WIZNACK | 48 HEADLINE executive along with the introduction of universal suffrage in the territory On 21st July, suspected triad members assaulted the protesters and commuters in Yuen Long, which caused a growth of the protest along with police interactions. Lam refused to grant four demands out of five but withdrew the bill on 04th September. She requested the emergency powers to set-straight an anti-mask law to keep authorities safe. The protesters and the affiliation started being intimidating while using petrol bombs and vandalizing pro-Bejing establishment and symbols representing the government with the rise of police brutality and misconduct allegations. Notable Events, • The storming of the Legislative Council in July 2019 • The death of Chow Tsz-lok and Luo Changqing • The shooting of an unarmed protester • The sieges of two universities in November 2019 With the siege of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the protest won over the pro-democracy camp in the District Council election in November. Also, in early 2020, the Covid-19 Pandemic bought a cooling-off period. Followed by Beijing’s decision to promulgate a national security bill for Hong Kong before September, the condition upraise again in May 2020. The severe state of the protester’s affiliation and the government authority’s impact on fundamental political freedoms and civil liberties have recognized as a threat to Hong Kong’s Basic Law, and it caught the international community’s attention to re-evaluate their policies towards Hong Kong government. The United States supported the protest by presenting the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act on 27th November 2019. The condition started being severe on 16th June just after Lam suspended the bill.
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WIZNACK | 50 HEADLINE CAUSES OF THE PROTEST The alleged cause of the 2019-2020 Hong Kong protests was the issued legislation of the 2019 Hong Kong extradition bill. Several other reasons have exposed, such as demands for democratic reform, the Causeway Bay Books disappearance, or the fear of losing a “high degree of autonomy” in general. The Hong Kong protests were unique, and it has mainly targeted by eco - nomic grievances. Police brutality has vast - ly highlighted during the protesting of the affiliated members due to mass arrests. The highlighted causes as follows, • Democratic reform • Fear of losing rights and freedoms (Causeway Bay Books and Xiao Jian - hua disappearance) • Anti-Mainland sentiment • The legislative process of 2019 Hong Kong extradition bill • The accusation of police violence on 12th June protest and subsequent events that related to police The protest organizers were also assaulted and attacked including, Jimmy Sham from the CHRF and pro-democratic lawmakers such as Lam Cheuk-ting and Roy Kwong. Jimmy Sham, Lam Cheukting, and Roy Kwong were heavily assulted and at - tacked during the protest’s active movements.
51 | WIZNACK HEADLINE Brave protesters were marching in heavy rain against the 2019 Hong Kong extradition bill on Sunday, August 18, 2019
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53 | WIZNACK HEADLINE CAUSES OF THE PROTEST The protest started as a sit-in by the pro-democracy group named Demosisto, officially begun at the Central Government Complex on 15th March 2019. It was the first held protest against the extradition bill. There was a civil crowd of 50 pro-democracy groups known as the Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF) who started a protest marching against the extradition bill on 31st March and 28th April 2019. The pro-democratic lawmakers in the Legislative Council presented a filibuster campaign against the extradition bill to gain more attention, and the government decided to resume the extradition bill in full council on 12th July 2019, in response to the Secretary of Security John Lee. The CHRF proceeded with their third protesting walk expecting the second reading of the extradition bill on 09th June 2019. The gathering of the protest in Hong Kong Island estimated to 270,000 people, and the organizers claimed there were 1.03 million people affiliated with the rally. According to Carrie Lam, the second reading and debate regarding the extradition bill dated to resume on 12th June. The second reading of the extradition bill has stopped due to the successful protesting surrounded the LegCo Complex. Moreover, the expansion and fear of the protest have grown, causing many rioting activities of the police along with kettling, firing tear gas, bean bag rounds, rubber bullets, and assaulting active journalists. The police have got blamed and criticized for using excessive force at peaceful crowds of the protest, and the police commissioner Stephen Lo declared the
WIZNACK | 54 HEADLINE severe condition as a riot. The protesters demanded an independent inquiry from the government for the extreme characterizations of the police brutality. However, Carrie Lam announced the extradition bill’s suspension but did not mention any complete withdrawal of it. Thus, Lam’s decision caused a 35-year-old man to commit suicide. According to the CHRF’s claim, followed by the suicide incident, the protest had grown to 2 million people on 16th June 2019 with the police estimation of 338,000 people leading at its peak. The Black Bauhinia, a flag being used at the 2019 Hong Kong protests
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57 | WIZNACK HEADLINE INTERNATIONAL REACTIONS The rise of the protest urged other nations to put travel restrictions and warnings for Hong Kong. Hence, many other locations in the world actively demonstrated the extradition protest including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Vietnam. Most of the international students were active supporters of whoever lived abroad during the incident of the protest, and they have got disrupted by the mainland Chinese supporters continuously. Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, deemed a full inquiry towards the police brutality against protesters. Furthermore, due to the violating condition of the protests, the Amnesty International supported the protesters for their dedication through “abusive policing tactics.” The head of Human Rights Watch (HRW), Kenneth Roth, also held by the Hong Kong International Airport officials by denying entry to Hong Kong on 12th January 2020. Concerning the dangerous circumstances, many countries have offered immigration benefits for those who have been active supporters against the government for humanitarian reasons and purposes. —
WIZNACK | 58 HEADLINE Harcourt Road tear smoke against Activists
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WIZNACK | 60 “The Web as I envisaged it, we have not seen it yet. The future is still so much bigger than the past.’ —Sir Tim Brenden Lee THE WWW AND THE INTERNET The information system that changed the world
61 | WIZNACK LIFE GOES ON There was a time that the electrical telegraph was the only source of communication method that existed before Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. Telecommunication was an expensive and recognized concept that existed even before the founding of other electronic communication methods. With the advancement of digital programmable computers, global communication became simple, convenient, and instantaneous when the Internet and the World Wide Web introduced to the world. Some firms used local networks in early-Sixties, but without a host-to-host connection. In 1969, the Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA) of the US Department of Defense was the very first organization to create a host-to-host networking system called ARPANET that changed the networking concept in the world. There were minor indications of errors that had occurred in the networking system. According to the researchers, the network was interrupted during the data exchange process; supposedly, the letter ‘g’ had been caused the computers to crash. The error was a failure of coding according to the researcher’s reports, and they were able to diagnose the problem accordingly. However, within a complete revise, the researchers had been able to develop the solution and brought back the system up and running at four computers around the US. The invention of the host-to-host networking system allowed the internet to take over the globe. While it was a working dream during the seventies and eighties, most of the other researchers started advancing and introducing new concepts. There weren’t any substitutes to replace the internet, and the worth of it has progressively increased by creating the internet as the backbone of the computer operations, which users wouldn’t be able to see the data process. Nevertheless, the modernization of the internet has started in the late eighties when a researcher at CERN called Tim Berners-Lee and his team developed a system to access text-based pages through the internet, which had specified as websites and the “world wide web” nowadays. The brand new system has based on the use of the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP), which allows the communication between network servers and computers. Tim and his team developed the early web browser that allowed the users to browse through these text pages, which released to the public domain in 1992. Furthermore, within a year later, the first ‘point and click’ graphical interface browser named Mosaic had introduced to the world by the co-founder of Netscape Marc Andreessen at the University of Illinois.
WIZNACK | 62 LIFE GOES ON world wide web. He founded and established an organization called World Wide Web Consortium in 1994, which is still actively running today. The organization is a web developing company that develops the web to its full potential, and he is currently leading the company as a director. Sir Tim Berners-Lee is an electronic enthusiast since his early age and known as one of the most important people of the 20th century. He was born to a family of mathematicians, and his family background had heavily influenced him to develop his love for the technology. He attended Oxford University, where he built his first computer and graduated in 1976 as a Physics Major. Once he completed his university education, he started working in Dorset, UK, spending several years with barcode technology and typesetting software. Later in 1984, he started his career as a freelancer at CERN, where he designed a global hypertext project that identified as the SIR TIM BRENDEN -LEE
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WIZNACK | 64 The Legendary Ancient Sunken Kingdom The “Mount Fanjing” intends to precept the insight of Pure Land Buddhism. CANTRE’R G WAELOD
65 | WIZNACK PRECIOUS LAND Coccolithophores in the Celtic Sea
WIZNACK | 66 History has brought us fascinating truths back to life from the middle of nowhere with many coincidental surprises. At times, it is considered improbable discoveries of exploration. But the myths are superior, written on historical wisdom, perhaps, it exists, or perhaps, it stays as a mythological narrative for the rest of our lives. By any means, the artifacts are perfect clues for archaeological excavation projects. That is when a storm revealed an ancient Welsh kingdom dating back to approximately 4500 years too late. It is a forest of a buried precinct, and the myth has shown its identity as the kingdom of Cantre’r Gwaelod according to Medieval legend. This Welsh kingdom is also referred to as the legend of the “Lost Lowland Hundred,” among the English community. Located by the Cardigan Bay to the west of Wales, previously known as the Ramsey Island and Bardsey Island, this Mythical Sunken Kingdom is a precious land that offers literary value through its folktales and featured songs of Welsh Atlantis. The relationship between ancient Greece and the kingdom is one of the distinguished endorsements when appraising the mentions of the philosopher Plato and his disappearance to the roaring sea. Ancient submerged forest
67 | WIZNACK PRECIOUS LAND THE MYTHOLOGICAL NARRATION The legend interpreted various mythological folktales with a vast history dating back to the sixth century. The Cantre’r Gwaelod had ruled by a legendary king named Gwyddno Garanhir, and the land was known as “Maes Gwyddno,” or “Gwyddno’s Land” in English. One of the earliest versions of the folktale describes that the Maes Gwyddno was sunken when a priestess of a fairy well called Mererid had let the water overflow. According to the legend, there were two princes, and Mererid had been distracted by prince Seithennyn with his amorous advances. And when the storm approached, Mereid failed to notice and act before the trouble because she was casually behaving with the prince. Apart from Priestess Mereid’s tale, another version has been familiar with previous generations, and still to appear in nowaday’s culture. The most recent version describes a dyke that had protected the kingdom on high tides, and on low tides, the sluice gates were open to let the water drain from the prosperous land. There had been a watchman, a prince named Seithennyn, known to be one of King’s friends assigned to guard the gates. He had characteristics of a drunkard. Once, he had been drunk at King’s palace, where he attended a party when the storm hit the south-west. He had not been aware of the approaching storm and had no chance of closing the flood gates. Therefore, the seawater level had risen above the limits and flooded the land drowned along with 16 villages. King Gwyddno and his closest clan had to leave the prosperous kingdom to an abandoned area for survival. — Artist’s impression of the kingdom’s destruction
WIZNACK | 68 PRECIOUS LAND Map showing position of Cardigan Bay off Wales’ west coast Map showing position of Cardigan Bay off Wales’ west coast
69 | WIZNACK PRECIOUS LAND Life: The submerged forest has found with 4000 - 5000 years old pine, alder, and birch tree stumps preserved caused by less oxygen and increased level of alkaline in the mud. Due to the rise of the water level, a hard layer of peat destroyed the growth of trees. There were old animal bones, and a pair of deer antlers have found in the area of the kingdom where it had covered by the ocean earlier. Hence, archeologists declared there was Bronze Age life (3000 to 1200 BC) that had existed due to the findings of a timber walkway made of coppiced branches and straight leverage to manage the rising water levels. The area has been called the “Atlantis of Wales,” because of the found discoveries of human and animal fossilized footprints hardened on the peat layer, and the burnt stones possibly from ancient dwellings. HISTORIC EVIDENCE Ancient Red Deer Antlers
WIZNACK | 70 PRECIOUS LAND Myth: The mentions of the Kingdom of Cantre’r Gwaelod has found in the Medival Manuscripts stored at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth. The story of the legend narrated in a famous Welsh folk song— The Bells of Aberdovey. The myth has noted due to locals believe they still can hear the bells of a drowned church from Cantre’r Gwaelod on a quiet day. Moreover, The Mabinogion—a book of Welsh stories collected verbally since the 11th century and earlier—describes a drowned kingdom lay between Wales and Ireland. It is impossible to ascertain the entire civilization had swept to the sea, but according to scientists, the land had disappeared caused by the regular rise of the seawater from 8000 years ago to the present level. According to Rachel Bromwich, the kingdom of Helig ap Glanawg in the Conwy estuary has a slight relationship to the Cantre’r Gwaelod. There were tales of remains to be found in the sunken kingdom. She assumes the two stories influenced each other as in the same origin, which had divided in Cardiganshire and the Conway estuary as separate traditional concepts during the sixth century. Moreover, she explains, there is a link of Helig the title, “Lord of Cantre’r Gwaelod” had given by Helliwell Manuscript. The Black Book of Carmarthen According to Rachel Bromwich, the kingdom of Helig ap Glanawg in the Conwy estuary has a slight relationship to the Cantre’r Gwaelod.
71 | WIZNACK PRECIOUS LAND CULTURAL VALUE Literature: The Cantre’r Gwaelod legend inspired many poems and songs. The earliest mention was the “Mererid and the well” in the thirteenth-century Black Book Carmarthen in a poem called “Boddi Maes Gwyddno.” • The Misfortunes of Elphin by Thomas Love Peacock - 1829 • The Evolution of a Coast-Line by Geologist William Ashton’s - 1920 • A String in the Harp Newbery Honor Book by Nancy Bond - 1977 • The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper • Cities in the Sea by Siân Lewis and Jackie Morris’s - 2002 • Tales from the Deep by Welsh musician Cerys Matthews’s first children’s book - 2011 Music and Art: The folk song “Clychau Aberdyfi” from “The Bells of Aberdovey” in the 18th century has used for cultural projects in the town arranged with bells. And also, a bronze “Time and Tide Bell” by the sculptor Marcus Vergette was installed by the hetty in Aberdyfi Harbour in July 2011 to honor the folk song. Cosmographia Claudii Ptolomaei Alexandrini There were many literature influences that cluturally inspired by The Cantre’r Gwaelod legend.
WIZNACK | 72 PRECIOUS LAND Time & Tide Bell - The Jetty, Aberdovey
73 | WIZNACK PRECIOUS LAND St Peter’s Church & Terrace Road Aberdyfi
WIZNACK | 74 PRECIOUS LAND STORM REVEALED THE KINGDOM Storm Hanna is known to be the battering storm that approached Britain in the near end of April 2019. The mighty hit of the wind was 80mph fast, and it devastated Wales, causing travel breaks and power failures. When the storm reached the shores of Borth and Ynyslas, the historic remains of peat covered trees started appearing from the coast, which had been sunken under the saltwater and sand for thousands of years. People believe those evidence of old stumps is related to the forest of mythical Cantre’r Gwaelod. Modern-day Borth Storm Francis uncovers more ‘sunken’ forest in Cardigan Bay in 2020 after the first Storm Hanna approached Britain in 2019.
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WIZNACK | 78 LEONARDO The Renaissance’s most illustrious polymath “The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding.” —Leonardo Da Vinci DA VINCI’S RESUME
79 | WIZNACK HISTORIC LETTER My Most Illustrious Lord, Having now sufficiently seen and considered the achievements of all those who count themselves masters and artificers of instruments of war, and having noted that the invention and performance of the said instruments is in no way different from that in common usage, I shall endeavour, while intending no discredit to anyone else, to make myself understood to Your Excellency for the purpose of unfolding to you my secrets, and thereafter offering them at your complete disposal, and when the time is right bringing into effective operation all those things which are in part briefly listed below: 1. I have plans for very light, strong and easily portable bridges with which to pursue and, on some occasions, flee the enemy, and others, sturdy and indestructible either by fire or in battle, easy and convenient to lift and place in position. Also means of burning and destroying those of the enemy. 2. I know how, in the course of the siege of a terrain, to remove water from the moats and how to make an infinite number of bridges, mantlets and scaling ladders and other instruments necessary to such an enterprise. 3. Also, if one cannot, when besieging a terrain, proceed by bombardment either because of the height of the glacis or the strength of its situation and location, I have methods for destroying every fortress or other stranglehold unless it has been founded upon a rock or so forth. 4. I have also types of cannon, most convenient and easily portable, with which to hurl small stones almost like a hail-storm; and the smoke from the cannon will instil a great fear in the enemy on account of the grave damage and confusion. 5. Also, I have means of arriving at a designated spot through mines and secret winding passages constructed completely without noise, even if it should be necessary to pass underneath moats or any river. 6. Also, I will make covered vehicles, safe and unassailable, which will penetrate the enemy and their artillery, and there is no host of armed men so great that they would not break through it. And behind these the infantry will be able to follow, quite uninjured and unimpeded. 7. Also, should the need arise, I will make cannon, mortar and light ordnance of very beautiful and functional design that are quite out of the ordinary.
WIZNACK | 80 HISTORIC LETTER 8. Where the use of cannon is impracticable, I will assemble catapults, mangonels, trebuckets and other instruments of wonderful efficiency not in general use. In short, as the variety of circumstances dictate, I will make an infinite number of items for attack and defence. 9. And should a sea battle be occasioned, I have examples of many instruments which are highly suitable either in attack or defence, and craft which will resist the fire of all the heaviest cannon and powder and smoke. 10. In time of peace I believe I can give as complete satisfaction as any other in the field of architecture, and the construction of both public and private buildings, and in conducting water from one place to another. Also I can execute sculpture in marble, bronze and clay. Likewise in painting, I can do everything possible as well as any other, whosoever he may be. Moreover, work could be undertaken on the bronze horse which will be to the immortal glory and eternal honour of the auspicious memory of His Lordship your father, and of the illustrious house of Sforza. And if any of the above-mentioned things seem impossible or impracticable to anyone, I am most readily disposed to demonstrate them in your park or in whatsoever place shall please Your Excellency, to whom I commend myself with all possible humility.
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83 | WIZNACK HISTORIC LETTER Da Vinci Scythed Chariot and Armoured Tank Design for a Flying Machine
WIZNACK | 84 HISTORIC LETTER Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci
85 | WIZNACK HISTORIC LETTER Studies of the Arm showing the Movements made by the Biceps
WIZNACK | 86 HISTORIC LETTER Study of horse
87 | WIZNACK HISTORIC LETTER Leonardo da Vinci Portrait
WIZNACK | 88 HISTORIC LETTER Leonardo da Vinci Tomb
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WIZNACK | 90 OPINION What matters the most
91 | WIZNACK OPINION R Right now, America is a very divided country with violence caused by racial tensions making headline news. Discrimination based on race in the United States has existed since the colonial era, where owning slaves was legally permitted by law. Over the years formal racial discrimination has been banned thanks to the activism of minority groups who fought for equality in legislation and civil rights. In the 20th century racial discrimination is illegal and it is perceived as being socially and morally unAccording to the American Declaration of Independence, every person has the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Unfortunately, history is full of examples where theory and practice are two different things. Written by Joanne Reed UNALIENABLE RIGHTS acceptable, but the demonstrations across many cities in the Unites States following the death of George Floyd are showing us that, although progress has been made, there is still a long way to go to allow everyone the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. “I have a dream” — Martin Luther King Jr. In order to understand the present and be better prepared to take effective, long-last
WIZNACK | 92 OPINION ing action, we need to know the history behind it all. Let’s take a quick trip down ‘History Lane’ right to the start of all of this… The American Declaration of Independence According to the American Declaration of Independence every person has the unalienable Rights of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Unfortunately, history is full of examples where theory and practice are two different things. Thomas Jefferson, who was the President of the United States from 1801 to 1809, wrote the US Declaration of Independence in 1776 near the beginning of the American Revolution. The second paragraph of the United States Declaration of Independence starts as follows: “We hold those truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are, Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Despite the libertarian rhetoric that followed the Declaration of Independence, liberty and equality became more and more muted in real life; people started realizing that even if the constitution clearly declared that all men are created equal, in real life some men were more equal than others. As the American people fought for independence against British tyranny and drafted their Declaration of Independence, one can only notice the obvious contradiction between advocating liberty on one hand and owning slaves on the other. Widespread talk of liberty gave slaves high expectations for a better future and assumed that the Declaration of Independence would also apply to them. However, the slaves soon realized that the revolutionary rhetoric of the Founding Fathers did not include enslaved black people. The Declaration of Independence promised, on paper, liberty for all men but failed to put an end to an institution that thrived on depriving people of their freedoms. [Extract from Chapter 7 of my book “This Is Your Quest”]. Slavery in America Slavery in America began in 1619 when the first African slaves were brought to the North American Colony to aid the production of crops such as tobacco and cotton. Slavery was practiced throughout the American colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries. The movement to abolish slavery started in Europe and its colonies during the late 18th and early 19th centuries and encouraged free blacks and white supporters of the black cause in the Northern United States to start their own movement to emancipate slaves in the South. On 6 November 1860, Abraham Lincoln, known for his “free soil” stance of opposing both slavery and abolitionism, was elected President of the United States; within three months, seven Southern states had seceded to form the Confederate States of America – four more would follow leading to the Civil War
93 | WIZNACK OPINION (1861-65). The war bankrupted much of the South, left its roads, farms, and factories in ruins and all but wiped out an entire generation of men with a death toll of more than 620,000 men, more than any other war in the American history. Though Lincoln’s anti-slavery views were well established, the Central Union’s aim at first was not to abolish slavery but to preserve the United States as a nation. Abolition became a war aim only later. On 1 January 1863 Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation: “Slaves within the states, or designated part of a state … in rebellion … shall be then and forever free.” — Abraham Lincoln The 13th Amendment of the Constitution abolished slavery in the United States; it was passed by Congress on 31 January 1865 and ratified on 6 December 1865. The 13th Amendment states: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” Former slaves received the right to citizenship and “equal protection” under the Constitution in the 14th Amendment and the right to vote in the 15th Amendment, but the provisions of the Constitution were often ignored or violated. Despite seeing an unprecedented degree of black participation in American political life, African American rights were infringed upon for many years to come even after the official abolition of slavery; the re-birth of white supremacy groups such as the Ku Klux Klan in the South made it even more difficult for African American to make headway . [Extract from Chapter 7 – page 70 of my book “This Is Your Quest”]. It is worth pointing out here that despite what most people believe slavery should not be automatically associated with ethnicity. Slavery has existed since the beginning of time; the color of someone’s skin was not a key factor to determine whether that person could find himself in the unfortunate position of being a slave or being a master instead. Those who became slaves were chosen because of their vulnerability compared to another dominant group and not because of the color of their skin. Since the beginning of times, Europeans enslaved other Europeans, Asians enslaved other Asians, Africans enslaved other Africans
WIZNACK | 94 OPINION and Arabs enslaved other Arabs. A slave is a person who is the chattel or property of another. The etymology of the word “slave” finds its origin in the medieval Latin word “sclavus,” originally “Slav” because of the many Slavs sold into slavery by conquering people [Extract from Chapter 7 – page 76 of my book “This Is Your Quest”]. Jim Crow Laws From the late 1870s, Southern State legislatures passed laws requiring the separation of whites from persons of color in public transportation and schools. The segregation principle was extended to parks, cemeteries, churches, hospitals, theaters and restaurants in an effort to prevent any contact between blacks and whites as equals. The facilities allocated to the blacks were usually inferior to facilities to white people although the laws called for the separate facilities to be of equal quality, advocating the concept of “separate but equal”. ‘Jim Crow’ has long been a derogatory slang term for a black man, making it a fitting name for the laws that enforced discrimination in the Southern States between black and white people. In the 20th century, Jim Crow laws continued to govern life in America, prohibiting black and white interaction. Blacks who violated these laws could be physically beaten by whites without reprisal; lynching occurred with startling frequency when blacks violated Jim Crow Laws. The Civil Rights Movement Resistance to the lingering racism and discrimination in the United States that began during the slavery era would lead to the civil rights movement of the 1960s; it would force Americans to confront contradictions between practices of racial segregation with the concept of equality and freedom proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence. The American Civil Rights movement started in the mid-1950s and was ignited by Rosa Parks who refused to give up her seat on a public bus to a white man. This led to mass protests against racial segregation and discrimination, mainly in the Southern states. Through these nonviolent protests, the civil rights movement broke the pattern of public facilities being segregated by race and achieved the most important breakthrough in equal rights legislation for African Americans, with the enactment of the Civil Rights Act 1964. Two key figures emerged during the Civil Rights movement, Dr Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X. Martin Luther King Jr was born in Atlanta Georgia on 15 January 1929. He was educated, religious, organized and participated in a series of peaceful protests that eventually changed many equality-focused laws. Martin Luther King Jr was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and on 4th April 1968, was shot and killed while in Memphis, Tennessee. Although his life ended that day, the work he has accomplished changed the nation. Martin Luther King nonviolent philosophy is best illustrated by the following quote, “A riot is the language of the unheard. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice every
95 | WIZNACK OPINION where. Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that. The past is prophetic in that it asserts loudly that wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrow.” —Martin Luther King Malcolm X was born on 19 May 1925, he was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was also a popular figure during the civil rights movement. A naturally gifted orator, Malcolm X exhorted blacks to cast off the shackles of racism by any means necessary. He was also a prominent spokesperson for the Nation of Islam. On March 1964, he broke his relationship with the Nation of Islam as he became disillusioned by its rigid teachings. Less than a year later, Malcolm X was assassinated on 19 February 1965. “It is criminal to teach a man not to defend himself. I always believed that clashes between those who want freedom, justice and equality for everyone and who those who want to continue the system of exploitation are inevitable. People should fight for equality and liberation of the black people by any means necessary.” —Malcolm X Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X often clashed over the best tactics to end racial discrimination and prejudice. They had very different approaches to the Civil Rights Movement. King was advocating non-violent civil disobedience protests
WIZNACK | 96 OPINION Lawyer Entrepreneur Author of “This Is Your Quest” I am a lawyer by profession who currently lives in Seoul, South Korea. I am also an entrepreneur, a wife and a mother of two teenage daughters. I am the author of ‘This Is Your Quest’ a self-help book like no other. I also write articles on a wide range of subject on my blog. JOANNE REED as the means to attack racial prejudice in America, whilst Malcolm X called for a more militant approach, achieving equality and black liberation by any means necessary. Malcolm X was very critical of King’s non-violent approach believing King’s actions to be too slow moving and too accommodating to the white Americans. King was also very vocal about Malcolm X’s approach, beliving that: “Fiery demagogic oratory in the black ghettos, urging negroes to arm themselves and prepare to engage in violence, can reap nothing but grief.” —Martin Luther King Despite those differences, both men admired and respected each other because ultimately, they were fighting for the same cause. Those two very different approaches to a common cause did not impact the fight for equality in a negative manner, on the contrary, it demonstrated to the white Americans what a radical and violent approach looks like, making Martin Luther King’s approach and his moderate position a more acceptable alternative. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X met briefly on 25th March 1964, both were on Capitol Hill watching a Senate hearing regarding legislation aimed at ending segregation in public places and race discrimination in employment. The bill had been proposed by President John F Kennedy following intense lobbying by Martin Lurther King and was now being championed through congress by President Lyndon Johnson. After heated debates and fierce opposition from Southern members of Congress, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed and signed into law on 2 July 1964. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. No longer could blacks and other minorities be denied service simply based on the color of their skin. It is around that time, that Malcolm X started to adopt a more conciliatory approach towards the fight for equality, he made the following statement in April 1964: “I was not less angry than I had been, but at the same time the true brotherhood I had seen had influenced me to recognize that anger can blind human vision.” —Malcolm X I have a dream…
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