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Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
Nope. Look at the Civil Rights movement in the U.S. All of the gains of black Americans in legislation and public opinion occurred during the era of MLKs peaceful marches and civil disobedience. The race riots of 1967 and the rise of the Black Panthers sparked white flight, a sharp reduction in public sympathy for the black community, and the election of Richard Nixon to two terms in office.
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That to me is selective interpretation of history, as the race riots of the civil rights era were a regular event at least since 1962, which is before for example MLK:s biggest show, the march on Washington in 1963. While I wouldn't contest that the riots of 1967-68 in the US brought backlash for the black rights movement, you'll still easily find civil rights activists from that era who feel that those riots were ultimately important to bring about change beyond legislation.
The role of riots is of course contested among civil rights activists, and for good reason, but generally the history of civil rights fights is very much also a history of riots, to a point where it's almost impossible to tell them apart completely. In the US famous examples would be the Stonewall riots which launched the gay rights movement and the Rodney King riots which brought major changes to the LA police force and probably effected policing in the US in general.