Exploration 7 by Cole Haferman

     After viewing this documentary and learning what I could from it I came to realize that a lot of what was shown in the episode could be used and adapted to fin into today's world and help with our current problems. I think one of the main reasons why the blacks were so successful in their protests against the angry southern whites and the reason they were able to bring about such a drastic change in such a short period of time was the method in which they carried out the demonstrations. Throughout the whole movement, regardless of the setting, if it was at a sit in or during the freedom rides though the deep south all of the activists were trained to be calm and remain peaceful at all times. The man behind this mindset who actually taught the students to be peaceful and respectful at all times was a man by the name of Jim Lawson who started these "non violent workshops" as a way to organize and train the students in the ways of nonviolence and peaceful demonstrations. As the students began to carry out and partake in the demonstrations, beginning small with numerous cit ins at various local diners throughout downtown Nashville, they encountered resistance. On February 27th 1960 (37 years before I came into this world) the students carried out their first cit in at a local diner. The white customers and staff were noticeably uneasy and before long the black students began receiving abuse and harassment from white men at the diner. This continued for sometime but the demonstrators were fearless an remained nonviolent, when the police came and demanded they leave none of the students budged. That day over 80 black student protesters were arrested by the local police.
     It was only through this peaceful and nonviolent demonstration of will that the students were successful, had they retaliated against the whites with force and violence the change they brought about would have taken years longer to occur.