Dr. King was not beloved. He was arrested 29 times. Yes, he blocked roads too.
He was labeled a "troublemaker." An "outside agitator." The FBI called him dangerous.
Today, we quote Dr. King as if he were universally loved. But we forget the discomfort. The pushback. The arrests. The violence. We forget that people were furious their daily routines were disrupted, even when the cause was justice.
Now, we watch people criticize immigration protesters who block ICE vans or roads. We hear the same arguments:
"This isn’t the right way."
"They’re breaking the law."
"They’re just causing chaos."
It’s the same playbook. And the same resistance to seeing it.
Civil disobedience isn’t about convenience. It is designed to challenge comfort. To interrupt the status quo and make injustice impossible to ignore.
What We’ve Forgotten About Civil Disobedience
In 1966, 63% of Americans viewed Dr. King unfavorably. Many felt his methods were too disruptive, too confrontational. Newspapers ran headlines calling sit-ins and marches "riots." Politicians begged him to slow down. The same people who now praise him once condemned his every move.
We don’t teach this part. We teach the dream without the disruption.
We remember the speeches but not the strategy. We forget that the bridge in Selma was blocked. That buses were boycotted. That arrests were intentional.
Civil disobedience is supposed to make people uncomfortable. It’s supposed to cause tension. Because that’s when people start paying attention.
Discomfort Then and Now
Today, we see a new generation using the same tactics. Protesters who sit down in front of ICE vans. Who block highways. Who chain themselves to buildings. And we hear the same angry response:
"You're hurting innocent people by making them late."
"You're creating division."
"You should find a better way."
But here’s the hard truth: there is no convenient time to confront injustice. There is no quiet, orderly way to demand fundamental change. There never has been.
In the 1960s, people were more outraged about lunch counters being occupied than about lynchings in the South. Today, some are more outraged about roads being shut down than about families being separated and children being detained.
If we’re more upset about a blocked street than a detained child, we’re not standing for law and order. We’re standing for comfort.
What This Has to Do With You
I saw firsthand (like many around me growing up) what it looks like when voices are ignored, when systems dehumanize, when people lose hope.
Today I run a company that leads with values. Integrity. Equity. Listening. That applies to how we manage housing. It also applies to how we engage with the world around us.
Civil disobedience is not just a tactic. It’s a moral tradition. And we dishonor it when we ignore it, sanitize it, or worse, condemn it in the present while celebrating it in the past.
The Opportunity Right Now
There are thousands of protests scheduled for this Saturday across the country. Many of them will be uncomfortable. Some will be disruptive. Just like they’re supposed to be.
If you’ve ever wondered what side of history you would be on, this is your chance to show it.
Fifty years from now, will you be able to say you stood up? Or will you have to admit you stayed quiet because comfort felt safer than conviction?
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