Compare and contrast the use of nonviolent civil disobedience and litigation during the civil rights movement. Which was more successful and why?
What will be an ideal response?
Answer: An ideal response will:
1. Compare nonviolent civil disobedience and litigation, noting that both were techniques successfully used to advance the civil rights movement.
2. Contrast nonviolent protest and litigation, noting that nonviolent protest entails breaking the law, while litigation entails using the law.
3. Make an argument that either nonviolent protest or litigation was a more successful strategy during the civil rights movement. Protests and other forms of civil disobedience led to public uproar in the North over discriminatory and segregationist laws in the South, which eventually led Congress to enact the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. Litigation, however, brought down Jim Crow laws (Brown v. Board) without using young people as human targets, as often occurred during civil disobedience events.