How Did Gandhi Influence The Civil Rights Movement

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Faith Garnett Phil 320 Research Paper Assignment Gandhi’s influence on the American Civil Rights movement Mahatmas Gandhi was the pioneer of India’s independence movement, his leadership and ingenious inspired movements of peace and non-violence all across the world. Gandhi’s influence on the American civil rights movement from 1954-68 can best be seen through the work of non-violent leaders such as: Martin Luther King Jr., and James Lawson. This research paper will closely look at Gandhi’s influence on the U.S. civil rights movement and its significant leaders. I will also analyze how those influences shaped the results of the movement during its height. Following the death of his father, Gandhi’s family sent him to England to study law.…show more content…
He was so influenced by Gandhi that in February of 1959, he and his wife Coretta Scott King spent a month in India studying Gandhi’s March techniques of nonviolence as guests of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and he carried Gandhi’s message with him back to America.” Dr. King was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. King was a Baptist minister and social activist, who led the Civil Rights movement in the United States from the mid-1950s until his death by assassination in 1968. “Through his activism he played a pivotal role in ending the legal segregation of African American Citizens in the south and other areas of the nation, as well as the creation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.” “The Christian doctrine of love operating through the Gandhian method of nonviolence was one of the most potent weapons available to the Negro in his struggle for freedom. Christ furnished the spirit and motivation, while Gandhi furnished the method.” This quote by Dr. King shows how deeply Gandhi affected his view on nonviolence, and the peaceful actions that took place in protest of injustice. The association between Gandhi’s freedom struggle and the aspirations of black citizens for equality can be seen as early as 1920. “Black Americans largely already knew about, admired, and felt…show more content…
Lawson was born September 22, 1928 in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. “Lawson introduced the principles of Gandhian nonviolence to many future leaders of the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement.” When he traveled to India in 1952, he already had a strong understanding of “intellectual grounding, and practical experience in nonviolence and civil disobedience through his involvement with protest against segregation and through his refusal to be drafted to fight in the Korean War.” Lawson spent one year in prison as a result of his conscientious objection during the war. After his release from prison, he went as a Methodist missionary to Nagpur, India, where he spent time with satyagrahis and people who worked directly with Gandhi. In 1957, five years later, Lawson met Dr. King, who encouraged him to get involved with the movement against segregation in the southern states of America. Lawson accepted King’s invitation and gained a position for the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR). “He held workshops and group studies on nonviolence using Gandhi’s writings, the bible, and writings by others such as Thoreau. Lawson was based in Nashville and had a huge influence on the character of the movements there. “Nashville remained staunchly committed to disciplined nonviolent struggle and demonstrated remarkable cohesion and strategic genius” throughout the decade of the civil rights movement,
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