Sageda Hydoub World History (5th) Mr.

Wiebe June 11, 2013 Gandhi & US Civil Rights Movement The 1900s marked the height of independence movements all over the world. European imperialism was finally losing its steam and colonies were slowly uprising to fight against the power that had oppressed them for ages. Two significant nations 8000 miles away from each other were both experiencing social movements that would change the lives of millions. These two nations were the United States and India. While India was experiencing segregation and economic disparity in both South Africa and the subcontinent itself, people of color in the United States were experiencing extreme discrimination and institutionalized racism. Gandhi implemented his childhood Satyagraha teachings and nonviolence while minorities in the US used civil disobedience and nonviolence to a certain extent. The point where the American civil rights movements parted from Gandhis teachings was when groups like the Black Panthers and Brown Berets used more militant tactics to achieve their goals. As a child, Gandhis parents used a very different style of parenting. Unlike the regular positive and negative reinforcement that parents often used on their children, Gandhis parents used Satyagraha. Satyagraha was a set of principles based on courage, nonviolence and truth. Along with this, his parents also used the deterring method of selfsuffering. Instead of imposing a punishment on the child, his parents would deprive themselves of something in order to make the child realize his or her wrong and

subsequently stop whatever they were doing. His parents style of parenting very much influenced his role in the Indian independence movement. At the time, India had been under British rule for about half a century. England had complete control over Indias economy and workforce, as well as peoples personal lives. This not only affected Indians in the subcontinent but also the Indian immigrants in South Africa. When Gandhi took on the responsibility of becoming a civil rights leader, he sought to better lives for Indians in both areas in a peaceful, non-violent manner. He was a strong advocate of nonthreatening civil disobedience because an eye for an eye only makes the world blind (Gandhi). He refused to adhere to the law in South Africa that required Indians to carry around passes, he created seditious materials that enticed the public to rebel, and he lead the movement against Britains control over the salt industry (Kingsley). All these acts of civil disobedience eventually made him reach his goal of equality and independence. The way he inspired the Indians to cooperate in his nonviolent tactics was first by gaining their respect, and then utilizing that respect to make them see his point of view. Gandhi gained the Indians respect by not coming off as an aloof elitist aristocrat who was working for the people only for show. He completely stripped himself of that life, literally and metaphorically. Gandhi went from wearing traditional Indian garb to nothing but a loincloth by the end in order to show his solidarity with the common people (Ibid). This caused the people to respect which explains how his self-suffering worked.

When Gandhi saw that there was violence in the protests, he was very must upset by it. He thought it was his responsibility since he was after all the leader of the movement. In an attempt to convince the Indians to stop, Gandhi announced that he would not eat a single morsel of food until the fighting will stop. That you make me believe it will never start again (Ibid). This method was very effective seeing that there was virtually no violent protest from that point on. Unfortunately, Gandhi was assassinated by a bitter extremist who was not pleased with Gandhis freedom for all creed and religions belief. But even after his death, Gandhis legacy moved on to inspire many other movements and leaders, particularly Martin Luther King Jr. Still, Martin Luther King was not the first black civil rights movement leader who used tactics similar to that of Gandhi. Rosa Parks, an elderly black woman at the time, demonstrated nonviolence and civil disobedience when she refused to move from her seat in the bus at the time when blacks were required to sit in the very back (The Henry Ford). She fully complied in her arrest. She was fully aware of the consequences that would ensue but she was determined to demonstrate her principles. Rosa Parks went on to join MLK in his efforts and marches (Ibid). King used Gandhi as a personal inspiration in his movement. In The Power of NonViolence, King made it clear that his intentions were not seek to humiliate or defeat the opponent but to win his friendship and understanding but to attack the evil system rather than individuals who happen to be caught up in the system (Jr.). He also goes on to say how there was some power in the universe that worked with justice, ideas nearly

identical to that of Gandhis (Ibid). African Americans at the time also demonstrated civil disobedience by showing up to voting booths after being threatened, refusing to leave a public domain, and participating in boycotts such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott (Ibid). However, just like there were peaceful rebels, there was also the extreme counterparts. Radical groups like The Black Panther Party were seemingly wary of the amount of suffering blacks had to go through at the time. This group of militant black youth started small by protecting black youth in ghettos from police brutality (The Black Panther Party [The BPP]). Then it escalated and became a national widespread of militant black youth against white supremacy. In The Ten-Point Plan, The Panthers made it clear what it was that they wanted. The first point basicaly sums it up WE WANT FREEDOM. WE WANT POWER TO DETERMINE THE DESTINY OF OUR BLACK AND OPPRESSED COMMUNITIES (Ibid). Instead of the turn the other cheek rule, Black Panthers employed a principle of self denfense (Ibid). When being attacked, they did not stay put and wait until the attacker came to his or her senses. The Panthers attacked back to show the consequences of their actions. The Black Panthers continued to use these strategies so that they may achieve all their goals in their Ten-Point Plan. Blacks were not the only groups of oppressed minorities at the time. Actually, any group other than white was facing harsh discrimination. The Mexican Americans and Chicanos were dealing with similar treatment to that of the blacks. Again, as there were peaceful rebels, there were the radical. In this case it was the Brown Berets. They started off in a similar manner to The Black Panthers seeking to stop police brutality in barrios

(Cuetlachtli). They employed a system of self defense where they did not touch anybody until they were provoked (Ibid). Many Brown Berets walked around in full military regalia and armed weapons to portray an image of unity and a threatening nature (Ibid). By the summer of 1969, Berets successfully achieved peace throughout barrios in California and had formed Mexican/Chicano unity (Ibid). It is questionable whether these two groups were really radical extremists or whether it was simply because the rights they demaded were unheard of to minorities at the time. But one thing they promoted that was different from Gandhi was equality and solidarity for all. Minority groups like the Chicanos, blacks, and Asians supported each other in many different causes and even aided each other in protests and marches (The BPP). On the other hand, Gandhi was adamant about keeping South Africa segregated from the black natives. Sure, he was for equality of all religions and creeds in India, but when it came to South Africa it was a whole different story. In 1904, Gandhi founded The Indian Opinion, a newspaper that he used as a political tool to promote his personal views (Binary Orange). Found in it were a list of anti-black quotes from his writings, in which he refers to the South African natives as Kaffirs (Ibid). Gandhi's opinion of the natives is best summarized when he calls them people whose occupation is hunting, and whose sole ambition is to collect a certain number of cattle to buy a wife with and, then, pass his life in indolence and nakedness (Ibid). He also supported the British war against the Zulus and even joined the forces himself (Ibid). It is ironic that civil rights leaders like Parks and

MLK are often compared to Gandhi, when the truth is that if Gandhi were on the bus with Parks, he would most likely not want her sitting next to him. Regardless of whether or not Gandhi was a low-key racist, his principles of bravery, honesty, and self-suffering have changed millions of lives. His inability to surrender and give into his ego was what made him such a respectable and honorable leader. It is not a surprise that he inspired many other movements throughout the world, including President Obama who used to hang portraits of Gandhi in his former Senate office (Henry). Gandhis legacy will be passed down for generations to come with these words of his ringing through the air: When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always.

Works Cited Binary Orange. "Gandhi and Blacks." 2008. Gadhism.net. 7 June 2013 <http://www.gandhism.net/gandhiandblacks.php>. Cuetlachtli, Chimalli. "Brown Berets History." 2007. National Brown Berets. 7 June 2012 <http://nationalbrownberets.com/History.html>. Gandhi. Dir. Richard Attenborough. Perf. Ben Kingsley. 1983. Henry, Ed. "Obama Pays Tribute to Gandhi." CNN. Cable News Network, 06 Nov. 2010. Web. 7 June 2013. <http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/11/06/india.obama.gandhi/index.ht ml>. Jr., Martin Luther King. The Power of Non-violence. n.a., 4 June 1957. Mahatma Gandhi. BrainyQuote.com, Xplore Inc, 2013. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/mahatma_gandhi.html, accessed June 10, 2013. The Black Panther Party . "WHAT WAS THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY?" n.a. Black Panther. 7 June 2013 <http://www.blackpanther.org/legacynew.htm>. The Henry Ford. "The Story Behind the Bus." 2002. The Henry Ford . 7 June 2013 <http://www.thehenryford.org/exhibits/rosaparks/story.asp>.