Need of Violence for Change

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom.” With any drastic societal, political, or economic changes comes time and effort. Involving violence in the process of transforming does nothing to quicken the course or make it more effective. Many of this nation’s greatest movements were done through nonviolent acts, which were lead by Martin Luther King Jr. Violence is an unnecessary component in the struggle of enormous reforms.

Just as Rome wasn’t build in one day neither were the foundations of our society. The civil rights act carried out by Dr. King had such a huge impact on the nation because they were effecting everyone including the whites, blacks, and the other minorities. The Montgomery bus boycott was a nonviolent act, which decreased around seventy percent of the bus company’s revenue. It helped to abolish the desegregation of busses. Also helping push forward the fight of civil rights, Martin Luther King Jr. addressed many crowds with his powerful speeches. He pushed for equal rights through boycotts, strikes and marches. Dr. King was such an influential man that carried the voice of millions of African Americans. He gained supporters through his knowledge and passion, not through violence. His tactics to overcome the government and have equality for all were so effective, because he showed how influential African Americans were in the United States. He was not a dictator, but he was an activist.

Other activists who included violence to try to bring about change were white men. The Klan, as referred to in excerpt 91 of “The Radical Reader”, invaded many of the African American territories. They shot at blacks through cars, humiliated Negro women by demanding they dance, and exchanged shots with an African American crowd. In a movement toward equality, the violence of the white men did nothing beneficial to...