During the 1950s and 1960s major changes were taking place for black Americans across the United States. Riots, mass demonstrations, Civil Right's laws, voting laws and an end to segregation, were seeking to improve the quality of life for blacks in both the industrial north and the deeply segregated south. After 350 years it seemed that the blacks and whites would, if not willing, be forced to live in peace with each other. Through the help of great organizers such as Martin Luther King Jr., non-violent protest paved the way for equal human rights for blacks in America by creating a tension within the south. However, this was not without opposition from both the black community and the white community
             Martin Luther King's tactics were of non-violence, love, and compassion towards his oppressors. Like Rosa Parks and the men of Greensboro, Georgia, the non-violent protest always got immediate attention and reaction. His non-violent tactic had great support throughout the south. Thousands of Black and whites took part in non-violent protests in the south during the '50s and '60s. One of the most widely notable was the march on Birmingham, Alabama in April 1963. From "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," we can see the opposition expressed by his white fellow clergymen. From reading the letter Martin Luther King sent to his fellow clergymen we can get a sense of the reasons MLK faced resistance to his non-violent conduct. The clergymen of Alabama thought that MLK had no right to be in Birmingham when he was from Atlanta and expressed lament about the demonstration. Moreover, they believed the negotiation is better than direct action. The act of willingly breaking one law while being obedient to others also confused them. They also accused MLK of being an extremist and praised the Birmingham police of keeping order at the protest. In MLK's letter, he addressed their laments with great rhetoric and plain logic. MLK's letter left the reader ...