THE EFFECTIVE STRATEGY OF PEACEFUL PROTEST
By Jasper
The strategy of remaining peaceful in protest during the Civil rights movement was challenging but effective. Marchers faced verbal, emotional, and physical abuse during the Civil Rights movement. During the march from Selma to Montgomery, “The Negro leaders worked through the crowd urging calm and nonviolence” (Reed, 1965). This caused mayhem because the marchers were powerless against the tear gas and batons used by the state troopers:
The troopers stood shoulder to shoulder in a line across both sides of the divided four-lane highway. They put on gas masks and held their nightsticks ready for as the Negroes approached, marching two abreast, slowly and silently. (Reed, 1965)
As the demonstrators marched in silence they brought attention to their movement with the purpose of coming together to stand up for their civil rights. They overcame abuse by uniting and remaining calm and peaceful. When I was in the south visiting the Center for Civil and Human Rights, I was able to do a simulation of the sit-ins. I thought to myself how hard it must have been to endure verbal and physical abuse and still remain calm and peaceful. Elizabeth Ann Eckford, who was part of the Little Rock Nine, also faced abuse when surrounded by a white mob when walking to and from school. She was taunted, yelled at, and threatened for attending an all-white school. When coming to the school she was expecting opportunities and to be able to participate in activities. Elizabeth Ann Eckford knew her rights and continued to show up for school every day peacefully earning her education.