Nonviolent Protest Effectiveness Persuasive Essay Sample

“Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability but comes through continuous struggle.” is a statement Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said during one of numerous speeches he performed in front of protestors and allies for the Black Civil rights movement.  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said it best that change would never be easy but comes eventually from a great amount of determination and ambition. People who learn about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. learn how he protested non-violently to put a stop to black segregation. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Is now recognized as a role model to produce positive change through nonviolent protests he led. When I think of positive change I think of nonviolent protest because nonviolent protests are a perfect balance between peaceful and violent protests. Nonviolent protests can also capture more attention because of this perfect balance.  

Nonviolent protests, in my opinion, are more successful in producing positive change than violent protests. In addition, nonviolent protests can motivate people to act unlike violent protests that could scare away potential protestors because of the way they are like. 

Violent protests can get the attention of people; however, the attention violent protests get can result in negative backlash. For instance, in January of 2021, trump supporters stormed the capital because Trump encouraged it to happen. The mob was violent when they made their way throughout the capital and smashed windows, knocked down doors, and destroyed more things as well.  What I am trying to get out of this example is that these types of protests don’t work as effectively as nonviolent protests do. This is because the riot was shut down and it caused no change to what the Trump supporters wanted to achieve by using this type of protest.  

An example of a protest that was successful and was nonviolent was the BLM movement. Majority of the BLM movement was nonviolent but not completely peaceful. However, there were some exceptions which mostly came from young adults that protested for this movement. Nonetheless it did bring a positive change and that change was to show mistreatment and racial inequality of African American people. Besides this movement happening in 2020 it is still talked about and advocated for. This is because unlike violent protests that are only talked about in a brief instance while nonviolent protests are talked about for a long period of time. For example, the Black Civil rights movement happened more than 60 years ago, however it is still talked about in today’s world. With what I was saying about the BLM movement it has become a great example of how to stand up for POC communities. For instance, one other movement happened later on after BLM movement that supported the Asian community when they faced problems circulating around racism. 

To sum up what I stated in the previous paragraphs, I strongly think that nonviolent protests are the most effective way to produce positive change.  Between violent protests and nonviolent protests, nonviolent protests have caused more of a change to the problem than violent protests. However, I also think that nonviolent protests cannot be truly only nonviolent. I think there should be violence, however not a drastic amount of violence but enough to bring attention to the problem that needs to be addressed that the protestors are fighting for. For instance, like sit-ins, boycotts, and marches Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did when he himself protested. One thing to take away from what I said is to know that nonviolent protests are the best way to produce change because it has worked for a numerous number of causes.