Die Macht der Gewaltlosigkeit: Martin Luther King und die „Black Church” als Trägerin der Bürgerrechtsbewegung
The „Black Church” was the real backbone of the civil rights movement. Without its crucial organizational and spiritual backing the strategy of non-violent resistance would never have been able to succeed to the same extent, as events in the northern cities, such as Chicago, show. Of course, further...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | German |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
2004
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| In: |
Kirchliche Zeitgeschichte
Year: 2004, Volume: 17, Issue: 2, Pages: 500-518 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The „Black Church” was the real backbone of the civil rights movement. Without its crucial organizational and spiritual backing the strategy of non-violent resistance would never have been able to succeed to the same extent, as events in the northern cities, such as Chicago, show. Of course, further significant factors have to be included such as the political impetus of the Kennedy presidency and the increased influence of the mass media, by means of which the local struggles of black people were advertised nationally and even globally. The peak of this nonviolent protest movement was however clearly reached once the campaign against segregation in the southern states was successful. In the north the civil rights movement was unable to find any secure basis for its activities, and lacked logistical and personal backing. The conclusion was that the strategy of non-violent protest arose from a distinct set of sociological and spiritual preconditions, which made its transfer to other settings problematical. Nevertheless Martin Luther King's life and teachings still have a prophetic dimension and appealing fascination, even after 28 war-like conflicts in a world beset by the dangers of terrorism. „Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. It is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than to win his understanding; it seeks to annihilate rather than to convert. Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue". |
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| ISSN: | 2196-808X |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Kirchliche Zeitgeschichte
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