7.02 Peace or Power?
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks was told to get up from her seat on the bus, but she was tired and so refused to give up her seat for white passengers. She was arrested. The NAACP fought charges, saying it was unconstitutional, and organized the bus boycott. So Rosa Parks initiated the situation, and the NAACP led the boycott. This event was non-violent because African Americans didn't react aggressively, but rather passively for 381 days by taking other ways of transportation, thus having a significant impact. It was a success, for in the end, the Supreme Court eliminated the Montgomery bus law.
Freedom Rides
The first Freedom Ride left Washington, D.C. with thirteen riders on the Greyhound heading to New Orleans. They sat in outlawed positions, defying unenforced laws. Most participants were members of CORE and SNCC. Arrest and violence were aimed at Freedom Riders. JFK sent federal Marshalls to restore order in Alabama and because of the violence, requested a cooling off period. The Greyhound bus drivers almost stopped for good, but the Kennedy Administration told them to resume since the Freedom Riders would like to finish what they started. In Alabama and Mississippi, the riders were supposed to be safe during their travels, so they were arrested. After they were arrested, they weren't safe because they were abused in captivity. Despite this, 450 Freedom Riders participated throughout the summer since the first riders in May and while jailed, sang songs of freedom. This event is non-violent because the Freedom Riders were determined in taking part of this protest and accepted their arrests, including lifting up their hopes in prison. The Freedom Ride was a success because President John F. Kennedy enforced laws ending segregation, and segregation signs were gone.
March on Washington
On August 28, 1963, 200,000 people marched to the capital of America singing songs of freedom, with one of the most famous songs being "We Shall Overcome", and carried signs. The March ended at the Lincoln Memorial. Leaders of the March on Washington were Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Roy Wilkins, A. Philip Randolph, and Whitney M. Young. MLK gave the most famous speech of the March, the "I Had a Dream" speech. This event was non-violent because the March was not an attack; it was an exercise of their freedom of speech. The March on Washington was a success because President Kennedy gave hope towards it, and after MLK's assassination, his dream came true.
I think that non-violent protests were more effective, and more well-known than violent protests. Schools teach the non-violent side more, and it is exemplary in schools because school authorities prefer reporting bullying instead of reacting physically. I think that non-violent protests were effective because violence in response to violence would bring more violence and the rejection of white Americans and African Americans' peaceful coexistence would be indifferent to segregation. I think, though, that both kinds of protests were enough to initiate change, whether peaceful or threatening, if persistent.
7.03 Minority Rights
Betty Friedan wanted to understand why many women her age were discontent despite material comfort and family. But the mainstream did not acknowledge that women in the 1950s had any reason to be unhappy, unless they had ambitions outside the home, so... Friedan surveyed many young wives and mothers and wrote The Feminine Mystique, which helped bring attention to the issue of women's lack of opportunity and rights.
Women wanted to be equal to men in almost all areas of life, but back in those days, women were thought to be inferior to men in talent and pay, so there was a 1963 act established for women to earn an equal pay to men for performing the same tasks, Title IX for all genders to take opportunity of government-funded sports activities, employment despite gender differences, and Billie Jean won the tennis tournament.
Native Americans wanted to have better living conditions, but the U.S. government throughout history took their lands, broke their treaties, forced them to travel to reservations, and tried to Americanize them, so NCAI fished at an abandoned prison island since Abe Lincoln signed a treaty that any government abandoned places may be reclaimed by Native Americans and AIM had armed Native Americans gathering at Sioux, where there was a massacre in 1890.
Hispanic Americans wanted better salaries and percentages of employment since their arrival to the American Southwest, but since there were many illegal immigrants integrating with the legal immigrants despite efforts of the government to prevent it, both kinds of immigrants were treated similarly, so Cesar Chavez, along with other Hispanic Americans, boycotted grapes in the region, and other citizens throughout Americans also boycotted grapes to support the cause.
Women established the National Organization for Women and as of 2012, has about half a million members. Betty Friedan wrote The Feminine Mystique since she couldn't publish her article on the research and surveys of her former peers, alumni from Smith College, regarding their happiness as homemakers. The Women's Rights Movement were similar to the other groups that demanded change in that there are usually two kinds of groups with different perspectives. Think Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. versus Malcolm X and the Black Panther Party. ERA versus STOP ERA. NCAI versus AIM. Non-violent protests were mutual in all of these groups: African Americans, women, Native Americans, and Hispanic Americans.
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