King consciously steered away from legal claims and instead relied on civil disobedience.
I honestly do not know if civil disobedience has any effect on the government. I can promise you it has a great effect on the person who chooses to do it.
Obedience is an act of faith disobedience is the result of unbelief.
I believe that Gandhi was correct. Non-violent civil disobedience is the only way to bring about change that allows people to enjoy the change and not get killed in the process.
When I got my PhD it was a time when there were just no jobs for PhDs. Period. PhDs were getting the lowest paid technician jobs if they were lucky in any kind of science.