--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fore more than a decade - from the…" description: "\"“Fore more than a decade - from the mid-1950s until the late 1960s - conservatives systematically and strategically linked opposition to civil rights l..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd9/michelle-alexander-750_civil-disobedience_fore-more-than-a-decade-from-the-mid-195_2611719.jpg" --- # Fore more than a decade - from the mid-1950s until the… ![“Fore more than a decade - from the mid-1950s until the late 1960s - conservatives systematically and strategically linked opposition to civil rights legislation to calls for law and order, arguing that Martin Luther King Jr.'s philosophy of civil disobedience was a leading cause of crime. Civil…” quote by Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd9/michelle-alexander-750_civil-disobedience_fore-more-than-a-decade-from-the-mid-195_2611719.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd9/michelle-alexander-750_civil-disobedience_fore-more-than-a-decade-from-the-mid-195_2611719.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd9/michelle-alexander-750_civil-disobedience_fore-more-than-a-decade-from-the-mid-195_2611719.jpg) > ““Fore more than a decade - from the mid-1950s until the late 1960s - conservatives systematically and strategically linked opposition to civil rights legislation to calls for law and order, arguing that Martin Luther King Jr.'s philosophy of civil disobedience was a leading cause of crime. Civil rights protests were frequently depicted as criminal rather than political in nature, and federal courts were accused of excessive 'lenience' toward lawlessness, thereby contributing to the spread of crime.”” [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Conservatives linked civil rights opposition to law‑and‑order rhetoric, framing protests as criminal to justify harsher policies. **In simple terms:** Linking civil rights to crime to suppress activism. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge criminalizing narratives. Themes politics civil rights law and order media framing Mood critical analytical Type political historical When to use this quote - activist movements - policy debates - public discourse Key Concepts racial justice political strategy social control Questions to Reflect On - How does framing protest as crime affect public opinion? - What alternative narratives could promote justice? A Different Perspective The narrative oversimplifies complex social issues and can ignore legitimate grievances. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civil disobedience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-disobedience/) [Civil Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-right/) [Civil rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights/) [Law and order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law-and-order/) ## Related quotes > [“Civil rights protests were frequently depicted as criminal rather than political in nature, and federal courts were accused of excessive “lenience” toward lawlessness, thereby…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/civil-rights-protests-were-frequently-depicted-as-criminal-rather/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“The rhetoric of ‘law and order’ was first mobilized in the late 1950s as Southern governors and law enforcement officials attempted to generate and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-rhetoric-of-law-and-order-was-first-mobilized-in-the-late-1950s/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [I will ensure that no criminal will ever get any political protection in my government. If anyone takes law in his hands, he would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yogi-adityanath/i-will-ensure-that-no-criminal-will-ever-get-any-political-protection/) [Yogi Adityanath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yogi-adityanath/) > [I worked with Mikhail Saakashvili for more than six years. I was his right-hand man. He never accused me of anything during that time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irakli-okruashvili/i-worked-with-mikhail-saakashvili-for-more-than-six-years-i-was-his/) [Irakli Okruashvili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irakli-okruashvili/) > [In 1999, I was in St. Louis with Martin Luther King III as we led protests against the state's failure to hire minority contractors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-sharpton/in-1999-i-was-in-st-louis-with-martin-luther-king-iii-as-we-led/) [Al Sharpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-sharpton/) > [When that devil's bullet lodged itself inside the body of Martin Luther King, he had already begun an astonishing mobilization of poor, Black, white,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-jordan/when-that-devil-s-bullet-lodged-itself-inside-the-body-of-martin/) [June Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-jordan/) > [I remember back in the 1960s - late '50s, really - reading a comic book called 'Martin Luther King Jr. and the Montgomery Story.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lewis/i-remember-back-in-the-1960s-late-50s-really-reading-a-comic-book/) [John Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lewis/) > [“In his grave, we praise him for his decency - but when he walked amongst us, we responded with no decency of our own.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-serling/in-his-grave-we-praise-him-for-his-decency-but-when-he-walked-amongst/) [Rod Serling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-serling/) > [The world - and America - has been defined by people who haven't necessarily abided by the laws and the rules. Civil disobedience is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-kennedy/the-world-and-america-has-been-defined-by-people-who-haven-t/) [Rory Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-kennedy/) > [I see a lot of individual action when it comes to environmental questions really as a form of politics as a way of communicating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/i-see-a-lot-of-individual-action-when-it-comes-to-environmental/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [That was exciting to be able to comment on civil rights. I mean, the civil rights movement that young people don't know about today,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-feiffer/that-was-exciting-to-be-able-to-comment-on-civil-rights-i-mean-the/) [Jules Feiffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-feiffer/) > [Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered as our prince of peace, of civil rights. We owe him something major that will keep his memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-freeman/martin-luther-king-jr-is-remembered-as-our-prince-of-peace-of-civil/) [Morgan Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-freeman/) > [The only politician anybody ever believed was Kennedy, anyway. Kennedy, Martin Luther King - civil rights always turns out in bloody war. Where's his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-macgowan/the-only-politician-anybody-ever-believed-was-kennedy-anyway-kennedy/) [Shane MacGowan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-macgowan/) > [Most students graduate from high school knowing nine words about the civil rights movement: Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, and "I Have a Dream."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-aydin/most-students-graduate-from-high-school-knowing-nine-words-about-the/) [Andrew Aydin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-aydin/) > [I think that for many of us, the years of the Civil Rights movements - Martin Luther King, Bobby Kennedy running for president in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/i-think-that-for-many-of-us-the-years-of-the-civil-rights-movements/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) ## More by Michelle Alexander > [If you ask for good schools, you aren't likely to get them. If you ask for jobs or economic investment, you won't get that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-you-ask-for-good-schools-you-aren-t-likely-to-get-them-if-you-ask/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The uncomfortable reality we must face is that California, like the nation as a whole, has treated generations of African Americans and Latinos as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-uncomfortable-reality-we-must-face-is-that-california-like-the/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Seeing race is not the problem. Refusing to care for the people we see is the problem. The fact that the meaning of race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/seeing-race-is-not-the-problem-refusing-to-care-for-the-people-we-see/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Since the nations founding, African Americans repeatedly have been controlled through institutions such as slavery and Jim Crow, which appear to die but then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/since-the-nations-founding-african-americans-repeatedly-have-been/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Felon disenfranchisement laws have been more effective in eliminating black voters in the age of mass incarceration than they were under Jim Crow…These figures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/felon-disenfranchisement-laws-have-been-more-effective-in-eliminating/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“That was King’s dream—a society that is capable of seeing each of us, as we are, with love. That is a goal worth fighting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/that-was-king-s-dream-a-society-that-is-capable-of-seeing-each-of-us/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Activists take the risks, while advocates are professional tinkerers with the system. What's necessary is for those who are advocates to support those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/activists-take-the-risks-while-advocates-are-professional-tinkerers/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Civil rights protests were frequently depicted as criminal rather than political in nature, and federal courts were accused of excessive “lenience” toward lawlessness, thereby…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/civil-rights-protests-were-frequently-depicted-as-criminal-rather/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [We cannot 'fix' the police without a revolution of values and radical change to the basic structure of our society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/we-cannot-fix-the-police-without-a-revolution-of-values-and-radical/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [If we continue to tell ourselves the popular myths about racial progress or, worse yet, if we say to ourselves that the problem of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-we-continue-to-tell-ourselves-the-popular-myths-about-racial/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The mass incarceration of poor people of color, particularly black men, has emerged as a new caste system, one specifically designed to address the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-mass-incarceration-of-poor-people-of-color-particularly-black-men/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [ “\[T\]he slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery. —W.E.B Du Bois, Black Reconstruction in America… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/t-he-slave-went-free-stood-a-brief-moment-in-the-sun-then-moved-back/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [If you take into account prisoners, a large majority of African American men in some urban areas, like Chicago, have been labeled felons for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-you-take-into-account-prisoners-a-large-majority-of-african/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“A new civil rights movement cannot be organized around the relics of the earlier system of control if it is to address meaningfully the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/a-new-civil-rights-movement-cannot-be-organized-around-the-relics-of/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The rules and reasons the political system employs to enforce status relations of any kind, including racial hierarchy, evolve and change as they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-rules-and-reasons-the-political-system-employs-to-enforce-status/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) [Explore all 381 Michelle Alexander quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) ## More Civil disobedience quotes > [ \[Putin\] is a bully. And bullies only understand when we punch them in the nose, but we need to do that economically. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ayotte/putin-is-a-bully-and-bullies-only-understand-when-we-punch-them-in/) [Kelly Ayotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ayotte/) > [The world - and America - has been defined by people who haven't necessarily abided by the laws and the rules. Civil disobedience is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-kennedy/the-world-and-america-has-been-defined-by-people-who-haven-t/) [Rory Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-kennedy/) > [When you say 'no' and you get on the streets and you do an act of civil disobedience, it changes your psychology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-bradbrook/when-you-say-no-and-you-get-on-the-streets-and-you-do-an-act-of-civil/) [Gail Bradbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-bradbrook/) > [There is all the difference in the world between the criminal's avoiding the public eye and the civil disobedience's taking the law into his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/there-is-all-the-difference-in-the-world-between-the-criminal-s/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Racial discrimination in elections in Texas is no mere historical artifact. To the contrary, Texas has been found in violation of the Voting Rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/racial-discrimination-in-elections-in-texas-is-no-mere-historical/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [My first civil disobedience arrest for social justice was in 1986 for protesting the SDI.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sheen/my-first-civil-disobedience-arrest-for-social-justice-was-in-1986-for/) [Martin Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sheen/) > [Even here in America, we felt the cool, refreshing breeze of freedom when Nelson Mandela took the seat of Presidency in his country where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/even-here-in-america-we-felt-the-cool-refreshing-breeze-of-freedom/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Civil disobedience is a stimulation for the fighters and a challenge to the opponent, in the present instance, authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/civil-disobedience-is-a-stimulation-for-the-fighters-and-a-challenge/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“The only word these corporations know is more,” wrote Chris Hedges, former correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor, National Public Radio, and the New York…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-marrs/the-only-word-these-corporations-know-is-more-wrote-chris-hedges/) [Jim Marrs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-marrs/) > [A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-wise-man-will-not-leave-the-right-to-the-mercy-of-chance-nor-wish/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I became convinced that noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-became-convinced-that-noncooperation-with-evil-is-as-much-a-moral/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [New concepts should be introduced by the power of imagery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coop/new-concepts-should-be-introduced-by-the-power-of-imagery/) Douglas Coop > [Civil disobedience can help to focus attention on a particular injustice. It was used historically to highlight wrongs in society - turning ancient redwood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-brune/civil-disobedience-can-help-to-focus-attention-on-a-particular/) [Michael Brune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-brune/) > [I see a lot of individual action when it comes to environmental questions really as a form of politics as a way of communicating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/i-see-a-lot-of-individual-action-when-it-comes-to-environmental/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [“Our legislators have not yet learned the comparative value of free-trade and of freedom, of union, and of rectitude, to a nation. They have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-legislators-have-not-yet-learned-the-comparative-value-of-free/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Browse all 248 Civil disobedience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-disobedience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Fore more than a decade - from the mid-1950s until the late 1960s - conservatives systematically and strategically linked opposition to civil rights legislation to calls for law and order, arguing that Martin Luther King Jr.'s philosophy of civil disobedience was a leading cause of crime. 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