The nonviolence philosophy was introduced into the civil rights movement by activst Dr. Martin Luther King; however, he adopted his philosophy from Indian Independence Activist Mahatma Ghandi. King studied Gandi's approach and applied his beliefs in America's struggle for equal rights. The application of this philosophy took more strength than violence, and King hoped would catch the attention of society to the blatant discrimination of African-Americans.
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Dr. Martin Luther King
(1929-1968)
Biographical
sketch
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The Southern Christian Leadership Conference was created in 1957 by Dr. Martin Luther King as a forum for people to learn how to use non-violence to gain equal rights . It provided an avenue for equal rights by organizing and demostrating with non-violent protests. The youth organized the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (called "snic") which helped protest for equality; however, the group became fustrated by the lack of progress. SNCC tactics were more militant and extreme. Members laters helped found and joined the Black Panthers.
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One of the most famous non-violent protest was the Montgomery
Bus Boycott of 1955-1956 that erupted from the arrest of Alabama, NAACP
secretary Rosa Parks. For approximately one year supporters did not
ride public transportation. If it took one year to get results, what
does this say about their political power in this time period? It was not until 1960 that the Supreme Court decided to integrate public transportation and facitlities.
Boynton v. Virginia declared segregation in public transportation and facilities |
