Case 5: Civil Rights Act of 1964

MLK was a master at harnessing the power of freedom of speech.

(OK, it's not really a case, but I couldn't think of another way to keep the post titles parallel.)

 Despite their efforts to beat back the civil rights movement — including bombings and murders — angry Southerners could not stop the tide of social change sweeping America. A crucial reason was the First Amendment.

Central to Martin Luther King's strategy for the movement was his keen insight into the First Amendment as the key mechanism for participation in self-government. All social movements rely on four of the six clauses of the First Amendment: freedom of speech and press, freedom of assembly and freedom to petition the government for the redress of grievances. Exercising those rights is the prime force that drives social change.

"Silence is betrayal," King once said. On the eve of his assassination, in the inspiring Mountaintop Speech, he thundered before a cheering crowd, "I read somewhere that the greatness of America was the right to protest for rights."

Consider how the people and events below sent a message to those who would thwart the movement. Think about the signals they sent to the nation and the world:

Montgomery Bus Boycott

Lunch Counter Sit-Ins

Freedom Riders

March on Washington

Keeping in mind those events as "expressive action," think how they helped lead to this:

Civil Rights Act of 1964