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The Nonviolent King
Annie Brown | 21.Jan.10
“Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral question of our time.”
-Martin Luther King Jr., Nobel Prize acceptance speech, 1964
Martin Luther King is most remembered best for his leadership in the civil rights movement and as a voice for improved race relations in the United States. However, King’s words and actions were not just about race. King’s life was dedicated to god, morality and equality. A Christian preacher, and believer of non-violence, King advocated the use of love to bring about peace and justice for all people. He states,
Both Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi preached non-violence, because, as they saw it, it is the most effective way for people to permanently overcome oppressive structures such as racism or colonialism. Instead of another parade or television special, I suggest that we pay tribute to the memory of King by choosing to act with love, not hate.
Nonviolence has proven itself more likely to create lasting progressive change than violent resistance. Whether in personal relationships or economic structures, transformations for the better will only come from nonviolent thoughts. In an unsettling time of violence and change, let us not forget great leaders like King and Gandhi and the millions that have practiced (and continue to practice) non-violence to overcome injustice. As Martin Luther King Jr. Day comes and goes in the United States, it is important to not only celebrate King’s birth, but also his famous use of non-violent protest as a means of revolution.
King’s leadership was invaluable, but it was the collective force of individual American’s commitments to non-violence that lay at heart of the American Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century. Millions of women and men of all races and backgrounds channeled their frustration with racist America into collective action that rejected violent actions and words, and as a result generated significant structural change in American society. In the early 1960s King worked with CORE (Congress for Racial Equality) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) to organize the now famous sit-ins at Woolworth’s in Greensboro, NC and 1963 Freedom rides. Students participating in these actions were trained how to effectively carry out nonviolent resistance. The women and men who sat at Woolworth’s and rode the buses through the segregated south confronted harassment and possible death for the benefit of future generations of Americans. They prepared diligently, and met the violence they encountered with logic, heart and determination, but never violence.
For King, nonviolence was the only moral option for oppressed people to overcome the structures, laws and social practices that harmed them. Segregation and racial discrimination in America were immoral practices (I say “were” here tentatively, as racism is far from eliminated in the United States.) The Civil Rights Movement made significant changes to American legal structure using nonviolent tactics. Fighting back without fear or hate, informs oppressors of your refusal to be a part of his/her cycle of violence. As King once said, “Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him.” Love disrupts violence, confuses oppressors and illuminates the illogic of war and intolerance.
It takes discipline to respond to hate with love, but much discipline is necessary to achieve meaningful change. King and Gandhi understood why many people respond to injustice with violence. It is an instinctual response and, it gives the actor a feeling of taking control of their lives and claiming revenge, but only for a moment. The feeling of control is soon lost. Inequalities we face today are structural and exist on a mass scale, therefore an instinctual act of violence will produce little effect. However, a strategic act of love that utilizes the collective power of the masses can make serious structural change.
Acts of violence only excuse oppressors to respond with increased levels of brutality. I again quote King, “Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate.... Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars,” he continues, “Darkness cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Collective events of passive action are the most effective method by which to move an enemy to sympathize with one’s cause. In other words, the best way to fight a system of violence, is with a system of compassionate people.
The current protests in Iran as well as the American War in Afghanistan and Iraq are examples of instinctual violent acts of revenge that have yet to produce anything but destruction and misery. A recent BBC news report displayed video images of the Iran protests that warned to be “graphic”. The violence in Iran may be understandable, but it is also tragic. The Iran government dismissed the people’s right to have a say in their political lives. Martin Luther King often discussed the instinctual need to pursue one’s rights as a healthy reaction to oppression, but he also stated that the instinct to retaliate with violent action should be resisted. The American Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were at first accepted as justified acts of revenge, but now, Americans and its leaders are realizing the great toll that reactionary violence can do. Martin Luther King spoke out against the wars of his time and even led an antiwar procession in 1967. He writes in his book, The Trumpet of Conscience,
He recognized the intimate connection between American violence and human suffering as well as the economic and racial inequalities that war exploits. In our modern world, it is important to always keep the message of nonviolence in mind in order to avoid dangerous cycles of hate.
With an organized and peaceful movement, citizens of corrupted nations can bring about the changes that they seek. It is always better to engage with one’s enemy and have them sympathize with your cause, than to fight against them with hateful thoughts and words. Gandhi stated, “Mental violence has no potency and injures only the person whose thoughts are violent. It is otherwise with mental non-violence. It has potency which the world does not yet know.” Developing a habit of nonviolent thoughts is the first step necessary for creating effective movements, reforming governments and structuring constitutions and economies.
When thinking of Martin Luther King, look back and remember the movements of 20th century, and celebrate the lives of those who fought for justice without violence. At the same time, look forward and ask what adjustments can be made to developing political movements. Great change will require great organization and discipline, but as both The Civil Rights and Indian Independence Movement demonstrated, as Martin Luther King once stated, “it is possible to resist evil and yet not resort to violence.” If non-violence becomes a common practice among citizens, we may even look back and see how love transformed our world for the better.
-Martin Luther King Jr., Nobel Prize acceptance speech, 1964
Martin Luther King is most remembered best for his leadership in the civil rights movement and as a voice for improved race relations in the United States. However, King’s words and actions were not just about race. King’s life was dedicated to god, morality and equality. A Christian preacher, and believer of non-violence, King advocated the use of love to bring about peace and justice for all people. He states,
“I came to see at a very early stage [in the Civil Rights Movement] that a synthesis of Gandhi's method of nonviolence and the Christian ethic of love is the best weapon for this struggle for freedom and human dignity.”
Both Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi preached non-violence, because, as they saw it, it is the most effective way for people to permanently overcome oppressive structures such as racism or colonialism. Instead of another parade or television special, I suggest that we pay tribute to the memory of King by choosing to act with love, not hate.
Nonviolence has proven itself more likely to create lasting progressive change than violent resistance. Whether in personal relationships or economic structures, transformations for the better will only come from nonviolent thoughts. In an unsettling time of violence and change, let us not forget great leaders like King and Gandhi and the millions that have practiced (and continue to practice) non-violence to overcome injustice. As Martin Luther King Jr. Day comes and goes in the United States, it is important to not only celebrate King’s birth, but also his famous use of non-violent protest as a means of revolution.
King’s leadership was invaluable, but it was the collective force of individual American’s commitments to non-violence that lay at heart of the American Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century. Millions of women and men of all races and backgrounds channeled their frustration with racist America into collective action that rejected violent actions and words, and as a result generated significant structural change in American society. In the early 1960s King worked with CORE (Congress for Racial Equality) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) to organize the now famous sit-ins at Woolworth’s in Greensboro, NC and 1963 Freedom rides. Students participating in these actions were trained how to effectively carry out nonviolent resistance. The women and men who sat at Woolworth’s and rode the buses through the segregated south confronted harassment and possible death for the benefit of future generations of Americans. They prepared diligently, and met the violence they encountered with logic, heart and determination, but never violence.
For King, nonviolence was the only moral option for oppressed people to overcome the structures, laws and social practices that harmed them. Segregation and racial discrimination in America were immoral practices (I say “were” here tentatively, as racism is far from eliminated in the United States.) The Civil Rights Movement made significant changes to American legal structure using nonviolent tactics. Fighting back without fear or hate, informs oppressors of your refusal to be a part of his/her cycle of violence. As King once said, “Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him.” Love disrupts violence, confuses oppressors and illuminates the illogic of war and intolerance.
It takes discipline to respond to hate with love, but much discipline is necessary to achieve meaningful change. King and Gandhi understood why many people respond to injustice with violence. It is an instinctual response and, it gives the actor a feeling of taking control of their lives and claiming revenge, but only for a moment. The feeling of control is soon lost. Inequalities we face today are structural and exist on a mass scale, therefore an instinctual act of violence will produce little effect. However, a strategic act of love that utilizes the collective power of the masses can make serious structural change.
Acts of violence only excuse oppressors to respond with increased levels of brutality. I again quote King, “Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate.... Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars,” he continues, “Darkness cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Collective events of passive action are the most effective method by which to move an enemy to sympathize with one’s cause. In other words, the best way to fight a system of violence, is with a system of compassionate people.
The current protests in Iran as well as the American War in Afghanistan and Iraq are examples of instinctual violent acts of revenge that have yet to produce anything but destruction and misery. A recent BBC news report displayed video images of the Iran protests that warned to be “graphic”. The violence in Iran may be understandable, but it is also tragic. The Iran government dismissed the people’s right to have a say in their political lives. Martin Luther King often discussed the instinctual need to pursue one’s rights as a healthy reaction to oppression, but he also stated that the instinct to retaliate with violent action should be resisted. The American Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were at first accepted as justified acts of revenge, but now, Americans and its leaders are realizing the great toll that reactionary violence can do. Martin Luther King spoke out against the wars of his time and even led an antiwar procession in 1967. He writes in his book, The Trumpet of Conscience,
“I speak for those whose land is being laid waste, whose homes are being destroyed, whose culture is being subverted. I speak for the poor in America who are paying the double price of smashed hopes at home and death and corruption in Vietnam. I speak as an American to the leaders of my own nation. The great initiative in this war is ours. The initiative to stop it must be ours.”
He recognized the intimate connection between American violence and human suffering as well as the economic and racial inequalities that war exploits. In our modern world, it is important to always keep the message of nonviolence in mind in order to avoid dangerous cycles of hate.
With an organized and peaceful movement, citizens of corrupted nations can bring about the changes that they seek. It is always better to engage with one’s enemy and have them sympathize with your cause, than to fight against them with hateful thoughts and words. Gandhi stated, “Mental violence has no potency and injures only the person whose thoughts are violent. It is otherwise with mental non-violence. It has potency which the world does not yet know.” Developing a habit of nonviolent thoughts is the first step necessary for creating effective movements, reforming governments and structuring constitutions and economies.
When thinking of Martin Luther King, look back and remember the movements of 20th century, and celebrate the lives of those who fought for justice without violence. At the same time, look forward and ask what adjustments can be made to developing political movements. Great change will require great organization and discipline, but as both The Civil Rights and Indian Independence Movement demonstrated, as Martin Luther King once stated, “it is possible to resist evil and yet not resort to violence.” If non-violence becomes a common practice among citizens, we may even look back and see how love transformed our world for the better.
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 COMMENTS: 4
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1. Posted on 31.Jan.10 From: Richard Kaplan
For DVD of LEGACY OF A DREAM and KING; A FILMED RECORD; MONTGOMERY TO MEMPHIS go to www.afilmedrecord.com
2. Posted on 28.Jan.10 From: Braden Crooks
You're right; the use of his lesson, perhaps more than the memory of his actions, is the best way to honor King as well as live out his legacy. I'm glad someone is writing about it! ;)
3. Posted on 27.Jan.10 From: Richard Kaplan
view film LEGACY OF A DREAM
4. Posted on 27.Jan.10 From: Richard Kaplan
view film LEGACY OF A DREAM