The protests about the Israel-Gaza war on college campuses around the country continue to be a major story covered by a wide variety of media sources. Most of these stories focus on scenes of verbal and physical violence. The overall impression is that most protesters are engaging in criminal actions that are hateful and destructive. What is missing far too often is the reality that the vast majority of protesters are calling for ways to reduce the massive suffering and violence caused by the Israel-Gaza war. Their expressions of non-violent direct action are not the same as the minority of protesters who resort to hate speech or violence. Even when protesters are arrested, the reasons for arrest are not the same. Being arrested as a nonviolent expression of conscience is far different than being arrested for causing harm to people or property. Yet media reports focus on the numbers of arrests without making this crucial distinction.
As Americans and as people of faith, it is important to remember that protests featuring nonviolent direct action have been a major way to advocate for greater levels of justice in our society and world. The modern Civil Rights Movement was characterized by campaigns of nonviolent direct action that challenged longstanding policies of racial segregation and injustice. Thousands of people were arrested. At the time, the protesters were called agitators and criminals by those in power. Yet they were trained to protest in ways that refrained from “violence of fist, tongue, or heart.” In retrospect, we now celebrate their witness of standing up for the foundational principles of liberty and justice for all.
In the final years of his life, Dr.King was the most unpopular person in our nation. He supported protesting the Vietnam war because of his commitment to resist what he called “the giant triplets of evil” – racism, war, and poverty. So as we watch scenes of protest on college campuses today, we should not lump all forms of protest together. Protests that express hatred and violence need to be denounced. Protests that nonviolently dramatize a call for peace and justice can deepen our commitment to changes that reduce suffering and honor the image of God in all people.
The first video posted below features Dr. King at a mass protest against the Vietnam war on April 15, 1967 at The Untied Nations in New York.
The second video posted below features a part of Dr. King’s final speech on the night before he was killed. It lifts up the positive role of protest in a way that still speaks to us today.