Disobedience In The Civil Rights Movement

The civil disobedience is to describe when the public refusal to obey the law or commands of a government that violate one's personal principals without the act of violence, as an effort to induce a change in governmental policy or legislation. The purpose is to force concessions from the government or occupying power. For example, if a group of people refuses to pay taxes as a peaceful way to express disapproval of those laws they disagree with or taxes. Civil disobedience may be appropriate when a democratically elected government uses its power to discriminate against their race, sex, religion or skin color. In such a situation, people would most liking object the Laws and start a protest to show they want to be treated equally. Another point is that civil disobedience is a beneficial behavior in bringing about stability to this society. In fact, Martin Luther King Jr is the one of the most associated with nonviolent civil disobedience he saw color people getting treated unjustly and getting prosecuted because of their skin color. Another example would be the STC protest that occurred this month; six people refused to get off the bus keeping police on the scene for five hours till one in the morning. The six people got arrested but later they were released.

Oscar Wilde claims that disobedience is a valuable human trait. He also argues that disobedience promotes social progress and will continue to promote social progress and reform. Disobedience is the failure or refusal to obey rules or someone in authority. It has caused many historical events throughout time and our world would not be the same without it. Disobedience is seen all over the world, specifically in Europe, in Russia and in the United States of America. Oscar Wilde makes a valid claim about disobedience promoting social progress.

In the dictionary civil disobedience is the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest, but Thoreau and Martin Luther King have their own beliefs to civil disobedience. In Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” he writes about the need to prioritize one’s conscience over the dictates of laws. Martin Luther King uses civil disobedience as something that effectuates change in the government. Both Thoreau and Martin Luther King has similar yet different perspectives on civil disobedience.

Civil disobedience is a peaceful, nonviolent, political protest and it has been used by many people across the world, specifically by Thomas Jefferson, Thoreau, and Gandhi in their essays “The Declaration of Independence,” “Civil Disobedience,” and “On Nonviolent Resistance.” All of their essays shows examples of how they used/described civil disobedience. Civil disobedience is one of the many way Jefferson, Gandhi, and Thoreau have went against unfair laws.

Civil disobedience is the act of disobeying governmental commands in a peaceful, non-violent, form of protest. Throughout history, peaceful protest have had a positive impact on free society. Peaceful protest have had the biggest impact during the Civil Rights Movement. During this time, many people have led non-violent protest for their rights, including well known African-American Activist, Martin Luther King Jr.. He was most famously known for his speech, I Have a Dream. In the 1950's, the Jim Crow Laws were passed. These laws allowed the dicrimination on people based on their race. Martin Luther King Jr. was a protester who fought against these laws. In his attempt to gain civil rights for blacks, he was arrested. He wrote a letter during his jail period called, the Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Even while King was being treated as a felon, he still continued his protest with the many people who read the letter. His attempt for justice was strongly successful towards the Civil Rights Act in 1964. King was assassinated four years later by James Earl Ray in 1968.

Peaceful resistance is necessary for social change. The founders of the United States believed in this idea when writing the Declaration of Independence. John Locke, an enlightenment thinker who our founding fathers took ideas from, came up with the idea of the social contract. This is the agreement that a government and its people have and when citizens feel their government is wronging them then they have the right to revolt. Civil disobedience is a form of expressing the social contract and the consent of the governed. Why is it wrong to peacefully show the government why "we the people" are upset with it?

Civil disobedience is the refusal of something in a friendly manner. Politically, America is in a rough situation. America as a whole is slowly separating as a nation. For instance, African-Americans believe they are experiencing prejudice from “white” people. In Baton Rouge, Louisiana there a revolt organized by the infamous “Black Lives Matter” organization. This Civil disobedient revolt quickly turned violent when African Americans began shooting leaving three fatalities. If this is how they get America’s attention, what’s next? Another example, is females wishing for equal pay wages. As the female community is being united it is separating us from males leaving their salaries questioned. This makes males have hatred toward females. America

I consider civil disobedience to be an easily-ignored pillar upon which our democracy was founded. In fact we are only established as a nation now because our founding fathers engaged in civil disobedience themselves. We were in a “social contract” of sorts with Great Britain and when we felt that they had not upheld their part of the contract (they did not allow us to create courts to maintain order, or to create a navy to defend ourselves, or to sustain our economy due to an inability to trade with any other countries), Thomas Jefferson concluded that it was our not only our right, but also our duty to break away. And it was Thomas Jefferson that combined all of the works of the great thinkers before him such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke

“ Live your beliefs and you can turn the world around.” (Brainy). Civil disobedience is breaking a law for a better reason (Suber). The purpose of civil disobedience is to change a law, or act of the government. Henry David Thoreau involvement in civil disobedience was due to personal influence, he chose to participate in civil disobedience to protest slavery and the Mexican-American war, and he did achieve success using this controversial method for standing up for what he strongly believes is right .

Disobedience, it is our inner braveness that stands up for our battles. Disobedience, it is what shapes our society and how we are as people. All it takes is a brave man to let his thoughts out and into our complex world. Are we going to tolerate being treated as slaves? Are we going to let people create our own destiny to our future? If anything, we need to rebel for our freedom of being peasants. Maybe in the future, our spec of braveness can be merged to a big bang of freedom and justice. The American Revolution, the Civil War, women’s rights are many of the acts of disobedience that led to a change in our way of life.

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.

slaves and were proud activists of racial equality. Rosa was brought up to be an activist of racial

Civil disobedience is an idea that Henry Thoreau wrote about in the 1800's, which later inspired political activists to lead nonviolent protests that effected change in their government. In my research during this assignment, I read that people influenced by Thoreau's writings included philosopher Martin Buber, Mohandas Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr. In reading "A Letter from Burmingham Jail," by Dr. King, alongside Thoreau's "Resistance to Civil Government," interesting comparisons and conclusions can be made on the subject of civil disobedience.

This is a great question; our time is going through a modern revolution as things are changing standards of life must evolve as well for all. I feel that the civil disobedience that is going on today is very sad in my opinion, during our time there should not be any type of difference that people are treated based on their skin color. Our era is having a time of public strife; and I suppose the civil disobedience is needed because of the police on African American life; often time’s people of color arrest ends with violence as it seems in the media. Everyday we hear of something very sad happening to someone there are now protest for people of color.

Civil disobedience is an act or exercise that is employed so that change through direct or indirect action is taken in order to seize the attention of immoral objective found within a situation. The African Americans living in Chicago used this by exhibiting the civil movements through their visual art and music. The time period in which their art influences took place was during the Harlem Renaissance of 1920’s through 1930’s.