You may remember that historical figures like Mohandas Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were famous for their acts of civil disobedience. Civil disobedience refers to “nonviolent opposition to a government policy or law by refusing to comply with it.” These famous civil rights leaders paved the way for modern examples of civil disobedience in the 21st century.
Many individuals and groups use acts of civil disobedience to challenge modern human rights concerns, such as student loan debt, racially motivated killings, and climate change. Successful acts serve as inspiration as do failed civil disobedience examples. From others, you can learn which strategies work and why.
Corinthian Colleges closed hundreds of their locations in 2015, leaving thousands of students with loan debt. Fifteen students originally banded together in 2015 and refused to repay their student loan debt to Corinthian.
Within months, their numbers grew into the hundreds, all refusing to pay their student loan debt to the college who had swindled them out of effective programming and job placements. In 2018, a judge ruled in favor of the students and issued a temporary ban on the U.S. Department of Education from collecting any student loan debt from Corinthian students.
In 2008, plans were submitted to build the Keystone XL pipeline. Local ranchers, farmers, and Native Americans whose land would be affected by the construction of this pipeline began to voice their opposition. First Nations leader Clayton Thomas Mueller was one of the first to help organize the effort.
Activist groups, such as 350.org, started by taking their concerns directly to President Obama. In 2011, activists gathered for a two-week protest where they sat in front of the White House. Another method employed by activists was the 24-hour call-ins where 800,000 messages were sent to the Senate.
In 2012, President Obama announced that he would not support the building of the pipeline, but others found ways around him. While many previous attempts to stop pipelines from being built were unsuccessful, this campaign did stop the Keystone XL pipeline from being built.
