Importance of Political Activism in the U.S

The Negro has many pent up resentments and latent frustrations, and he must release them.

arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law.

Activism entails struggles to support, delay or direct social, political, economic and environmental transformation or continuity with the need to make developments in the community. Methods of activism vary from drafting letters to reporters or to politicians, radical demonstrations, and economic protests such as embargoes or favourably demeaning business, rallies, highway protests, slowdowns, sit-ins and hungers slowdowns.

Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored. My citing the creation of tension as part of the work of the nonviolent resister may sound rather shocking. But I must confess that I am not afraid of the word “tension.” I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth. Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, so must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood. The purpose of our direct action program is to create a situation so crisis packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation. I therefore concur with you in your call for negotiation. Too long has our beloved Southland been bogged down in a tragic effort to live in monologue rather than dialogue