By Tom Hastings // with PeaceVoice From tossing a brick through the plate glass window to throwing bottles at cops, violent flanks have been harming movements for a long time. The results are predictable; they are disastrous for campaigns. As with all movement decisions, your first filter inquiry toward a decision is How will this…
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In the 1950s, Rev. James Lawson of Ohio went to India as a Methodist missionary. There, he studied “satyagraha,” a set of principles and methods of nonviolent resistance developed by Mohandas Gandhi. In 1957, Dr. Martin Luther King asked Rev. Lawson to assist the nonviolent resistance movement for civil rights by sharing satyagraha with activists,…
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In the aftermath of President Donald J. Trump’s inauguration on January 20th, we have seen a spate of resistance across the U.S., ranging from street protests to legal challenges. New alliances are formed, often across what just a few months ago would have been thought of as insurmountable political divides. Over the past few…
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By Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The year 1966 brought with it the first public challenge to the philosophy and strategy of nonviolence from within the ranks of the civil rights movement. Resolutions of self-defense and Black Power sounded forth from our friends and brothers. At the same time riots erupted in several major…
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By Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In this speech, King makes a significant point: “avoid the temptation of being victimized with a psychology of victors.” Gandhi, too, was concerned to avoid triumphalism. . . . Mr. Chairman, distinguished platform associates, fellow Americans. Three years ago the Supreme Court of this nation rendered in simple,…
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By Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, I need not pause to say how very delighted I am to be here tonight, and how very delighted I am to see you expressing your concern about the issues that will be discussed tonight by turning out in such large numbers. I…
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By Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On 10 July 1959, Christian Century editor Harold Fey asked King to write an article for “How My Mind Has Changed,” a series of “statements by significant thinkers” reflecting their intellectual and spiritual development over the previous ten years. In this essay, King stresses the academic influences that have led…
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By Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 16 April 1963 My Dear Fellow Clergymen: While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities “unwise and untimely.” Seldom do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas. If I sought to answer all the criticisms…
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By Mary Elizabeth King Ku Klux Klan rally on the Louisiana State Capitol steps in Baton Rouge in the 1960s. State Library of Louisiana Historic Photograph Collection. Black History Month has many meanings. For me, it is a time to remember the tremendous contribution African Americans have made to the building of the United States—as…
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