scholarly journals A Dangerous Idea: Nonviolence as Tactic and Philosophy

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Nico Slate
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Civil Rights Movement ◽  
Civil Disobedience ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
History Of

While some American civil rights activists professed belief in the “philosophy of nonviolence,” others declared nonviolent civil disobedience to be “a tactic rather than a philosophy.” Like many dichotomies, the tactic-versus-philosophy distinction combined as much as it divided. Those who viewed nonviolence as a tactic or method were treated as akin regardless of how much they differed in their tactics or methods. Similarly, those who believed in the philosophy of nonviolence were lumped together with each other and with those who saw nonviolence as a “way of life.” The history of the tactic-versus-philosophy dichotomy provides a unique window on the role of nonviolence within the American civil rights movement.

A Discussion of Gospel of Freedom: Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail and the Struggle that Changed a Nation By Jonathan Rieder

2014 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 716-717
Author(s):  
Erica Chenoweth
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Civil Rights Movement ◽  
Martin Luther ◽  
Civil Disobedience ◽  
Religion And Politics ◽  
Political Ethics ◽  
Martin Luther King ◽  
The U.S

The U.S. civil rights movement was perhaps the most politically and symbolically important American social movement of the 20th century. And Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was a central text of the movement, and arguably one of the most important political texts of the century. Jonathan Rieder’s Gospel of Freedom: Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail and the Struggle That Changed a Nation offers a rich and sustained account of the role of King’s letter as a contribution to thinking about race and politics, religion and politics, civil disobedience, political ethics, and the struggle for social justice. This symposium brings together a range of political scientists to comment on Rieder’s book and on the importance of King’s “Letter” more generally, as a contribution both to U.S. political discourse and to political theory.

A Culture of Poverty

2018 ◽  
pp. 52-72
Author(s):  
Robin Marie Averbeck
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Civil Rights Movement ◽  
Black Family ◽  
Culture Of Poverty ◽  
Racial Capitalism ◽  
History Of ◽  
Black Poverty ◽  
Moynihan Report

Chapter 3 traces the history of the idea of a culture of poverty while unpacking its racist content. Of particular importance is Daniel Patrick Moynihan and his report on the black family, known as the Moynihan Report. Chapter 3 explores how Moynihan distilled various tropes and memes in articulating a theory of black poverty that placed the primary blame on the supposed pathologies of the black family and community. Chapter 3 also explains the background of that idea and how the various versions of it differed, looking at the writing and work of Oscar Lewis, Michael Harrington, and Kenneth Clark among others. Also emphasized is how the culture of poverty idea allowed liberals to sidestep the issue of the role of capitalism and the market in black poverty, making it very effective for maintaining racial capitalism even during the height of the challenge from below the civil rights movement presented.

Handcraft as urban intervention: In recognition of the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Sewing Society

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 175-186
Author(s):  
Hinda Mandell
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Civil Rights Movement ◽  
Social Action ◽  
The United States ◽  
Frederick Douglass ◽  
Urban Intervention ◽  
Parking Lot ◽  
History Of

In 1851, in Rochester, New York, a group of nineteen women banded together as the founding members of an anti-slavery group in order to support the work of the abolitionist, writer, orator and newspaper publisher, Frederick Douglass. They were the benefactors of Frederick Douglass, himself regarded as the founder of the twentieth-century Civil Rights movement. They called themselves the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Sewing Society, although they dropped ‘Sewing’ from their group’s name in 1855. Yet the fact that ‘Sewing’ was included in the original name of this reformist group indicates the foundational role of craft not only as a guiding activity, but also as a key activist mechanism to abolish the institution of slavery. This article explains how a contemporary craft intervention in downtown Rochester, New York, involving 400 swatches contributed from across the United States, sought to honour and reclaim the history of this social-reformist group, at Corinthian Hall, the physical location where they held their abolitionist fundraising bazaars in the nineteenth century. That building is now a parking lot in the heart of central Rochester. Ultimately, yarn is argued to be a social-action tool to help reverse historic erasure in a crowded urban environment.

Southern Strategy 2.0

2009 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 426-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Edge
Keyword(s):  
Racial Identity ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Civil Rights Movement ◽  
Republican Party ◽  
The United States ◽  
History Of ◽  
Political Spectrum ◽  
American Society ◽  
The Impact

In the rush of excitement over Barack Obama’s nomination and ascension to the presidency of the United States, many media figures were loathe to analyze the impact of race on both the rhetoric of the election and the actual results. From across the political spectrum, pundits argued that race did not play a major role on Election Day, without offering any context to such comments. Likewise, conservatives in particular have used that idea to assert that racism is no longer a hindrance to advancement in American society. This article seeks to examine the role of race in the election, both in political attacks on Barack Obama and in an analysis of the voting patterns, with a particular emphasis on how conservatives have tried to shape the contours of these discussions. Their purpose, it is argued, is to launch Southern Strategy 2.0, which seeks to use Obama’s victory to attack some of the results of the civil rights movement that helped make his rise possible. At the same time, it still plays on some of the overt racism of the first Southern Strategy, using Obama’s racial identity and politics to challenge whether he is “American” enough to lead the nation. Thus, conservatives use Obama’s image as a sign that racism is dead, while simultaneously attacking him with the same race-based tactics that have played such an important role in the recent history of the Republican Party.

scholarly journals Defying the Law of the Land: The Lawyer's Role in Civil Disobedience in Canada

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Bolger
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Civil Rights Movement ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Legal History ◽  
Civil Disobedience ◽  
Test Case ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Public ◽  
Complex Dimension ◽  
History Of

A lawyer’s role in relation to the issue of civil disobedience is far from settled. Lawyers advocate for values such as “truth” and “justice;” however, they are also instructed to respect the rule of law and the legislature’s role in creating laws and policy. Due to the tension between values and law, lawyers must choose which clients to represent as well as determine what constitutes effective counsel. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms adds another complex dimension to this dilemma because of the fine line between “civil disobedience” and the assertion of Charter rights through test case litigation. It is easy to look back at historical moments, such as the civil rights movement, and recognize when civil disobedience is justified. However, we do not always have the luxury of hindsight, and we must not deny that there are legitimate reasons to practice civil disobedience today. The legal history of Dr. Henry Morgentaler is an example of the juxtaposition between advocacy and policy. Throughout his legal battles, Dr. Morgentaler was labelled a criminal who performed civil disobedience, but who is now highly regarded as someone who fought for Charter rights. Therefore, with competing obligations to one’s client, fellow lawyers, and the public in general, lawyers must chart their own ethical course in these matters.

“This Has Been Quite a Year for Heads Falling”: Institutional Autonomy in the Civil Rights Era

2004 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 554-576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joy Ann Williamson
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Historically Black ◽  
Civil Rights Movement ◽  
Civil Disobedience ◽  
Black Colleges ◽  
Historically Black Colleges ◽  
Civil Rights Era ◽  
Political Autonomy ◽  
Black Colleges And Universities

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and their students played a pivotal part in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and early 1960s. Private HBCUs, in particular, provided foot soldiers, intellectual leadership, and safe places to meet and plan civil disobedience. Their economic and political autonomy from the state enabled the institutions and their students to participate in activism without the constant fear of legislative retribution. Their private status did not shield them completely from the state's wrath, however, particularly when college aims collided with state interests. Some constituents argued that HBCUs should agitate for constitutionally protected freedoms; others maintained that HBCUs should shun politics and focus on purely educational concerns. Debates over the role of HBCUs raged on and off campuses. Those with the greatest degree of commitment to the movement faced severe penalties.

Not as It Is Written

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-100
Author(s):  
Benjamin Houston
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Oral History ◽  
Civil Rights Movement ◽  
International Exhibition ◽  
Black Experience ◽  
American Perspective ◽  
History Of ◽  
Black Life ◽  
Made In

This article discusses an international exhibition that detailed the recent history of African Americans in Pittsburgh. Methodologically, the exhibition paired oral history excerpts with selected historic photographs to evoke a sense of Black life during the twentieth century. Thematically, showcasing the Black experience in Pittsburgh provided a chance to provoke among a wider public more nuanced understandings of the civil rights movement, an era particularly prone to problematic and superficial misreadings, but also to interject an African American perspective into the scholarship on deindustrializing cities, a literature which treats racism mostly in white-centric terms. This essay focuses on the choices made in reconciling these thematic and methodological dimensions when designing this exhibition.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document