Throughout the fight to end segregation the philosophy of non-violence was very present in the actions of those who fought for integration. In the film Glory Road, Don Haskins is a college basketball coach who strongly, yet non-violently fights for equal rights for his African American players and African Americans everywhere. He believes that no one can take your dignity away from you if you don't let him or her. Haskins took many of the same nonviolent steps that Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. speaks of in his "Letter From Birmingham City Jail" such as determining if there is an injustice, negotiation, self-purification and direct action. With as many beliefs as he shares with Dr. King, Don Haskins' nonviolent beliefs are nothing like those Malcolm X expresses in his speech "On African Self-Hatred", which include the right to violent retaliation. .
In the Film Glory Road, Don Haskins goes through the steps of determining if there is an injustice and self-purification, just like Dr. King. Haskins decides that there is an injustice when people begin to think that he, like everyone else, is recruiting players based on the color of their skin. "I don't see color, I see quick, I see skill. That's what I'm putting on the court, and that's what you have" (Glory Road). Haskins believes that it is not right to put players on a team simply because of the color of their skin, and how it will make their school look. The next step that Haskins and Martin Luther King Jr. take is self-purification. Dr. King speaks of taking the steps of self-purification by realizing the importance of what he and his followers are fighting for, but also the extreme courage and strength it will take. " 'Are you able to accept blows without retaliating?'" (King 4). Dr. King speaks of preparing himself and his followers for the hardships of fighting for non-segregation. Haskins does this also by coming to the realization that he and his players are not just playing to win a championship any more.
