Why Did African Americans Increasingly Turn to Violent Methods of Protest during the 1950s to 1960s?

Violent methods of protest were increasingly embraced by African Americans in the Civil Rights movement during the 1950s to 1960s because of frustration caused by the time consuming and ineffectiveness of peaceful non-violence. After the initial hype of non-violence during the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycotts, non-violence eventually lost its influence as it was not yielding the results the African-Americans had hoped for. In addition to this, non-violence was met with police brutality and violence, making it dangerous to be involved in Civil Rights Movements and discouraging the participation in non-violence. Consequently, violent methods were seized by African Americans as they attracted widespread attention and were more effective in achieving short term goals, especially as violence was advocated strongly by figure heads such as Malcolm X and the Black Panthers.…