Protesters Rights introduction the First Amendment Of The United ✓ Solved

The First Amendment of the United States grants safety for different forms of protest by protecting the right to peacefully assemble in public and the right to free speech. Individuals and groups that want to exercise their First Amendment rights by protesting can have their voices heard anywhere from parks, sidewalks, and public spaces. Regarding the amount and location of protesters, some cities require you to have a permit to carry out your protest. Protesting has and will forever be an important part of American life and history because it garners attention to urgent issues and injustices. There are violent and non-violent protests in social movements that can be found in past centuries from the Civil Rights Movement to the anti-war protest.

Today, protesting remains relevant because it's the only way for people to speak about the injustice happening in the United States. For example, the Black Lives Matter protest that protested against police brutality and racially motivated violence against Black people/African Americans. Even if a protest does get violent, it doesn't give the police the right to be violent towards protesters. Given that protesting is the only legal way to get our voices heard, protesters shouldn't be treated like criminals when they are fighting for justice and equality.

Non-Violent Protests

Leaders of the Civil Rights Movement chose non-violence as a way to get rid of systematic racism, discrimination, inequality, and racial segregation. The people trusted and followed Martin Luther King Jr.’s plan of non-violent protest and resistance. Martin Luther King led non-violent protesters to the capitol in Montgomery, Alabama, to make their voices heard. According to Miller (2018), “For 381 days, Martin Luther King and thousands of other black residents marched through the cold rain and blazing heat, ignoring and enduring death threats and violence they received.” As a matter of fact, the civil rights movement engaged the law in two basic ways. One was for activists to demand a change to established law.

Laws and government policies that discriminated against African Americans defined southern society. The sit-in movement was different. Black/African American students decided to sit in front of the table at coffee shops and restaurants that had a “whites only” sign upfront. The cops were called, and the situation escalated with some students being dragged and beaten from the sits, and with some being arrested. As the sit-in movement spread across the South, many were left wondering where did this all come from?

The students emphasized the spontaneous elements of the sit-ins. The protests, they insisted over and over again, were nothing more than a necessary, commonsense response to this particular racial injustice. They were tired of the indignities of segregation, and no one seemed to be doing anything that actually changed their lives. The sit-in movement was a break from the past. In the 1940s, the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), a newly formed interracial organization committed to nonviolent protest, led restaurant sit-ins in Chicago and other states.

Some people didn’t understand that what the students were doing was a challenge to existing laws, specifically, the Jim Crow Laws. The Brown v. Board of Education strikes down state-mandated segregation in schools. By 1960 most southern states had either removed segregation statutes from the books. Most of the privately-owned lunch counters the students targeted were not compelled to discriminate by law but were also required not to discriminate by law.

Violent Protests

The Hong Kong Protest that happened in 2019 took the world by storm because of the violence portrayed by the police against the protesters. The protest was held because Hong Kong citizens were against the bill allowing extradition to mainland China. In other words, they were against the bill that allowed criminals to be deported to China. Hong Kongers feared for their safety and exposure to violence. Fights between police and protesters became increasingly violent, leading the police to fire live bullets into the crowd.

According to BBC News (2019), “An 18-year-old was shot in the chest with a live bullet… One week later, a policeman shot a protester at close range.” With the violence increasing with each protest, Hong Kong's leader, Carrie Lam, suspended the bill indefinitely; however, protests continued and demanded an investigation into police actions. Law enforcement should have a range of less-lethal equipment enabling the differentiated use of force while ensuring harm and injury are kept to a minimum.

Personal Experience

Witnessing the fallout from George Floyd's death was profound. I felt compelled to take part in the protests occurring in Minneapolis and beyond. My friends and I organized to attend a local protest in downtown Chicago, embodying the spirit of collective action in the face of injustice. Wearing unidentifiable clothing, preparing to navigate a tense situation with the police looming large was key to our strategy for safety.

The protest experience was empowering. Crowds of all races echoed messages of equality and justice; however, the tension was palpable as police equipped for aggression formed barriers against us. It quickly turned from peaceful demonstration to chaos, as police deployed tear gas and excessive force against largely unarmed crowds.

As I navigated the tumultuous situation, shouting chants like “Black Lives Matter” felt both liberating and terrifying. The use of excessive force highlighted the civil rights violations that protests were meant to challenge, leaving many, including myself, questioning what needed to change in the systemic structures governing our society.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the role of policing should focus on protection and de-escalation rather than aggression and excess. It is crucial that society recognizes the importance of peaceful protests as an expression of fundamental rights, using the lessons learned from historical and contemporary struggles to inform future actions. Continued advocacy for justice needs to be embraced and understood within the framework of the First Amendment rights.

References

  • Miller, S. (2018). The Civil Rights Movement: A Historical Overview. New York: Academic Press.

  • BBC News. (2019). Hong Kong protests: Millions take to the streets. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-49006471

  • Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954).

  • Article. (n.d.). Law Enforcement Use of Force. Retrieved from https://www.article.org/law-enforcement-use-of-force

  • Jones, R. (2020). Understanding Police Brutality: Historical Context and Future Directions. American Journal of Social Justice.

  • Smith, A. (2021). Protest Dynamics: A Global Perspective. Routledge.

  • Franklin, J. (2019). The Impact of Police Violence on Community Relations. Journal of Community Policing.

  • Ng, K. (2021). The Politics of Protest in Hong Kong: An Analysis. Asian Journal of Comparative Politics.

  • Turner, K. (2020). Nonviolent Resistance: Strategies for Social Change. Social Movement Studies.

  • Green, D. (2019). Race, Protest, and Politics: The Role of Media in Shaping Perceptions. Journal of Race and Media Studies.