American Civil Rights Movement
The American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) refers to the reform movements in the United States aimed at abolishing racial discrimination of African Americans.
Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were black men who had a dream, but never lived to see it fulfilled. One was a man who spoke out to all humanity, but the world was not yet ready for his peaceful words. “I have a dream, a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed… that all men are created equal.” (Martin Luther King) The other, a man who spoke of a violent revolution, which would bring about radical change for the black race. “Anything you can think of that you want to change right now, the only way you can do it is with a ballot or a bullet. And if you’re not ready to get involved with either one of those, you are satisfied with the status quo. That means we’ll have to change you.” (Malcom X) While Martin Luther King promoted non-violence, civil rights, and the end to racial segregation, a man of the name of Malcom X dreamed of a separate nation.
Do you feel breaking the law is justifiable in some cases?
What type of laws do you feel justifiable to break? Give examples of past laws?
How would you break the law if you felt there was a need for change? Do you agree with how Martin Luther King wanted change or Malcolm X?
February 2nd, 2009 at 4:27 pm
If there were unfair or racist laws like there were in the 1900’s against the black Americans in the south, then you have to break the law to get your freedom of speech (but only under those circumstances).
Some laws that have been broken and I think are okay to break are the racist ones like “African-Americans can’t vote” or “African-Americans have to sit at the back of the bus or in the lowest car in the train.” These laws I think are very racist and not respectful. If you think about it, this was America 20-40 years ago in the southern states and places like that.
If I were African-American in the southern states 40 years ago, I would stand up for my rights and protest if I knew something was wrong. I think some African-Americans didn’t realize that there was something bad going on between the Whites and Blacks. I agree with Martin Luther King Jr. on how he wanted change with non-violence.
February 2nd, 2009 at 5:03 pm
I believe that people should do what their hearts tell them to do, but staying as close to the book as possible. Laws were made in order to keep people safe and to keep the economy in the best shape possible. Malcolm X broke the laws by killing the White people and not paying attention to the horror that he caused. Martin Luther King Jr. tried to persuade the people with his words not his power or guns. He didn’t want to fill the hearts of America with rage, fury and fear but to insure that the government didn’t make any more racist laws.
I feel that the laws you should break are the ones that keep you from leaving your house in fear because of the White people throwing sticks and stones at you just because you are Black. One of these laws was segregation when the police had to stand between the Blacks and Whites even at public places or events. Segregation kept people from mixing and making peace between everybody. Another law that is tempting to break was the African-American bus law. This law was so racist that if a White person came onto a bus and there were no open seats in the front, the person had the power to remove one of the Black people sitting in front to the back of the bus even when the Black person had been on the bus hours longer than the White person who just got on the bus.
If I lived during those times I would break the racist laws by protesting for my freedom as an American citizen and as a person of this country. I wouldn’t just let someone step all over my freedom and hopes. I believe that Martin Luther King Jr.’s way of persuasion was much better than Malcolm X’s because Martin Luther King Jr. only asked for the benefit of America. Malcolm X didn’t just ask for rights, he demanded it with a show of force.
February 2nd, 2009 at 5:04 pm
I think that it is only okay to disobey the law under certain circumstances. For example, in the 1950s/60s during segregation, I think it would be okay to break the law, but only some laws.
I think one law you could break is the water fountain rule. I’m talking about the one that Whites and Blacks had to drink from different ones. I would go and drink from the White fountain if I was Black.
I would protest. Even though I’d be so mad and want to kill someone, I wouldn’t want to commit homocide!
I agree with how Martin Luther King wanted change.
February 2nd, 2009 at 7:45 pm
I think breaking the law is only okay when the law that you are breaking is a law that is racist or racially skewed. For example, one law that I think was okay to break is the inter-racial marriage law. Otherwise, I don’t think any laws should be broken.
I think one law you could break is the law that keeps black people from drinking from white water fountains. This is because it is very racist. I would have a hard time breaking the law because I live my life according to what we are supposed to do, but in this case I would have to take a stand for what is pono, not for what is legal.
If I felt like people were being treated unfairly, I would take a stand especially because I hate when things are unfair. It bothers me now and it would have bothered me then. I don’t agree with proving a point with violence as much as I agree with proving a point with knowledge, passion, and masses of people coming together for a common purpose. I would rally to get the message across and have a non-violent yet powerful protest.
February 2nd, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Yes I think breaking the law in some cases is appropriate because other people judge you on your skin color. Give me a break! If I wanted to be judged on my skin color, I would ask other people to do that.
I think it’s okay to break the law when they were racist and stupid like the segregation of schools, no inter-racial marriage, and other pitiful laws including separated water fountains.
I think MLK is correct because if I kill a White man, I would get in even more trouble from the jury and the people of the court and on top of all that, I might get sentenced to death. So I think MLK’s way is correct.
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:44 pm
I think that it is justifiable to break some laws like the racist laws America had before.
Some laws that are justifiable to break are like you can’t drink from a water fountain that said whites only or that African-Americans can’t vote. I can’t believe that was only fifty years ago!
I would agree with MLK because he was for peaceful protest not like Malcolm X. Malcolm X wanted to achieved freedom by violence.
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:55 pm
I feel that breaking the law is justifiable if the law is really unfair, if it is an emergency, or you are fighting for something you believe in.
I think the law of segregation is a justifiable law to break because it didn’t allow everyone to be equal, and treated black people unfairly. Another law is the law against Hawaiian people that didn’t allow them to speak Hawaiian.
I would protest by doing things that were against that law. I would write letters to world leaders that we needed change. I agree with Martin Luther King and how he wanted change. Martin Luther King wanted change in a peaceful way but Malcolm X wanted change in a violent way.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Sometimes I think it is acceptable to break the law, but most of the time now, I don’t think so because there aren’t very many rules to break that are for something bad. But, back in the mid-1900s there were.
I think that the rule about being able to have Blacks drink from the junk water fountain and use the junkier bathroom doesn’t make sense.
I would have broken the fountain rule because why do Whites get to be treated better. Blacks have had things really bad for a long time. Even 200 years later they still weren’t treated equally.
The way Martin Luther King Jr. wanted change is the way I would go because if we use war as a solution then we are just going to be at the same level as the people that made them into slaves. Getting revenge and using war as an option does not solve anything.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:32 pm
I think breaking the law is ok in some cases because back when they had segregation, people could have broken the law so that the so-called “white” people could see the black person’s side of things. But that never happened because the white people had a different paradigm. Even though that was kind of weird that people judged people by their skin color. The black people fought against and broke the law to prove that they were right.
Some laws that I think that were justifiable to break back then were drinking from a white person’s water fountain because a black person’s water fountain was not as good. Plus, that law was kind of lame because is was about skin color. Also eating in different restaurants is kind of weird because don’t you get served the same food just because of your skin color. You have to go to a whole different restaurant to eat.
I would do what I felt was right. I would have gone to the white restaurant to eat and I would have drank from a white person’s water fountain. I would do whatever it took to prove that segregation was wrong.
I agree with the way that Martin Luther King Jr. wanted change because killing each other is a harsh way of settling something that you believed in. Martin Luther King’s way was right. It did not cause any harm to the white people (like in a harmful way, like guns, etc.). Even though they were just protesting for what they believed in, they got bad things done to them. Also, some white people agreed with Martin Luther King and joined in their marches. Revenge and hate does not mean you have to go to war to solve your problems. You can solve it in a peaceful way.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:36 pm
If something is going on like in the 1900’s, and all the white people are treating black people like animals, then I say yeah, it is okay to break the law. But only in those circumstances.
I think the laws that could or should be broken are the ones that say you can hurt a black person with few charges, or like laws that are connected to the Jena Six case. Also I think that the law that separated the blacks from the whites, like blacks and whites have different drinking fountains, bathroom and stores is unfair.
I would protest like hanging up signs and stuff, but mostly I think I would show force. I agree more with Malcolm X because if I were black, I would get so mad, I would just want to kill, kill, kill.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:56 pm
I think that it isn’t justifiable to break the law just to get revenge on someone who hurt you in any way but I think I would get mad if someone killed one of the best people in the world that was fighting for something big like racism. Remember what Martin L. King said, we need to fight peacefully. I would fight but I would do it peacefully like I would protest.
I only rule I would break is the law about fire works. I think arials and bottle rockets should be legal, but we should pop them only in a open field.
I wouldn’t even break the rules. I would just mind my own business. I wouldn’t want to be mahaoho (nosey). I agree with MLK(Martin Luther King) because I believe in peace not war.
February 3rd, 2009 at 4:43 pm
I don’t think that some laws are justifiable. If there weren’t any Whites, the Blacks would still have to go in the back. That was bad for the Blacks. The Whites had a different point of view. The Whites had no problem with that because they were dominant at that time.
I think the one law that we should be able to break is, hitting someone after they gang up on you because they are no better than you, so you should be able to hit back.
I would break the law in a respectful way because it shows how much you want to make the world peaceful. I agree with Martin Luther King because he was respectful and peaceful.
February 3rd, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Yes I feel that breaking the law is appropriate in some cases if the laws were racist or unfair. If someone told me to move because I was black, I would break the law and not move.
I think that segregation and separated water fountains are appropriate to break because they are stupid.
I think that M.L.K. is correct because if you do something violent to a white person, I would be lucky to spend 20-30 years in prison but a white person would never even go to jail. I would break the law by drinking out of a white water fountain or not move when a white person told me to.
February 3rd, 2009 at 6:21 pm
In some situations, the only way you can show people what is right, you must break the law. To me that is okay to do because a lot of people can’t open their eyes until something extreme happens.
Laws that are not right and have many reasons to be amended was the law that states that Black people cannot play in White parks or go into White restaurants. I feel those laws are justifiable to break.
If I were being treated like that 60 years ago, I would boycott against the White people and tell everyone around me about what we need to do to make things better.
I agree with Martin Luther King Jr.’s ways because violence is not the right way to receive freedom from the people you are hurting.
February 3rd, 2009 at 6:47 pm
Do I feel that breaking the law is justifiable in some cases? No. Why I think that way is because if you break the law just to have your decision, you are going to be as bad as your enemy or opponent. Also, if you break the law, you don’t even deserve to have your own way.
When I think of which laws are good to break for your way, I only think about one law. Treason. If you commit treason, you can’t fight for your own rights because you don’t agree with your country. You have to be disagreeing with something to be fighting for it. No one fights for what they don’t want. They only do if they know what they are currently doing is wrong even though they like the way they are doing it.
One way I would break the law is if I felt there was a need for change. I would ask the person that is in charge of the laws to let me speak for my own rights even though I have to deny what the government is doing. I actually agree with both Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X’s way of getting rights. Why shouldn’t we fight not only verbally but also physically to get our rights? They are already killing the black people, so why can’t we fight with force? But I also agree with Martin Luther King Jr.’s idea because sometimes verbally speaking is better than fighting with fists and guns.
February 3rd, 2009 at 7:27 pm
I think that it is okay to break certain laws like when there was segregation and all the Black people were not allowed in White stores but White people were allowed into Black stores. I think that some laws and rules were and are unfair.
One law I would break is sitting in front of the bus if you were Black (like Rosa Parks) during segregation times. Some past laws were slavery and segregation.
To break a law, I would go to court, protest, boycott and do what Martin Luther King Jr. did. I agree with M.L.K. Jr. because if all the Blacks did what Malcolm X did, then the Americans wouldn’t trust them and there would still be segregation.
February 3rd, 2009 at 7:53 pm
I think that you should be able to break any law that treats others differently, unequally, or like they are not human. If the law forbids you from hurting something or someone physically, then you should not break those laws. You could break any rules you like, but you just have to pay the consequences afterward. I think that segregation and treating African-Americans as slaves would be good rules to break. I would have broke that rule, go on to a white person’s seat on the bus, and not let them sit down because I was there first, just like Rosa Parks did. It would be worth going to jail for.
It is like Martin Luther King Junior knowing he could be arrested for trying to change people’s ways to make everyone equal. MLK wanted to make everybody equal by doing it in a peaceful protest. But Malcom X wanted to do it by any means to get his message across. Martin used peace and Malcolm used the exact opposite, violence, but they both wanted the same exact result. Malcolm wanted to use violence because of what the white people did to them all those years. Of course, Martin won that battle, good over bad. Tons of people watched MLK’s “I Have A Dream” speech and Martin won the Nobel award. He made it clear that everyone should be treated fairly and equally.
February 3rd, 2009 at 8:48 pm
I say breaking the law is justifiable in some ways. For example, if the law is treating someone unequally in any way, then you should be able to break the law. People think so badly about people if their a different color like in the late 1950s and 60s that people were discriminating people because of the color of skin. Think if you were in that time and you were black and people were really mean to you, and if you were white then you were treated well. But, if you thought about your being black, what would you think? You would be mad. I say just do the golden rule: do unto others as you would do unto yourself.
The number one law I disagree with is the death penalty. We have it now and we had it before. I think even though you do something horrible you shouldn’t be killed because a life is a life so you shouldn’t kill another person.
I would go to the ceded lands and put a hale there and live there so Linda Lingle couldn’t sell and develop the land there.
I agree with Martin Luther King Jr. because I wouldn’t kill someone just to change something that I didn’t like.
February 3rd, 2009 at 9:43 pm
Yes, I do feel breaking the law is justifiable in some cases because some laws back in the 1950s and 60s were simply ridiculous. For example, there was a law about segregation that Black people could not enter White stores but White people could enter Black stores. That is called a racist law.
I think the laws that are justifiable to break are the ones that Rosa Parks had the guts to disobey. Back then, it was illegal for a Black person to ride in the front of the bus. I think that whoever got there first would be the rightful person to sit there. I think that’s a law worth breaking.
I would change the law in the way M.L.K did, in a peaceful way, but then Malcolm X had a different way of solving things which could be more violent. I am more on M.L.K side because he just wanted everyone to be treated equally.
February 3rd, 2009 at 9:46 pm
I think that breaking the law is acceptable if you have a purpose to break the law. For example, there was a law that said a Black person would have to move or stand up on the bus if a White person came on. That kind of law is racist so if a black person like Rosa Parks broke it then they are trying to say that Black and White people are equal so they should be treated equally.
First you have to know the law to break it. If you knew a law and knew that it was unfair or racist then I would be happy to break the law. I would feel like I was doing the right thing because it’s what I thought was right.
I agree with Martin Luther King because Malcolm X said to do anything to be equal which included war and violence, but violence doesn’t solve anything and wars just lead to more wars. So I agree with Martin Luther King because you can solve problems and issues without killing, hurting, and destroying things.
February 4th, 2009 at 5:30 am
The only time that I think it’s OK to bread the law is when that law is unfair. A perfect example were the laws of segregation. One law was how black people wouldn’t even be allowed into some restaurants and hotels!
I agree with MLK because Malcolm X was super violent. Malcolm X said to free the blacks at all cost! MLK said free the blacks peacefully. Although MLK was shot, I still think that if Malcolm X were in charge, things might have been much worse!!!
February 8th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
I think breaking a law is approved only if the law you are breaking is about different kinds of races or types of people.
One past law I think is suitable to break is the inter-racial marriage. I think this law was very silly. Everyone is a person no matter what color their skin is and a man and woman of different color could actually learn from each other about different cultures and lifestyles.
If I felt there was a need for change, I would break the law by drinking water from a whiteman’s water fountain, assuming I was a black person. If I was white and felt a need for change, then maybe I would bring one of my black friends into a white restaurant and serve them food.
I agree with how Martin Luther King wanted change because he was a non-violent person who believed that change was possible without violence. He was also a sincere leader who truly cared about all people. Unlike Malcolm X, who wanted change under any circumstances, even if it meant violence where people may get hurt. Malcolm X said that the whiteman were treating them unfair but killing them was even worse.