Civil Rights & Civil Disobedience political action for change Essential Question: How has the practice of civil disobedience and non-violent protest led to effective changes in the Modern World?

Civil Disobedience Refusal to obey a law on the grounds that it is immoral or unjust in itself, or furthers injustice. Goal: make the issue public and call attention to an unjust law.

Roots of the Idea Henry David Thoreau Jailed for refusing to pay a poll tax coined the term “civil disobedience”

Roots of the Idea Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi Led India’s struggle for independence against the British Advocated non-violent direct action

Martin Luther King, Jr. Minister in Montgomery, Alabama, helped organize the bus boycott of 1955-56, which sparked the modern civil rights movement Led numerous civil rights marches and activities involving nonviolent direct action

Other examples of civil disobedience Anti-Apartheid movements in South Africa led by Nelson Mandela

Civil disobedience Public in two ways: Not done in secret but in the open Intended to serve broad public interest, not individual self interest.