Regarding Martin Luther King Jr.'s protests. On the show, I couldn't explain why I would be OK with protests like the March on Selma and not blocking the highway, since King's marches blocked the road as well. Unfortunately, I wasn't educated enough on the topic to explain the difference, so I researched it after the show.
Here are clear differences between the two
- The protest march and associated protests at the White House took the fight directly to those in power.
- The goal of the march was to get a bill passed in congress.
- The protesters marched 10 miles a day but blocking traffic along the way was not their goal. It was only when the group grew too large that traffic was effected.
Now, there's a ton more that happened over the years that Martin Luther King Jr. and fellow activists fought for civil rights but they fought to change the system, not destroy it. They fought for political change with specific goals.
I think that's a far different movement that the disorganized Black Lives Matter movement. I think the disorganization BLM has is similar to the disorganization the Occupy movement had.
Having said that, seeing clear goals with Campaign Zero and the
recently released Vision for Black Lives will go a long way to organize the movement and enact real change.
I look forward to their success in improving the civil rights of all Americans.