policies such as the Jim Crow laws amplified this polarisation as much as
possible) led them to engage in unconventional forms of participation as they
believed that nothing else would work or be as impactful. Sit-ins occurred across
the country and in a myriad of different establishments, which could be done
due to their non-violent yet effective nature.
The distrust in political institutions held by African-American citizens was evident
and is extremely useful in verifying the hypothesis that this report seeks to
prove. Such a lack of trust is a catalyst in the creation of “new forms of political
expression such as nonviolent protests, sit-ins, boycotts, and child
demonstrations that were essential to securing greater racial justice and a more
genuine form of democracy” (Krishnamurthy, 2015, p.392). It must also be
recognised that non-violent protest were possibly the only form of participation
(conventional or otherwise) that African-American citizens could have used, as
it was illegal for African-American citizens to make their concerns known through
voting, and differing forms of protest such as violence would have carried heavy
implications such as serious jailtime, or possibly even death. However, the
simplicity of non-violent protest allowed sit-ins to occur all over the country
without extensive planning, thus resulting in a much more effective form of
unconventional participation. It can also be argued that the emotional impact of
polarisation on African-American citizens led to this unconventional
participation in the first place, and to its overall success. Citizens were
determined to make a change despite their institutions trying to hinder them
whenever possible, and repeatedly engaged in sit-ins until changes were made
to eradicate the segregating policies.
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