Martin Luther King and the

Civil Rights Movement

T

he Civil Rights Movement in the Southern
states of the United States in the 1950s and
1960s has often been taken as the classic
case of civil disobedience. In reality, there were
many movements, but the most famous was that
led by Martin Luther King, Jr, which advocated
non-violent resistance to segregationist laws. In
the course of this chapter we will outline the
philosophical debate about the meaning and
justification of civil disobedience and apply it to
the Civil Rights Movement. If you know nothing
about the movement or its historical context it
would make sense to dive into the arguments.
However, if you do have some knowledge of
the man and the movement it would be useful

to reflect for a few moments on why King’s

leadership has been taken to exemplify civil

disobedience. To structure your thoughts

consider these questions:

• Was the Civil Rights Movement, as led by
  King, actually non-violent? Was it non-
  threatening?


• Why is non-violence regarded as so important
  in debates over civil disobedience?


• What was King trying to achieve? (There are
  obvious and less obvious answers to this
  question.)


• Did King achieve his objectives?

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