Civil Disobedience: The Black Lives Matter Movement

In order to achieve true freedom one must discover that you can break unjust laws through peaceful protest. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and “The Speech at The March Washington” by Josephine Baker each article passionately argues about the disadvantages of the black community, the equality and power of education. We must learn to act with patients and not guns we must protect are self’s with a pen and paper not violence. Dr. King once4 said “Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. It is unique in history which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals”.

This year alone, in Chicago almost 80 percent of the people killed have been black. In Baltimore the figure is 216 black people versus 11 white, in Philadelphia 200 black people versus 44 white. Although it’s troublesome that most are killed by other black people, it is disturbing to think that the innocent blacks are killed by armed officers, especially the white officers. The “Black Lives Matter” (BLM) movement is taking actions to campaign against violence toward black people. Founder Alicia Garza said BLM is recognizing that “Black people are deprived of our basic human rights and dignity. It is an acknowledgement Black poverty and genocide is state violence. It is an acknowledgment that 1 million Black people are locked in cages in this country–one half of all people in prisons or jails–is an act of state violence. It is an acknowledgment that Black women continue to bear the burden of a relentless assault on our children and our families and that assault is an act of state violence.” Undeniably, the black people have many more struggles in their lives compared to their white peers. It is a historical problem as well as a serious social issue. It is disheartening to read “Katrina, Black Women, and the deadly discourse on black poverty in American” by Barbara Ransby. The Katrina hit most poor people who had to be left with nothing including their dignity. If we believe they are created equal, how could we react to their inequity with ignorance? The racism divides people and is seen as insolence or treachery in these days. Although society has become more civilized and does not tolerate expressions of bigotry, and public discourse on race is far less vicious and malevolent than it once was, we may become color-blind and denial of being racist, presumably because the word is stained with shame. Stereotyping of being incompetent, poor and less educated for the black is still running

Civil disobedience has been discerned in numerous time periods of American history. The definition of disobedience can be interpreted when one or a group prioritizes their conscience of their beliefs over the dictation of laws through rebellion. Notable historical events of slavery and independence has been marked with the disobedience of government laws. Even though the disobedience of societal laws can undermine the corruption of the government, disobedience has undeniably steer societal progress.

Police brutality is a civil rights violation that occurs when a police officer uses an unnecessarily excessive amount of force upon the victim. Police brutality is a hate crime committed by officers who have too much power. Also, most of these police haven’t been held accountable for their actions. It’s sad to say that this is a very familiar topic in America. Race, age, and location are all factors that seem to have an impact on this act of crime.

As kids people get taught what is wrong and right from a parental figure or experiences of life teach us how to react to different situations. When we finally turn adults no one is there to remind us of what’s good and what's bad so we have to use our past experiences and our knowledge to help guide us. Each adult shapes their societies for their generation and many more generations to come. Mohandas k. Gandhi and Susan B Anthony’s speech along with the article Selma to Montgomery March on history show that civil disobedience is a moral responsibility.

People's justification to engage in civil disobedience rests on the unresponsiveness that their engagement to oppose an unjust law receives. People who yearn for a change in a policy might sometimes find themselves in a dead end because their “attempts to have the laws repealed have been ignored and legal protests and demonstrations have had no success” (Rawls 373). What Rawls says is that civil disobedience is a last option to oppose an unjust law; therefore, providing civil disobedients with a justification for their cause. Civil disobedience is the spark of light that people encountered at the dead end and they hope that this spark of light will illuminate to show that an unjust law should not exist at all. Martin Luther King, Jr, in his “Letter from

Every generation faces new challenges that echo long-standing injustices. How does each generation tackle these injustices? Does this generation repeat past mistakes or envisions a better future? Does the frustration morph into anger and destruction of communities? Average citizens hold the greatest power to enact change by engaging in peaceful protests. Peaceful protests challenge and demand change from society’s injustices in a nonviolent manner.

For every 1,000 people killed by police, only one officer is convicted of a crime.

One historic example of racial bias in the police force is Dr.King 's march from Selma. In Marion, Alabama on February 18, a group of peaceful demonstrators were attacked by white segregationists. During this attack one of the younger demonstrators, Jimmie Lee Jackson, was killed by a state trooper. In response, Dr Martin Luther King led a 54 mile march early in 1965 in Montgomery, Alabama from Selma that lasted five days to the capital where many oppressed black citizens had been campaigning for voting rights including, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). On Sunday, March 7, 1965 protesters got ready to go to Montgomery but Alabama state police officers with weapons

On February 26, 2012, Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by former officer George Zimmerman. Instantly media had blown up with headlines involving the tragic fatality. Protests occurred titled as “Black Lives Matter” during the trial of Florida v. Zimmerman. These protests led to distrustful actions toward American government and American Law Enforcement. This protest wasn’t just a segmented time period event, it’s lasted from 2012 to present day and occurs daily and is expanding rapidly.

“In countries with a properly functioning legal system, the mob continues to exist, but it is rarely called upon to mete out capital punishment. The right to take human life belongs to the state. Not so in societies where weak courts and poor law enforcement are combined with intractable structural injustices. “In our present day society we as Americans have the cognitive dissonance that what the courts say are final, but also hold to the fact that the majority’s opinion rules. In recent news we have seen massive riots following the killings of African American men by caucasian police officers. These all follow after one of the most prominent not guilty verdicts of the 21st century on the Rodney King beating. With these riots we see the words of Teju Cole begin to take life.

On the tenth year anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez, a labor union organizer and civil rights activists, published an article about violence and nonviolence. The speaker in this article, Cesar Chavez, addresses the citizens of every country. The purpose for Chavez to write this is to show the reader how nonviolence and violence can lead to many different outcomes. The subject of this piece is civil rights. Throughout his article Chavez develops his argument of nonviolent protests by using logos, allusions, and tone.

Martin Luther King, Jr believed there were four steps to creating a non-violent campaign (p. 570). First step is “collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive”. This step is

Peaceful resistance begins with one person or group battling an injustice, like Rosa Parks who inspired others to protest segregation during the Civil Right’s Movement. Protesters must next raise awareness about the issue and invite others to protest with them so that the issue can be “brought out in the open where it can be seen and dealt with”(Martin Luther King Jr., “Letter From A Birmingham Jail”). As the movement grows, the government is forced to comply with the demands to change the law, the result of King’s effort against segregation. Once that law is changed, the government is altered to accommodate that change, leading to greater changes in the nation’s morals and ideals. These changes are then able to influence how others perceive those issues and may subsequently influence other nations to change their governments. In a free society, civil disobedience is used to nonviolently protest laws against injustices to create positive change. Change is accomplished with the best intention and through nonviolent

When you think of Black Lives Matter what do you think? A hate movement? Violence? Well it is in fact none of those things and this article is going to help you understand why. After the murder of Treyvon Martin in the year 2012 the Black Lives Matter movement was created in response to this unjust death. The title of the article I chose to address is titled “The rise of Black Lives Matter: Trying to break the cycle of violence and silence”. This article extend beyond the idea of Black Lives Matter and wants the reader to be informed on what it is like to be black in america. The author includes a wide amount of information to help the reader understand why this cry for help was even created and why they want to stand up and make a change in our society. The purpose of this piece is to inform the general audience as to what Black Lives Matter really is and explain how they hope to rise as a movement. All though there may be issues within the group and outside forces that are wanting to go against them they will still not be silenced. Black Lives Matter is a wide spread activist movement that campaigns against systematic racism and oppression towards black people. With the use of well known activist to initiate a strong ethos, informing the audience that just like Martin Luther King and the Black Panther Movement there 's always going to be dispute through the use of logos and feelings presented about oppression towards the black community to establish pathos, Sidner and