Final answer:
The nonviolent protest strategy in the Civil Rights Movement involved creating tension by breaking unjust laws and engaging in actions that provoked the Southern legal system, leading to societal change.
Step-by-step explanation:
The strategy of nonviolent protest as used in the Civil Rights Movement was central to challenging and changing unjust laws and social norms in the Southern United States. This approach, which included tactics such as marches, sit-ins, and boycotts, aimed to create tension and provoke the legal system, pushing for societal change.
Civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. embraced nonviolence, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's work in India and applied it in actions such as the Montgomery bus boycott to expose the injustices of segregation. Crucial to this strategy was the willingness to break laws considered unjust, thereby forcing the system to confront its own flaws and initiating a dialogue that could lead to reform.
By provoking a crisis without resorting to violence, civil rights activists attracted national attention and generated sympathy for their cause, which was instrumental in achieving landmark legislative changes.