Enriching Civil Rights

Civil disobedience has always been a topic of controversy. There are two different kinds of ways of looking at civil disobedience. One way of looking at this theory is that it is righteous and beneficial if done under the morally right intensions and needed circumstances ,while the other being that it totally unacceptable behavior that should be greatly punished. The term civil disobedience means “refusal to obey civil laws in an effort to induce change in governmental policy or legislation, characterized by nonviolent means.” Henry David Thoreau was writer who implemented and made the theory famous. He gave this kind of practice the name of “civil disobedience" . Civil disobedience is the most rational form of advocating for change. Thoreau was an American essayist, poet, and practical philosopher.  His actions and famous Essay; “Resistance to Civil Government” influenced many important leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. who each took up this idea and preached it with their own theories oncivil disobedience.

            Thoreau was sent to jail upon his refusal of paying taxes for the U.S war with Mexico. He refused to pay this tax to the state because he believed that the laws upholding slavery and supporting the Mexican War were unjust and therefore , he chose to spend a night in jail rather than submit to the unjust laws and paying the tax. His purpose for refusing to pay the tax was to show the government that he was not willing to comply with something he didn’t have a say in and did not believe in. His stay in jail consisted of merely a night because someone paid his taxes for him so that he could be free. While in jail he wrote his e his most powerful and influential political essay called; “Resistance to Civil Government.”  In his essay he basically talks about the importance of standing up and doing what is right. One of his quotes says; “This American government –what is it but a tradition, though a recent one, endeavoring to transmit itself unimpaired to posterity? But each instant losing its integrity?” This is true about the corrupted politics and iniquitous laws that the American people have faced with by the government. This can be seen with the treatment that the African Americans for so long received from the white Americans.

Even after the emancipation of slaves in 1863, African Americans faced themselves with  racist, iniquitous, and unjust laws and treatments in the Unites States. Following the civil war a racist, anti-Semitic movement with a commitment to extreme violence to achieve its goals of racial segregation and white supremacy formed, calling themselves the Ku Klux Klan. This group was very savage and killed many African Americans from pure hate. One of the Ku Klux Klan’s most known brutal acts was the bombing of a black church in Alabama that resulted in the deaths of four young girls. There is a quote by Patrick Henry that says;” Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation?” Martin Luther King was the kind of person that Patrick Henry urged for the people to be. He did not stand doing nothing when he saw his people getting oppressed by the white supremacist and the unjust laws, instead he began to advocate civil rights and civil disobedience. He became an admirable leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He had many followers and his efforts of improving the life treatment for the blacks eventually came to be successful , but it was not an easy processes.

Martin Luther King Jr. was an admirable leader in his community and believed that civil disobedience was the way to change the laws and feeling that where set against the colored people from the South . Like Gandhi, Martin Luther King believed that only way to get his point across was by taking action and that the action had to be taken in form of non-violent protest and without use of any physical force. King justified his act of civil disobedience by show that there was a lot of hatred towards the blacks by the country police and court systems. Even though the protest of the civil rights movement were mean to be non- violent many white Americans responded with rage and acts of violence toward the blacks. Many black activist were killed during these protest by police officers and the racist white American civilians.

Segregation among blacks and white existed for a long time. Separate but equal was a legal doctrine in United States constitutional law that justified and permitted racial segregation, as long as it was equal. The concept of separate but equal was never really followed and the white always had it better than blacks, for example better school, and nicer public restrooms. It was not until 1954 that the Supreme Court unanimously held that the racial segregation of children in public schools violated the  Fourteenth Amendment, this was known as the Brown v. Board of Education case. The verdict of the case changed the history of the United Sates forever. Although segregation was illegal in schools there was still much fear of desegregating and Integrating within color.

Minijean Brown is one of the most admired women for her bravery in the history of the Unites States. She was one of nine African American students who broke the color barrier at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. On September 25, 1957, she and eight other African American students were determine to desegregated Little Rock Central High School, but were faced with an angry mob awaiting for them at the entrance of the school. The angry white mob was trying to prevent the student from entering the school, they threw rocks, spit and, attacked the black students with racist comments.  Minijean’s strong will to obtain an education gave her the strength to cope with the iniquitous treatments that she faced at school from the white students. This account was Minnijean’s first step on the path of social and political activism. She went onto fight for minority rights and environmental justice.

            The Civil rights movement began to obtain more advocates in the 1960s. One of the biggest activist groups were the so called “Freedom Riders.” The Freedom Riders were a group of African American and white civil rights activists who challenged segregation and rode integrated buses together into the segregated southern United States in 1961. These civil rights activist groups encountered tremendous violence from white protestors along the road, but also drew international attention to their cause. Their voice was finally heard when in September of 1961, the Interstate Commerce Commission issued regulations prohibiting segregation in bus and train stations.

            The Selma to Montgomery Marches and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is another example of how hard work and persistence will pay off as long as you are doing it correctly and with the right intentions. During these marches black activist and some rare whites marched together to show their advocate and concern for the voting rights of Selma’s African American voters. One of these marches came to be known as “Bloody Sunday” because of its violence and many injuries that day. Officers and white civilians reacted very angry to these kind of marches and attacked them with billy clubs and tear gas driving them back into Selma. These movements gained much media and worldwide attention and led to President Lyndon Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 abolished literacy tests and poll taxes designed to disenfranchise African American voters. The main purpose for this act was to struck down any States that were using regulations, laws, or tests to deny the right to vote. It had to be ensure that the right of all citizens to vote, including the right to register to vote is preserved and protected as guaranteed by the Constitution.

            All the different accounts that have been examined were successful due to the persistence and non violent efforts from the African Americans and their white advocate supporters. The civil rights activists were able to maintain strong even when faced with brutality from officers and civilians.  Dr. King and others made civil disobedience a foundation of the Civil Rights Movement. The Jim Crow laws were defined through, violating laws and court orders prohibiting marches and boycotts, and accepting jail sentences because they were not afraid to show the unjust being done and believed in what they were doing. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested and sent to jail because he and others were protesting the treatment of blacks in Birmingham. Like Thoreau, King used his stay in jail to write about Civil Disobedience. In his letter from Birmingham jail he explain the moral arguments of civil disobedience and distinguishes between just and unjust laws. In his Letter from Birmingham Jail, King explains the moral arguments for civil disobedience and distinguishes between the just and unjust laws.

            In today’s times we still see movements that are driven by civil disobedience. There’s a difference between the present Civil Disobedience acts and the ones from back then, one being that people have gotten used to Civil disobedience acts and it comes at no surprise when we see one. When Thoreau first came up with this theory and idea people were very judgmental and saw it as treason to go against anything the government asked for. The way we present a civil disobedience act has also changed, thing like, technology have helped us be able spread these ideas more efficiently. Regardless of the changes in our times, the idea of Civil disobedience will always be the same, and it will always guide people for making a difference in what they believe is right.