How far was peaceful protest responsible for the successes of the civil rights movement in the years 1955-64?

by maccoll7 (student)

In the years from 1955 to 1964, there were a significant number of peaceful protests organised by civil rights groups such as the NAACP, SCLC, SNCC and CORE. During this period, the progress towards racial equality was significant as there were many legal changes and de facto changes which ended certain types of segregation. It can be said that peaceful protest was directly responsible for helping to push these changes through and help the development of the civil rights movement, but despite this there are many reasons to show that peaceful protests by civil rights campaigns had a different effect, and did not further this development, but hindered it instead. Furthermore it can be noted that there are many other reasons, not peaceful protest, which ensured such legal progressions and attitude changes were pushed through and achieved.

Many campaigns during this time period highlighted that peaceful protest was an effective way of achieving change and bringing in extra white support to push through legal battles. One such protest was the Montgomery Bus Boycott that occurred from 1955-56. This protest was significant because it not only brought Martin Luther King to the forefront of the SCLC (which was established as a result of the Boycott), it highlighted the large economic power that black people had This campaign showed that with careful planning and a wide scale protest, protests such as these ones could be forced onto a higher legal level, as one of the results of the Boycott was the legal battle of Browder versus Gayle, that challenged Alabama transport segregation laws, and managed to overturned them. The boycott is a prime example for showing the effectiveness of coupling peaceful protest with legal action to bring about change, as the boycott not only helped to change de jure transport segregation, the pressure put on the bus companies through media attention and loss of revenue helped to change de facto transport segregation.
Peaceful protest also demonstrated that with great public support, they could secure Presidential backing and change segregation without a legal battle. The Greensboro sit-ins of 1960 inspired a variety of sit-ins all across the Southern states, many organised by the SCLC, and by the end of it 810 towns had desegregated public areas with over 7,000 black and white citizens taking part in the sit ins. The Greensboro is a significant example of peaceful protest as it highlighted the growing support for civil rights, as white southerners joined in with the campaign as well, which meant there was increased support. As well as this it showed that with a large scale progress, presidential intervention could be gained, so it proved that even a president with a view against helping civil rights, (Eisenhower thought that racial equality would come about in it’s own time, proved by his refusal of supporting the Brown case later on) could be persuaded to join the cause. This change of heart from Eisenhower may have been a result of a changing popular opinion, which again supports the fact that peaceful protest was effective as it forced the federal government into action. Another example of forcing the federal government into action is the Little Rock Campaign of 1957, earlier than the sit-ins. Eisenhower was forced to intervene by sending in Federal government troops to help the Little Rock nine to enrol in the High school. Again demonstrating that peaceful protest had the power to force intervention to ensure success. It is clear that without these campaigns, Eisenhower may not have paid attention to the views of those wanting racial equality. However it wasn’t just Eisenhower that was swayed by peaceful protest, Kennedy also remained to be convinced to draw up a significant civil rights bill until after the events of Birmingham in 1963 and the March of Washington 63, after which he threw his weight behind the civil rights bill, as it was clear to see that there was support for the bill, demonstrated by the large numbers of black and white campaigners present during the March on Washington. This again demonstrated that without mass peaceful protest, the civil rights bill may not have been supported and indeed this protest was key as after the march Kennedy risked his political career to support the Bill.

This is a preview of the whole essay

Despite these reasons, it can be seen that peaceful protest was not responsible for the successes of the civil rights movement. It is evident in the fact that in some cases, there was too much white opposition for the campaigns to have any effect. Although Brown versus Board of education 1 and 2 helped to overturn Plessy versus Ferguson, it was noted that the campaign whipped up a lot more opposition than it did support, and the legal battle did not even have an effective outcome. Indeed the Brown case stirred up opposition on a congressional level, as a Southern democrat drew up the ‘Southern Manifesto’, which encouraged people to be actively anti-desegregation, as well as an increase in KKK violence. This campaign showed that some forms of peaceful protest did more harm than good, and accidentally encouraged people to be anti-equality. As well as this, the Brown case only brought about a vague de jure change, and failed to secure a de facto change towards desegregation. Another campaign that highlights this was the Albany campaign in 1961-62. This campaign demonstrated that unless peaceful protests were on a mass scale and held in the right places, no change could be made. The Albany campaign was poorly planned, because they did not know how Pritchett would react, had they known this, they would have known that in order to gain support, media attention should be focused on violent measures being used against protestors. As well as this, the Albany campaign led to divisions within the civil rights groups, as many believed that peaceful protest was not the way to carry on. These campaigns demonstrated that peaceful protests did not always bring about positive changes.
More evidence that supports this is that peaceful protesting sometimes led to the alienation of Presidents, and their support was key if changes were to be made. One example of this is the Mississippi Freedom Summer of 1964, which was another example of unsuccessful peaceful protest. This was because it led to a further increase in KKK violence and also signalled a breakdown between President Johnson and Civil Rights campaigners. As President Johnson proves to have domestic policies catered towards furthering the status of Black Americans, this can be seen as a big mistake, because it may cause Johnson to rethink his policies or direct his attention elsewhere. This campaign is evidence that peaceful protests needed federal government support - especially from a presidential level – in order to bring about legal change (in this case, to outlaw black voting exclusion tactics used in the South). As well as this, the campaign can be used as evidence that white opposition stood in the way of peaceful protest success, as only 1600 out of 17,000 black people succeeded in registering to vote.

Despite the fact that there is evidence for peaceful protest being responsible for the successes of the civil rights campaigns, there is a lot of evidence to show that there are more significant factors, which contributed to these successes.
Media attention is perhaps one of the most significant for the successes, because it drew attention towards the violent action taken against protestors, which increased support for southern campaigners from Northern whites and also helped to increase federal government support for the campaigns as well. The media coverage of Birmingham was significant as it portrayed how police were using violent tactics against campaigners, such as dogs and water cannons. This media footage was used widely as propaganda for the Soviet Union, where they devoted one fifth of their airtime into displaying the pictures of Birmingham. In the context of the Cold War, this was highly embarrassing for America, who was supposed to be fighting for freedom internationally while quashing it domestically. The fact that this footage was used directly in context of the Cold War, embarrassed the government into taking action, and convinced Kennedy for the need of a civil rights act. as well as this, the media coverage of the March on Washington in the same year attracted a great deal of attention. Without the media coverage, it is unlikely that the treatment of Black Americans in the south would have reached the Northern whites; it portrayed the extent to which black Americans were the subject of extreme prejudice and also showed the immense support for the movement, so it was the media attention which forced the government into action.
Another factor that may have contributed towards the successes of the civil rights movement was the existing support for racial equality within the federal government. Earl Warren was appointed in the Supreme Court, and he was sympathetic towards campaigners; without the support of Warren, it is unlikely that many legal battles such as Brown versus Board and Browder versus Gayle would have been pushed through. Indeed the legal battles Warren helped to push through undermined the racist Jim Crow laws, saying that they were unconstitutional, as well as overturning Plessy versus Ferguson. Warren was therefore a key player in the successes between 1955 and 1964. As well as the federal government being key on a Supreme Court level, support from the president proved to be useful as well, this can be seen from the comparison of Eisenhower’s level of support and Johnson’s level of support. Eisenhower, who non-committal to developing racial equality allowed the 1957 and 1960 Civil Rights Acts to be watered down so much that they were quite ineffective in changing anything. However, Johnson who was very motivated towards changing civil rights put his political career on the line by supporting the civil rights bill of 1964, and as well as this Johnson did more than his predecessors to combat civil rights even with the absence of funding due to the Vietnam war. This demonstrates that Presidents had a lot of power in ensuring the successes of the civil rights campaigns.

To a large extent, peaceful protest was responsible for the successes of the civil rights movement in 1955 to 1964. This is mainly because the protests drew a large amount of attention towards campaigners, as Birmingham and March on Washington forced Kennedy to back the civil rights bill. Without these campaigns, it is unlikely that the civil rights movements would have achieved presidential backing as well as support from the northern whites. However peaceful protests were not always successful as they did not always increase support for the cause, but rather stirred up more opposition, as was the case of Brown versus Board of Education where KKK violence increased. As well as this peaceful protests had to be properly organised and be widespread for it to have any effect. Despite the fact that protests were successful in bringing about change, it is unlikely than any change would have occurred if it hadn’t been for the media attention on the campaigns, and the support from within the Federal Government. Despite this, if there hadn’t been any peaceful protest, the media would have no media attention, and without peaceful protest, Presidents would be unlikely to help change the position of black Americans. It is for these reasons that to a large extent, peaceful protest was responsible for successes of the civil rights movement from 1955 to 1964.

Ella MacColl