothers and to hurt one would be to hurt the other (King, Stride Toward Freedom 104-105). In his work Stride Toward Freedom, King claimed that he believed the most ethical and efficient way to assist oppressed people in their struggle for freedom could be found in the nonviolent resistance philosophy of Gandhi (King, Stride Toward Freedom 97). This philosophy of nonviolence can be characterized by the following aspects: (1) “Passive resistance” objects physical aggression, but requires strong spirituality through open mind and emotion in order to convince the opponent he is wrong. (2) In order to achieve an adored community, a nonviolent resister will exercise compassion to his opponent rather than trying to degrade or defeat him. (3) Nonviolent attacks are to be carried out against the “forces of evil” and not the people who act on its behalf. (4) A resister must willingly accept the consequences of his actions. Be it mental or physical suffering, he will do so without retaliation against his opponent. And (5), nonviolence rejects hate, both externally (physically) and internally (spiritually) (King, Stride Toward Freedom