Silent protest is an organized effort where the participants stay quiet to demonstrate disapproval. It is used as a form of
civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be called "civil". H ...
and
nonviolent resistance
Nonviolent resistance (NVR), or nonviolent action, sometimes called civil resistance, is the practice of achieving goals such as social change through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, satyagraha, ...
[1968: Black athletes make silent protest]
/ref> that encourages voicing out different opinions through certain acts such as not showing support to a certain product, attending mass parade, having symbolism, and educating and encouraging other people to join the protest. This aims to support and resolve different matters related to inequality, peace making, and nation leadership problems.
Notable Events in History
''Mohandas Gandhi'', who is a known activist and spiritual leader, is a great executor of silent protest as he has always believed that it is better than committing brutal acts. He used it in numerous campaigns for India’s freedom against the British administration which then influenced more silent protests done in the upcoming years.
''In 1930'' when the British still ruled India, they enforced a law which only allowed people to get overtaxed salt from them, thus not allowing people to sell or collect salt on their own. Gandhi persuaded people of his country to ignore the law and do the opposite to voice out their concern regarding this law. This is known as the ''Salt March'' which helped India to be independent from the ruling administration of the British.
Examples
* On July 28, 1917, a Silent Parade
The Negro Silent Protest Parade, commonly known as the Silent Parade, was a silent march of about 10,000 African Americans along Fifth Avenue starting at 57th Street in New York City on July 28, 1917. The event was organized by the NAACP, church ...
took place in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
to protest lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an ex ...
.
* 1968 Olympics Black Power salute
During their medal ceremony in the Olympic Stadium in Mexico City on October 16, 1968, two African-American athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, each raised a black-gloved fist during the playing of the US national anthem, "The Star-Spangled ...
*1968 Summer Olympics
The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport ev ...
– Czech gymnast Věra Čáslavská
en, the love of Tokyo ja, 「オリンピックの名花」 en, darling of the Olympic Games
, country = Czechoslovakia
, formercountry =
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Prague, Czechoslovakia ( occupied by Germany 1939– ...
looked away when the Soviet anthem was playingNOH8 Campaign
The NOH8 Campaign (NOH8 meaning "No Hate") is a charitable organization whose mission is to promote LGBT marriage, gender and human equality through education, advocacy, social media, and visual protest.
The campaign was created as photographic ...
* 2011 Belarusian protests
The 2011 Belarusian protests were a series of peaceful protests by demonstrators in Belarus demanding the resignation of current Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, who had been the president of Belarus since 1994. Belarus is an author ...
See also
* Blank piece of paper (protest tactic)
References
Community organizing
Nonviolence
Protest tactics
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