The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in his book Why We Can't Wait, quite correctly named the civil rights struggles of the mid-twentieth century the Third American Revolution. Though it is most often attributed to the 1960s the civil rights movement found it's start in the decade before that, the 'peaceful 50s'. The civil rights movement actually started with legal battles before moving into the streets of American cities. The Supreme Court ordered the desegregation of schools with "all deliberate speed" and overturned it's former "separate but equal" policy that had for so long been the law of the land. This led to the tokenism that MLK decried in his book, and it also led to the realization that there wouldn't be equal rights gained through the courts alo
ne, they had to take their struggle to the streets. The NAACP and other organizations continued their struggle with the judicial system, but new organizations formed to help the people in a different way. It was in this time when the SLCC and SNCC were formed to fight, rather to not fight, for equality. Non-violence was the core of the "mainstream" movement and it was their main weapon. From the bus boycotts of Montgomery to the lunch counter sit-ins across the nation not a black fist was raised in anger. They were beaten, spat upon and cursed and still did not fight back. This was a brilliant public relations strategy in action, for every time the protestors were shown on the news, it was them acting peacefully and a white mob attacking them. These images alone
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