Tactics of the Black Civil Rights Movement

Overall, the strategy of the people in the Black Civil Rights Movements of the 1950 and 1960s in America was to spread the message of their movement and generate sympathy for their cause. They primarily achieved this through the use of television and non-violence. The television forwarded their cause greatly because it allowed their marches and speeches to be re-shown endlessly, and they were able to be shown quickly throughout the entire nation. The TV allowed their message to reach nearly every person in America. Also, the use of television allowed people everywhere to see the violence of the southerners towards them, which in cases like the Selma March where young black students were attacked viciously with attack dogs and fire hoses was a tremendous help towards generating sympathy. The tactic of nonviolent protesting was also very effective because it gave them the moral high ground, and through methods like overflowing jails they showed opponents of their cause that they could not suppress the movement through violence or by arresting them.