It's a condensed title but I'm curious about the differences and/or similarities between activism during the early Civil Rights Movement and modern day movements like Black Lives Matter.
EDIT: Forgot a word in the title. Sorry about that.
Most definitely.
Though we all know of the large ones, I think I'll take some time to point out some of the smaller ones which served to highlight some of the idiosyncratic rules of segregation. Notably the result of one of these sit ins, were the "swim ins" which happened along segregated beaches and pools that eventually ended in authorities forcibly removing African Americans from "white only" pools. Though perhaps a smaller type of protest, many obstructional protests happened across the south, protests that created an obvious and blatant obstruction: boycotts of stores, physically blocking segregated spaces like stores, libraries, churches, and other public places. This was a tactic and strategy that not only worked but saw very quick results despite the discontent it caused to local citizens.
Likewise probably one of the most prolific examples was the Montgomery Bus Boycotts (and many other bus boycotts) that caused an alarming drop in Bus usership for local bus companies and responses from local authorities to disincentive and fine any support of the boycotts themselves. Along those lines, the entire Birmingham Campaign in 1962 was based off of directly affecting businesses by boycotting any businesses that promoted segregation and actively sought to prevent any customers from entering the store. As to be expected that had very quick and direct results in tandem with sit-ins in segregated places and even blocking of churches and libraries that were "white only".
As to be expected there was a large current against this form of civil disobedience as many even within the local African American communities did not welcome King, the SCLC, or the ACMHR as many believed that the judicial system would be the proper channel to seek the end of segregation. That said within the context of the Civil Rights Movement itself, most of these tactics ended up fairly effective. The Birmingham Campaign saw businesses within a short amount of time remove "white-only" signs. As McGuire opines, the courts for the most part were fairly ineffectual in actually curbing any segregationist actions until the late 60s where it became a bit too embarrassing to continue.
Sources:
Note that this is not the best post as I barely touched on civil disobedience in West or the midwest and this is a primarily "Southern" viewpoint on the Civil Rights Movement within the East Coast.
Sure. The March on Washington for Freedom and Jobs in 1963 involved 200,000 to 300,000 people converging in Washington DC to march from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial. Most workers that did not participate in the March stayed home. They essentially closed down the capital city of the US. Most regularly scheduled television programming was canceled to report on the March. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The purpose of … direct action is to create a situation so crisis-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation.” It was not comfortable for people who did not support the movement back then.