Question

Why did some civil rights activists support the idea of staging violent protests?

Answer 1

Answer:

b) They felt that violence would be justified as self-defense

Explanation:

The Civil Rights movement emerged as a response to structural racism. Up until the 1960s, Afroamericans experienced policies of segregation that prevented them to access quality jobs, education, health care and basic services. In other words, segregation laws implied that Afroamerican population could not use the same public amenities as white Americans. This included but was not limited to hospitals, schools, public transportation and even buying land. Under these laws, interracial marriage was banned as well. Many historians argue that the spark that ignited the movement was Rosa Parks' refusal to give her seat to a white man in 1955. Under segregation laws, the Afro-American population of Montgomery, Alabama, had to sit at the back of buses. So when the white man entered the bus, the driver ordered her (and three more Afro-Americans) to gave up their seats. Rosa Refused and was arrested. Then the Montgomery Improvement Asociation, under the leadership of Rv Martin Luther King, launched a campaign to boycott the Montgomery Bus System. From there, the Civil Rights movement flourished.

The movement faced State violence and mass arrest. The movement branched and took a diversity of forms. Some of the activist, like Rev. Martin Luther King, argued in favour of civil disobedience and pacific action. However, other activists believed the violence they were subjected justified their self-defence in a violent way.

Unluckily, American society still experiences heavy forms of system racism. It is not, therefore, a surprise that the BLM emerged during the last decade.