Civil disobedience is a powerful course of action that the likes of Rosa Parks have used to bring about social change. But, there are some things that women should know first before engaging in it.
On December 1, 1955, a woman in Montgomery, Alabama did what many believed to be one of the best things she could do for her country at that time: she broke one of its laws.
Her name was Rosa Parks and she was a Black, 42-year-old seamstress who refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white person.
It happened on a cold Thursday evening. In the heart of the South that embraced discriminatory norms like segregation, Parks–who was on her way home from work–got on a bus, paid the fare, and sat on the first row of seats in the back that were designated for Black passengers. In front of her was the last row for white people. By the time the bus reached its third stop, it had run out of seats for white folks so the driver, a white man by the name of James F. Blake, decided to move the sign designating the seats for Black people to the row behind Parks. He then ordered her and those sitting in her row to give up their seats.
If Blake wanted people to just comply that day, then he picked the wrong person to demand compliance from.
Before the incident, Parks was not only a seamstress; she was also an activist, a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP,) an American civil rights organization that worked to pursue justice for African Americans. Four days before the bus incident, she was at an NAACP meeting that discussed the case of Emmett Till, a black teenager who was brutally murdered after he allegedly flirted with a young white woman in Mississippi. During this meeting, it was revealed that two of the men who murdered Till were acquitted. Parks, upon hearing this news, was reportedly saddened and angered especially since the Till case had gained a lot of attention and the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP had worked to support it.
Parks was—as she said herself—“tired.” Not physically, she clarified in her biography. “No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.”
So, when the driver came up to tell her to give up her seat, she got up only to move to a seat in the same row by the window. The driver called the police to deal with Parks and she was arrested. But what followed after were a series of events that ultimately led to more freedom for her people.
Her story emboldened those fighting for civil rights and it urged them to intensify their efforts; for one whole year, Black people boycotted the Montgomery buses—a foundational event of the civil rights movement; advocates marched to Washington, rallied supporters from various sectors and ultimately turned relics of the many regional laws that used to oppress them—among those was the segregation ordinance that got Parks arrested.
As for her, Parks became one of the most recognizable faces of in the fight for civil rights and her story became a resounding example of the effectiveness of her weapon of choice: civil disobedience.
Reportedly coined by American writer Henry David Thoreau, civil disobedience is defined as the act of refusing to comply with laws as a form of protest. In an essay discussing this matter, he argued that citizens should not blindly follow rules even if they are pushed by leaders put into power by the majority. In his mind, true patriots of any country are people who are guided by both conscience and reason; they who would be willing to challenge leaders and laws regardless of how popular they may seem. And sometimes, the challenging of laws comes in the form of disobedience.
In many cases throughout history, people shared and expressed Thoreau’s beliefs. Many individuals have nonviolently broken laws in order to get their points across. Parks’ refusal to give up her seat was an example and she was but one of the many who engaged in this. In recent years, the spirit of civil disobedience also thrived among climate activists who have actively caused various forms of disruption in order to protest against powerful bodies that engage in law-protected practices that harm the planet. Those who condemn Israel’s genocide of Palestinians have also engaged in similar tactics. From disrupting public speeches to occupying public spaces, they have challenged not only the rules of various establishments but also long-held beliefs (like Israel’s supposed righteousness in the way by which they’ve engaged with Palestine.)
Thoreau himself took part in civil disobedience. He famously refused to pay his taxes because he was appalled by his president at that time: James K. Polk, a populist who—upon entering power—immediately waged war against Mexico and furthered racial inequality by supporting slavery.
This may sound familiar to those reading the news in 2025. Donald Trump, after all, had returned to the White House through a populist presidential campaign that postured against other countries while courting the support of white nationalists through promises deemed either racist, bigoted, or just downright unwise. In his first week alone, he doled out a bevy of executive orders undermining the work of progressives and people have started calling for pushback.
Civil disobedience may end up once again being a popular mode of protest. Whether or not it proves effective, only time will tell; what’s certain, however, is that as an action, it will result in a reaction. And that’s but one of the things people should know before choosing to either engage in it or take a backseat.
Know what you’re getting into.
A Google search on civil disobedience will immediately bring up images of people with placards, taking part in a rally. But while those can be expressions of civil disobedience, they only truly fall under that category when such gatherings are actually breaking laws.
That is, after all, the basic principle of the act: it is an exercise of righteous rule-breaking. This, of course, could subject one to many if not all of the consequences of that: from arrests to public prosecutions and other ramifications.
Parks was familiar with this. She was arrested following her stand. She was jailed and bailed in the evening, tried and convicted supposedly for disorderly conduct, and was ultimately fined. Furthermore, after her conviction led to a boycott of buses, she lost her job as a seamstress. She also received death threats.
In other words, civil disobedience may come with dire consequences that people should be aware of before they take part in it. Aside from that, it is also an act ironically defined by its own set of rules and to break them is cause their failure.
Raise your fist but hit no one with it.
When one engages in civil disobedience, one crosses a line separating the lawful from the unlawful. Beyond this, however, is yet another line that separates the violent from the non-violent. And those engaging in civil disobedience endeavor never to cross this one.
There are many reasons for this and some of them have been discussed by Martin Luthor King Jr., one of the most prominent figures of the civil rights movement which largely relied on nonviolent action. According to the Martin Luthor King Jr. Research and Education Institute of Stanford University, King’s notion of nonviolence had six key principles.
“First, one can resist evil without resorting to violence,” the website said. “Second, nonviolence seeks to win the ‘friendship and understanding’ of the opponent, not to humiliate him. Third, evil itself, not the people committing evil acts, should be opposed. Fourth, those committed to nonviolence must be willing to suffer without retaliation as suffering itself can be redemptive. Fifth, nonviolent resistance avoids ‘external physical violence’ and ‘internal violence of spirit’ as well.”
Furthermore, research shows that nonviolence tends to be quite effective in causing change. According to the Harvard Gazette, researcher Erica Chenoweth discovered that “nonviolent civil resistance is far more successful in creating broad-based change than violent campaigns.” This is based on “Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict,” a research project they conducted with Maria J. Stephan.
For this, Chenoweth and Stephan gathered data on all violent and nonviolent campaigns from 1900 to 2006 which resulted in territorial liberation or the overthrow of a government. They found that “countries in which there were nonviolent campaigns were about 10 times likelier to transition to democracies within a five-year period compared to countries in which there were violent campaigns — whether the campaigns succeeded or failed.”
They theorized that this is due to several factors. For one, nonviolent campaigns are more likely to trigger defections from security forces, elites, and bureaucrats. This is seen in many successful revolutions like the EDSA People Power in the Philippines when a massive nonviolent protest caused the defection of forces previously loyal to the administration of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
Also, nonviolent movements tend to mobilize a broader range of participants, including women, elderly individuals, and people from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. This broad participation makes it harder for governments to suppress the movement without facing backlash. This too was seen during the EDSA revolution which saw unity among strange bedfellows—from religious conservatives to the radical progressives, from the young to the old, from the heteronormative to the queer.
Also, the international community is more likely to support nonviolent groups that cannot be easily labelled as terrorist organizations—a title that world leaders try not to be associated with.
With all of these in mind, it is often highly recommended for people engaging in civil disobedience to exercise restraint and have training in nonviolence along with other preparations.
Prepare for the protest.
When Parks chose not to give up her seat, it was a reaction to what society had given her at that moment.
But this shouldn’t suggest that she did this unprepared.
As a member of the NAACP, Parks was trained in the art of peaceful resistance. She knew the things that she needed to do and avoid and she was backed by a system that was ready for her action. The subsequent moves in response to her conviction were also thoughtfully planned for maximum impact.
According to Chenoweth, preparations are essential for nonviolent action to succeed. To discuss this further, she talked to the Harvard Gazette about strikes.
“Where campaigns have used strikes or economic noncooperation successfully,” she said, “they’ve often spent months preparing by stockpiling food, coming up with strike funds, or finding ways to engage in community mutual aid while the strike is underway.”
There are also other avenues that people should consider looking into to prepare for civil disobedience. For instance, they can opt to be legally prepared; they can study up on their rights to not be taken advantage of by counteracting parties. Being aware of the law can also help activists maximize the impact of civil disobedience while minimizing legal consequences.
Furthermore, activists can prepare physically. Civil disobedience can come in different forms, but there are benchmarks one should try to meet before joining in on more physically involved demonstrations.
It helps to have one physically evaluated by a professional. There are also standards of physical fitness based on how people perform in exercises. The US Marshals Service, for example, judges fitness based on four exercises: 1.5 Mile Run, 1 Minute Push Up Test, the 1 Minute Sit Up Test, and the Sit and Reach Test. The United States Secret Service also has standards based on performances in four exercises: 1 Minute Push-up Test, 1 Minute Sit-up Test, Chin-ups, and a 1.5-mile run. When done properly, these can provide adequate assessments of physical fitness.
Additionally, those eyeing to join protests in the future could work on their physical fitness. Walking or jogging at least 20 to 30 minutes three times each week (with rest days in between) can help in improving one’s cardiovascular endurance. One can increase the duration of this exercise after a week or two for further improvements. Rope skipping is also a good exercise for fitness and agility. According to Elite Jumps, 10-minute sessions one to two times per week is a good starting point for beginners. A gradual increase in duration can be done in the succeeding weeks.
Strength training also helps since there may be instances wherein joining acts of civil disobedience would require one to carry things (or even people.) Squats, lunges and push-ups work on legs and arms respectively. When done collectively and correctly, they can create a sufficiently able body. For beginners, it’s best to start with these exercises by doing 10 to 15 repetitions each for two to three sets with a 30-second to 1-minute rest between each set.
Core strengthening exercises are also good. These include planks and leg raises. Beginners can try to hold a plank for 20 to 60 seconds per session and perform 2 to 3 sets of leg raises with 10 to 15 repetitions each. A 30-second to a one-minute rest between each set is advised.
As with cardiovascular training, sessions should be spaced by at least one day of rest to give the body time to recover and adjust.
Before participating in demonstrations, it is also best to make sure that one has had an adequate amount of sleep. 8 hours is ideal. Eating at least two to three hours before joining on-site demonstrations is advised but one must be careful not to eat to a point wherein one feels too heavy. It also helps to do dynamic stretches. These include leg swings, arm circles, and torso twists. These increase blood flow and flexibility—especially if one spends about 5 to 10 minutes doing each of these movements. Committing to these before joining can reduce one’s chances of getting injured.
All things considered, however, activists have been advised by many throughout history of an important truth: no warm-up (or any kind of preparation for that matter,) can ready the body for all possible encounters in the midst of a protest. The fortunate can engage in it and get out unscathed but not everyone can call themselves that. The Philippines, for example, is known for the success of the EDSA Revolution which managed to kick out the Marcos dictatorship without spilling blood. But before the country got to that point, the Marcos presidency (and eventual dictatorship) was met with many initially peaceful protests that turned violent for various reasons. And people didn’t just get hurt; some got killed.
That’s the reality. Even protests that aren’t considered acts of civil disobedience have been met with unwarranted violence. Those who break the law to make a point may end up courting the same fate.
But what is the price of compliance?
On December 1, 1955, Parks knew the answer. It was her once again giving up what’s hers for the privilege of another. It was also a society wherein a black teenager could get killed because of the color of his skin; a society that allows his killers to walk free. It was the suffering of many due to the status quo that wasn’t challenged enough.
The price of compliance for her was a reality she simply couldn’t stand for. And so she didn’t.
