Monique Taylor: you must use effective means to achieve your aims

In cooperation with the Public Affairs Office of the US Consulate General in Jerusalem, Professor Monique Taylor, a lecturer in the American Studies Program at Al-Quds University in Jerusalem and a Harvard University PhD holder, gave a presentation to students on the Civil Rights movement in the United States. Prof Taylor spoke about the role of institutions in the Civil Rights movements and African-Americans' struggle for freedom.

Prof Taylor's talk coincided with Black History Month in the United States. In the past, said Prof Taylor, African-Americans were invisible, marginalized and humiliated. They lived miserable lives, excluded from American society, including government institutions, schools and restaurants.

Prof Taylor spoke about how Martin Luther King came to launch his peaceful campaign to secure civil rights for black people. She said King was a great man, but that, at first, even some of his friends branded him a trouble-maker. He was also put in prison for his campaign.

The audience was shown a picture of a black teenager being attacked by a police dog; Prof Taylor said this illustrated how the police had used violent means to break up non-violent protests by the civil rights activists.

During questions from the audience Prof Taylor was asked if the Palestinian people could benefit from the experience of the black people to end the occupation of their lands. Prof Taylor concluded her presentation by saying that non-violence is often far more effective in bringing about change than violence is. She also stated that it is also important to get the attention of the media.

Prof Taylor, who holds a PhD in Sociology from Harvard University, is currently Visiting Lecturer at the American Studies Institute at Al-Quds University. Her publications include a Review of In Gotham’s Shadow (Thomas), Contemporary Sociology; Review of Harlem World (Jackson) and Black Picket Fences (Patillo-McCoy), City and Community; Harlem Between Heaven and Hell; A Second Renaissance in Harlem; A Guidebook: Harlem's Heartbeat; Gentrification in Harlem: The Importance of Community and Culture in the Urban Redevelopment of the Black Ghetto; Home to Harlem: Community, Culture and the Gentrification of Harlem; Can You Go Home Again? Black Gentrification and the Dilemma of Difference.

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