Blog #4

In this blog, I will be discussing the different tactics that African Americans came up with and used during the civil rights movement. Most people would say that they were not only fighting for their civil rights, but human rights as well. They were treated with such cruelty and brutality it was practically inhumane. The pictures, postcards, videos, and stories that we’ve heard and seen have been sickening that one person could have so much hatred for the other, just because of skin color. The abuse that women went through, sexual and otherwise is horrifying beyond measures. Not only that but the fact that this not only happened, but that no whites ever had to pay for their actions is terrifying. To have to experience rape is one thing I could never even imagine, but to know that your rapist or the killer of someone in your family is in authority running around and you could see him at any time is heart wrenching. No wonder the blacks came up with ways to protect themselves and the ones they loved. There was nothing else they could do, nothing else to turn to or that’s what so many thought.
This is the reason for Malcolm X’s speeches and his way of thinking. He was a Black Nationalist who gave very influential speeches to thousands of people. He spoke of Black Liberation. He wanted freedom for his people now, not later. Him along with many others were sick of waiting for the whites to come around and give them what they have been asking for, their civil rights. Malcolm X spoke of either the ballot or the bullet. The ballot stood for freedom and all of their human rights. The bullet on the other hand stood for action. They wanted one or the other. Malcolm believed that it was time for blacks to defend themselves against all of these horrific acts and I think I would agree. Many of these black men had wives and children they needed to protect while all of society was against them. It was not as if they would take the rifles and go out and look for whites to hunt down and kill. I’m sure this did happen in some cases, but that was not the point that Malcolm was trying to make.
Stokely Carmichael on the other hand was kind of stuck in the middle of both the violent and non-violent sides. At first he went along with many others such as Martin Luther King Jr. and was even recognized for the number of times in which he was arrested for participating in non-violent demonstrations. However the frustration of changes not being made and having to take beating after beating could get to anyone. Stokely strongly believed in Black Power and sought out not only to promote black human rights and integration, but even further than that. He realized that the problem came from something even deeper. Stokely realized that black poverty and lack of education fed into the problem of the blacks inability to rise up and take control. He proposed that the blacks should go as far as forming their own independent party so that they can become strong vote together and finally get some black people into powerful positions. In those positions the blacks can begin to make the changes needed for the entire society to fix these deep problems. Stokley also believed that this was a black only problem and while its great that they have some white support, they did not want it or need it. They needed blacks to make the change and not whites for them. Stokely did influence such things, such as the Black Panther Party, that was a Black Militant organization created by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale.
On the complete other side of the civil rights movement, were those that promoted nonviolence. This is something I believe is completely noble, however I don’t know if I would have the strength that those people did, not to fight back after all of the tragedy they have faced. This movement was led by none other than Martin Luther King Jr. He even had a set plan for every time they wanted to face society’s unfairness and cruelty. They took three necessary steps, which included, collecting facts to determine if there was injustice, try to negotiate, and then self purification, which consisted of workshops designed to teach people how not to fight back when faced with violence. All of these steps were taken before they ever began a public nonviolent demonstration that they knew would cause an uproar. Doctor King was very open to the support of everyone and even welcomed the whites to come fight for their cause. This is probably one of the most noble and courageous things I have ever heard of, not many people would choose to walk into policemen holding bats or any other cruelty with no way to defend themselves. Do you really think you could be strong enough to do this yourself? Which side would you have taken, violent or non-violent?