As we passed through a cheering crowd gathered on the sidewalk outside, I felt high, almost giddy with joy. As we approached the open rear doors of a paddy wagon, I felt elated. From Walking With the Wind by John Lewis. Inc. Classroom Activities 1. The sit-ins John Lewis recounts in the excerpt are an example of civil disobedience.
People practice civil disobedience to protest nonviolently a law they believe to be unjust.
Civil disobedience has played a significant role in African American history, not only during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, but also during the abolitionist movement a century earlier. For example, Harriet Tubman and others were part of a secret network of African American northerners who helped guide slaves to freedom. Ask students to find additional examples of prominent African Americans who used civil disobedience for change. Have students create a gallery of prominent leaders who advocated and participated in civil disobedience. Examples include Henry David Thoreau, Martin Luther King Jr., Dorothy Day, Mahatma Gandhi, Harriet Tubman, and Dick Gregory.