Richard Hamlet
Project report
MACS390, “Media, war and peace,” autumn session, 2012
Media and Cultural Studies, University of Wollongong
The project report had two components. For details of the assignment see
http://www.bmartin.cc/classes/MACS390_12outline.pdf
1. An information pack, starting on the next slide.
2. A fictional dialogue about carrying out the project, available as a separate file.
This document can be accessed via http://www.bmartin.cc/classes/mwp_tops.html.
Student Number: 3870789
Tutor: Ian Miles
Context
 During the mid 20th Century,
the USA saw a massive sociopolitical upheaval following a
wave of protests known as the
Civil Rights Movement.
Context (cont.)
 The lunch counter sit-ins at Greensboro inspired this wave
of protests through the black community across the cities
of the USA [1].
 The student sit-ins of the 1960s transformed the struggle
of civil rights into a mass movement, with nonviolent
action forming the central strategy [2].
What is a Sit-in?
 A sit-in is one of many forms of nonviolent action using the
body of the person as a tool of obstruction, in turn
generating attention.
What is a Sit-in? (cont.)
 To expand, “a sit-in is usually thought of as an organized
demonstration of some sort, usually relating to some aspect of
civil rights or to a peace effort in which protest is being made”
[3].
 The concept of the sit-in took on greater meaning through the
lunch counter sit-ins by performing the action the protest is
about and generating a greater appeal as a result [4]. The
protest used the act of sitting in order to challenge the issue of
sitting arrangement by race.
Theory: Nonviolent Action
 Nonviolent action is described as “a strategy for bringing
about social or political change and is largely conducted
by civilian-based groups with a sophisticated set of
tactics” [5].
 Those who use nonviolent action are not avoiding conflict,
but fighting against the issue with weapons that are
nonconventional and nonviolent [6].
 The Nashville sit-ins are a prime example of this,
addressing the issue through nonviolent means by
civilians.
Why the Nashville Sit-ins?
 The Nashville sit-ins comprised of students sitting at white-only lunch
counters in protest of racial segregation and racism.
 The sit-in movement became a cornerstone of the activism produced
through the Civil Rights Movement [7].
 The Nashville sit-ins were well structured and media formed an important
tool to their operations.
Leading Up to the Sit-ins
 Students participated in
workshops on nonviolence
prior to the protests,
providing crucial training for
maintaining nonviolent
principles.
 They also conducted test sitins in November of 1959,
generating valuable
experience.
Leading Up to the Sit-ins (cont.)
 The Nashville Christian Leadership Council held the
workshops during spring of 1959 to gauge issues of
race segregation and racism to decide on how to work
toward change, with a majority agreement to
desegregate downtown Nashville starting with
restaurants [8].
Starting the Nashville Sit-ins
 The Nashville sit-ins began on the 13th of February 1960 and
concluded on the 10th of May that same year.
 Reverend Douglas Moore’s phone call to Reverend James
Lawson in response to the Greensboro sit-ins spurred the
Nashville sit-in plans to begin [9].
 Effective mobilisation of the students can be attributed to the
close proximity and participation of Fisk University,
Tennessee State College, American Baptist Theological
Seminary, and Meharry Medical School [10]. Location
helped to counter a lack of effective means for
communications.
Important Participants
 Everyday people formed the body of the
movement.
 Reverend James Lawson helped run the
nonviolent action workshops and headed
the movement. He’s described as “an expert
tactician of nonviolent protest” [11].
 The participants of the sit-ins. Students
were ideal, given their lack of
responsibilities and conceptions of what is
possible [12].
Important Participants (cont.)
 Institutions were also important.
 Churches became a hub for activity. They provided
the organisational resources necessary to effective
participation [13].
 The media, both as an effective means of spreading
information and raising awareness.
Media as an Inspiration
 Research into the Civil
Rights Movement
shows that “Protestors
recalled first learning
about sit-ins in other
cities from newspaper,
radio, or television”
[14], demonstrating the
influence of media in
protestor motivation.
Media as an Inspiration (cont.)
 Furthermore, analysis of the movement shows that
“protest tended to follow the newspaper circulation
network” [15].
 Yet despite this efficacy of the media to motivate it
was not intentional, deriving from knowledge of the
protests [16]. The broadcast media was manipulated
by protestors through providing nothing negative to
show.
Media as a Framer
 Nashville students saw media as an
ally for gaining support through its
peaceful portrayal of the protestors
[17].
 Sympathy for the cause did not
generate from kindness shown by
white-dominated media, but through
the typical structure of good versus
bad [18]. The students’ use of
nonviolent action portrayed them as
quiescent, peaceful citizens, giving
them the moral upper hand through
the image of the victim.
Negotiation
 The Nashville sit-ins provided the foundation for change,
but it was negotiation that achieved it.
 Hence nonviolent action and negotiation can be seen as
having synergistic properties, more powerfully employed
together than individually [19].
 Negotiation can be seen as embodying the principles of
nonviolent action, as it “offers parties the opportunity to
have a constructive influence on counterparts by using a
strategic and sophisticated set of communication tools”
[20].
Climax of the Nashville Sit-ins
 It’s stated that “The turning point came on April 19,
when the home of the students' attorney, Z. Alexander
Looby, was bombed. Later that day, thousands of
people, black and white, marched in silence to City
Hall” [21].
 The event heightened the perceivable injustice
covered by the media, further empowering the cause
for racial equality.
Results of the Nashville Sit-ins
 Protestor commitment to
nonviolent action led authorities to
negotiate, in turn leading to the
abolition of racial segregation at
lunch counters.
 Hence through efficient
organisation and stoicism, the
Nashville sit-ins successfully
appeals to the notion that “the
principle of nonviolent action is to
create a crisis of the kind that
brings the opponent to
negotiations” [22].
Why are the Nashville Sit-ins Important?
 Sumner suggests four reasons for why the Nashville sit-ins are
important which includes its success, concluding two months
prior to the events in Greensboro; structurally, being one of the
best organised and most disciplined movements; created many
future nonviolence leaders; and the successful achievement of
their goals through nonviolent action [23].
 All four can be attributed to successful use of nonviolent
action, with the quicker ending and achievement of goals
attributed to negotiation.
Why are the Nashville Sit-ins Important (cont.)
 The Nashville sit-ins are a prime example of effective
use of nonviolent action and the sit-in to achieve
change. The extent of its potential can be examined in
the statement that “Negotiation and nonviolent action
are arguably the two best methods humanity has
developed for engaging with conflict” [24].
Why Was the Media Important?
 Media was utilised effectively by students to their
advantage, creating a positive image while helping to
generate greater support and awareness.
 With the rapid development of social media and the greater
control that media users have in modern society, it provides
a potential foundation for advancement of the concept of the
sit-in and the theory of nonviolent action.
References:
 Andrews, K.T. & Biggs, M. 2006, ‘The Dynamics of Protest Diffusion: Movement
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Organizations, Social Networks, and News Media in the 1960 Sit-Ins’, American
Sociological Review, Vol. 71, No. 5, pp. 752-777 (online JSTOR).
Calhoun-Brown, A. 2000, ‘Upon This Rock: The Black Church, Nonviolence, and the
Civil Rights Movement’, PS: Political Science and Politics, Vol. 33, No. 2, pp. 168-174
(online JSTOR).
Copeland, L. 2010, ‘Sit-ins reignited the civil rights movement 50 years ago’, USA
Today, 1 February, viewed 5 June 2012, http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-0201-sit-ins-civil-rights_N.htm
Deats, R. 1999, ‘Fighting Prejudice through Creative Nonviolence: An Interview with
Jim Lawson’, Fellowship, Vol. 65, No. 11-12, p.7 (online ProQuest Central).
Finnegan, A.C. & Hackley, S.G. 2008, ‘Negotiation and Nonviolent Action: Interacting in
the World of Conflict’, Negotiation Journal, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 7-24 (online Wiley
Online Library).
Foster, S.L. 2003, ‘Choreographies of Protest’, Theatre Journal, Vol. 55, No. 3, pp. 395412 (online JSTOR).
 Harder, K.B. 1968, ‘Coinages of the Type of “Sit-In”’, American Speech,
Vol. 43, No. 1, pp. 58-64 (online JSTOR).
 Morris, A. 1981, ‘Black Southern Student Sit-in Movement: An Analysis of
Internal Organization’, American Sociological Review, Vol. 46, No. 6, pp.
744-767 (online JSTOR).
 Sumner, D.E. 1995, ‘Nashville, nonviolence, and the newspapers: The
convergence of social goals with news values’, Howard Journal of
Communications, Vol. 6, No 1-2, pp. 102-113 (online Taylor & Francis
Online).
 Wirmark, B. 1974, ‘Nonviolent Methods and the American Civil Rights
Movement 1955-1965’, Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 115132 (online JSTOR).
Images sourced from:
 Image One: http://www.nashvilleretrospect.com/2010_02.png
 Image Two: http://www.crmvet.org/crmpics/williams/60wms-students.jpg
 Image Three: http://www.sitemason.com/files/i3n2cE/nashv2.jpg
 Image Four:
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http://nashvillecitypaper.com/files/citypaper/imagecache/story_center/images/N
ashville-sit-ins.jpg
Image Five: http://www.crmvet.org/crmpics/60_nashville_nv.jpg
Image Six:
http://cdn.dipity.com/uploads/events/271037715eb7ed2548b188c0b2fd27a1_1
M.png
Image Seven: http://www.crmvet.org/crmpics/nashv14a.jpg
Image Eight: http://www.crmvet.org/crmpics/jail2b.jpg
Image Nine: http://www.crmvet.org/crmpics/nashv13.jpg