1. Strength to Love (1)

The black struggle for equal rights can be traced back to the early days when African negroes were sent to American colonies as slaves. By the 1950s and 60s the famous Martin Luther King began to advocate "nonviolent direct action" against racial discrimination. What does nonviolent direct action mean? Why did King adopt such a policy and was it a success?

"To be a negro in America is to hope against hope," wrote Martin Luther King in the last year of his life. The advance of the black man in the United States, from the position of slave to that of proud and equal citizen, is slow. The black man's hopes have often ended in despair.

"Of the good things in life he has about one-half those of whites; of the bad he has twice those of whites," wrote Dr. King. Half of all black people lived in poor houses. They received about half as much pay as whites. They had twice as many of their people out of work and twice as many babies dead for lack of proper care. Allowing for their numbers, twice as many black men as white fought in the war in Vietnam, and twice as many died in that war. Most black people still did work that was unpleasant and poorly paid. It was the only work they could get.

This was Dr. King's description of their position after ten years of steady progress. And he had done more than any other single man to make that progress possible. He was not only one of America's great negroes. He was one of her very great men.

When he was shot by an assassin's gun he was only thirty-nine. He was at the height of his strength and power. He seemed to understand what the black people needed most and what they could do to get it. He was determined that they shouldn't damage or destroy others in their struggle. He wouldn't allow the use of guns or other arms. He taught his people to stand up for themselves but to do this with understanding and love for those who stood against them.

"Freedom is not given, it is won," he said. "The hard truth is that neither negro nor white has yet done enough to expect the dawn of a new day ... Freedom is won by a struggle against suffering ... "

To understand the position of American black people it is necessary to know something of American history. In the eighteenth century large numbers of African slaves were brought into the United States to provide labour for the cotton fields in the southern states.

At that time most people accepted the idea of slavery. And not many people thought about the cruel and evil conditions in which the slaves were obtained and shipped to the new world. They suffered dreadfully. Thousands of men, women and children died on the way.

By the time the slaves were set free they had forgotten much of their African past. They felt no pride in their old languages and religions. They knew only the hard work of the cotton fields and the terrible suffering of a slave's life. The lesson they had learned best was to obey their masters and not complain. They had accepted the religion, language and values of their new country. But their new country continued to see them only as a pair of hands or a strong back to be put to work.

During the next hundred years the negroes spread out all over the United States. Conditions were better for them in the northern states than in the south. But while large numbers of poor people from many nations poured into America and made their fortunes, the black people still got the worst homes, schools and jobs. They didn't expect anything more.

But America is a rich country. At last the black people began to demand a large share of its wealth. In many parts of the country—but especially in the south—that demand was rudely refused. In every way they were looked on as second-class citizens. In the southern states they couldn't eat in the same restaurants, wash in the same wash rooms, travel in the same seats on trains or buses. Even if they grew rich they couldn't live like other Americans.

Martin Luther King began his public struggle for black rights in 1956 when he was only twenty-six. He had just returned to the deep south after finishing his education at northern universities. Like his father and grandfather he was a Baptist minister and possessed a deep Christian faith. His all-black church was in Montgomery, Alabama.

One day a woman named Rosa Parks was traveling home from work on a Montgomery bus. She was tired after her day's work. She sat down in one of the seats at the back of the bus that were for black people. White people used the ones in front. But the bus was crowded that night and there weren't enough seats for everyone. When a white man got on the bus and couldn't find a seat the driver ordered Mrs. Parks to get up and give him hers.

Afterwards Mrs. Parks said she couldn't imagine what had made her do it. Usually she did as she was told. But that night she refused to give up her seat. The driver called a policeman. She was arrested and dragged off to prison.

The black people in Montgomery were used to such events. They knew they couldn't expect anything else so they usually gave way. But suddenly they were very angry. Crowds gathered in the streets and in the churches. When Dr. King heard about it he said, "We could all stop using the buses."

This was what he meant by "nonviolent direct action". It was action that would express the people's strong feeling without attacking anyone. He got the idea from Gandhi, whose picture hung over his desk. He had always admired Gandhi.

The idea spread like flames. For the first time the black people united in a common purpose. They had always used the buses a lot and needed them. But they had suffered enough. They refused to travel any longer on buses which had separate places for blacks and whites. They shared what cars they had. But many of them had to walk miles and miles each day to get to work. This went on for over a year. When one old lady was asked if she minded walking so far she said no, she didn't mind. Her feet were tired but her soul was refreshed. The people were grateful to have found a way to express their anger and bitterness.

(to be continued)