Jill Freedman had a fantastic set of photographs on display at the Steven Kasher Gallery of “Resurrection City” in 1968. According to a New York Times article, “Resurrection City was the centerpiece of the Poor People’s Campaign, organized by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and, initially, by Dr. King.” The focus of the demonstration was jobs, education, and minimum wage, so it appealed to large groups of people: poor whites and Latin Americans in addition to blacks. Although the demonstration did not cause much change in the government, it was nevertheless an important historical event, being initially planned by Reverend King. The 60s were a very interesting time, being characterized by mass social activism. A lot of the effects of the events that occurred during this decade can still be felt today. Now, with the rise of social media, social activism has been growing much larger in recent times. The millennial generation has become known for their political correctness, social responsibility, and organizing of demonstrations.
Fundamentally, I think protests and demonstrations are a really important form of communication of the citizens to the government and from citizens to each other. Whenever a widely publicized demonstration occurs, the entire nation begins to focus on and discuss the issues highlighted by the demonstrators. We should all be glad that we live in a country that recognizes our God-granted right to freedom of speech and for the most part respects, at least moreso than any other country on the planet. However, in recent times, some groups of people have decided that not all speech should be protected, respected, and listened to. These people’s judgements are clouded because they believe that they are right and this entitles them to force their own opinions on everybody else and shut down all others who disagree with them. This type of thinking is becoming increasingly common in many groups among a wide section of the political spectrum. It is important that people are educated on why this sort of thinking is wrong because it halts necessary, although sometimes uncomfortable, discussions and leaves much of the masses who are trying to learn about the issues in a state of permanent ignorance. It also always leads to government tyranny. Persecution of people for wrongthink is immoral and against every principle of human rights.
People who advocate for any form of violence in our political system as a means of achieving their goals need to reeducate themselves on history and the Civil Rights Movement as led by Dr. King. The genius of Reverend King was that he led large scale country-wide change entirely through nonviolence. In fact, it could even be said that the Civil Rights Movement has only been as successful as it was due to the fact that it had such an emphasis on nonviolence. People who act morally by abstaining from violence will always gain sympathy from others whereas people who are violent will be feared and therefore demonized, dehumanized, and despised. This is all rooted in the Golden Rule, treating others as you would want to be treated.
