On this date in history…
May 9th
• 1914
• 1920
Anna Jarvis’ push for Mother’s Day to be recognized as a
national holiday are successful when Woodrow Wilson signs it
into law.
Anna Jarvis hates that Mother’s Day has become too
commercialized (Because, guess what? PEOPLE ARE GREEDY)
and begins efforts to get its status as a national holiday
revoked.
Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X
and Violent vs. Nonviolent Struggle
Martin Luther King Jr.
• King believed in a non-violent approach to changing American culture
• His belief was rooted in the idea that was ‘‘fascinated by the idea of
refusing to cooperate with an evil system’’
• 6 core principles guided his practice of nonviolence:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
One can resist evil without resorting to violence
Nonviolence seeks to win the ‘‘friendship and understanding’’ of the opponent,
not to humiliate him
Evil itself, not the people committing evil acts, should be opposed
Those committed to nonviolence must be willing to suffer without retaliation as
suffering itself can be redemptive
Nonviolent resistance avoids ‘‘external physical violence’’ and ‘‘internal violence of
spirit’’ as well: ‘‘The nonviolent resister not only refuses to shoot his opponent but
he also refuses to hate him”
The nonviolent resister must have a ‘‘deep faith in the future,’’ stemming from the
conviction that ‘‘the universe is on the side of justice’’
Martin Luther King Jr.
• 6 core principles guided his practice of nonviolence:
1. One can resist evil without resorting to violence
2. Nonviolence seeks to win the “friendship and understanding” of the
opponent, not to humiliate him
3. Evil itself, not the people committing evil acts, should be opposed
4. Those committed to nonviolence must be willing to suffer without
retaliation as suffering itself can be redemptive
5. Nonviolent resistance avoids “external physical violence” and “internal
violence of spirit” as well: “The nonviolent resister not only refuses to
shoot his opponent but he also refuses to hate him”
6. The nonviolent resister must have a “deep faith in the future,” stemming
from the conviction that “the universe is on the side of justice”
Martin Luther King Jr.
• Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955
• Sparked by Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat, King leads a 381 day boycott of
the Montgomery, Alabama public busses
• During this time, King’s house is firebombed
• 300 angry black people gathered at his house demanding action, to which King told them
“We cannot solve this problem through retaliatory violence. We must meet violence with
nonviolence.”
• King and others are convicted of conspiring to interfere with a business
• In 1956, the Supreme Court rules in Browder v. Gayle that Montgomery’s
segregation of the buses is unconstitutional
• In the aftermath, King’s home is shot at, buses are shot at, one black man is
lynched by KKK for dating a white woman, and several churches are bombed
• Montgomery leaders pass a 1957 law that makes it "unlawful for white and colored
persons to play together, or, in company with each other . . . in any game of cards,
dice, dominoes, checkers, pool, billiards, softball, basketball, baseball, football, golf,
track, and at swimming pools, beaches, lakes or ponds or any other game or games
or athletic contests, either indoors or outdoors."
Martin Luther King Jr.
• Albany movement, 1961
•
•
•
•
•
Started by local activists
King agrees to come and advice them, and ends up getting arrested
After a year of activism with little change, the movement fizzles out
The defeat is magnified in the national media
From this point on, King seeks to focus solely on activism planned by himself
and his partners in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Martin Luther King Jr.
• Birmingham movement, 1963
• King and the SCLC plan to call national attention to the segregation laws in
Birmingham, Alabama by focusing on desegregating public stores, schools
and city employment
• They organize sit-ins, boycotts, rallies, and protest marches
• Bull Connor, the Commissioner of Public Safety and vehement racist, orders
the use of police dogs and fire hoses to disperse protestors
• The resulting images of the police tactics in Birmingham draw national, and
international, attention and create sympathy for the Civil Rights Movement
• Eventually, the City’s administrators agree to some changes to their
segregation laws
• More than anything, the Birmingham movement solidifies King’s and the
SCLC’s status as national players in the Civil Rights Movement
• President Kennedy begins a push for what would become the Civil Rights Act
of 1964
Martin Luther King Jr.
• March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom , 1963
• King, Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young, A. Philip Randolph, John Lewis and James
L. Farmer Jr. organize a mass rally and march in Washington D.C.
• Hoping to unite their respective activist groups, they plan a massive show of
force
• Approximately 200,000 to 300,000 supporters arrive and listen to speeches
on the National Mall
• King’s “I Have A Dream” speech is delivered
Martin Luther King Jr.
• Selma to Montgomery marches , 1965
• Protestors attempted 3 times to march from Selma to Montgomery,
Alabama to draw attention to lack of voting rights for blacks
• The first march was turned away by police with clubs and tear gas
• The second ended the same way
• The third march was successful with the protection of 2,000 U.S. Army soldiers and
1,900 members of the National Guard under Federal command
• Again the images of nonviolent protestors being beaten by police make
waves in the national media
• The concept that the South was trying to protect its cultural heritages has
now changed to that of obvious discrimination against non-whites
Malcolm X
• Born Malcolm Little
• His father, Earl Little, was a Baptist lay speaker who advocated black pride
• Following his father’s suspicious death, Malcom X grew increasingly angry
towards whites
• After being told by a junior high school teacher that Malcolm’s desire to
be a lawyer was ”no realistic goal for a nigger,” he drops out of school
• In prison for robberies, he converts to Islam and begins following the
Nation of Islam, whose beliefs espoused black self-reliance and a rejection
of white domination at all costs
• He also changes his name to Malcolm X, where “’X’ replaced the white
slavemaster name of 'Little' which some blue-eyed devil named Little had
imposed upon my paternal forebears”
Malcolm X
• Contrary to MLK’s doctrine of nonviolence and love of your
oppressors, Malcolm X preached several distinctly different beliefs:
1.
2.
3.
4.
That black people are the original people of the world
That white people are "devils"
That blacks are superior to whites, and
That the demise of the white race is imminent
• He believed that African Americans should be completely separated
from Whites and wanted them to return to Africa, while in the mean
time a separate country should be created for blacks in America
• Contrary to the Civil Rights movement’s push for nonviolent
resistance, Malcolm X advocated that black should defend
themselves by any means necessary
• Many, tired from being told to wait for equality, embraced his views
Malcolm X
• After breaking with the Nation of Islam over conflicting beliefs with
its founder, Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X forms his own group
called Muslim Mosque Inc.
• In April, 1964, he gives his most famous speech “The Ballot or the
Bullet” in which he instructed blacks to use their right to vote, but
that they should take up arms against the government if need be
• In the speech, he advocated that African Americans use the ballot as their
voice for change
• At the same time, he cautioned that they must be prepared to meet
violence with violence
• “Any time you know you’re within the law, within your legal rights, within
your moral rights, in accord with justice, then die for what you believe in.
But don’t die alone. Let your dying be reciprocal. This is what is meant by
equality.”
Malcolm X
• After breaking with the Nation of Islam over conflicting beliefs with
its founder, Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X forms his own group
called Muslim Mosque Inc.
• In April, 1964, he gives his most famous speech “The Ballot or the
Bullet” in which he instructed blacks to use their right to vote, but
that they should take up arms against the government if need be
• In the speech, he advocated that African Americans use the ballot as their
voice for change
• At the same time, he cautioned that they must be prepared to meet
violence with violence
• “Any time you know you’re within the law, within your legal rights, within
your moral rights, in accord with justice, then die for what you believe in.
But don’t die alone. Let your dying be reciprocal. This is what is meant by
equality.”
Violence vs. Nonviolence Homework
• Do you agree with MLK’s belief that nonviolence is the best route to
changing social norms?
• Do you agree with Malcolm X’s belief that violence is acceptable to
stand up for your moral rights?
• Why would it be possible to agree with both?
Violence vs. Nonviolence Extra Credit
• Watch these two speeches:
1. The Ballot or the Bullet - Malcolm X
2. I Have A Dream - Martin Luther King Jr.
• Write a paper (3-4 pages, double spaced 12 point Times New Roman
font) that discusses the key differences and similarities between the
messages both men relay to the listener
• Feel free to bring in outside information to support your argument, but
do not rely too heavily on quotes. Instead, focus on analyzing the
information and restating it in your own words