By Jeff Hardy

It’s a global phenomenon: protest movements almost always seem to generate unintended consequences and often lack leadership with a follow-up plan.

The protest messages are clear; they’re displayed on the protesters’ signs, but what to do after the protest remains uncertain.

The media presents the story through videos and photos; however, without leadership equipped with practical next steps to support their cause, everything is in vain.

Peace marches and movements are important for raising awareness, but without a plan, they’re like seeds scattered without soil. They don’t take root.

Currently, there are continuing protests against what many see as a harmful overreach by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency through hasty arrests, violations of constitutional rights, unlawful detainment and the deportation of suspected undocumented immigrants.

The history of these protest movements and their violent progression into chaos makes me wonder if there’s a way to prevent what seems to be a foregone conclusion — that peaceful protests are impossible without media-grabbing photos of burning vehicles, self-immolating Buddhist monks or chained protestors being thrown into police vans to showcase the protest.

Surely, there must be a way to emphasize the protest’s purpose, ensure protesters’ safety, avoid violent interactions with law enforcement and distance from those who disrupt traffic, set vehicles ablaze, loot stores and distract media attention from the main issue. But there also needs to be a plan.

One potential solution to the problem can be found by examining the strategies and tactics employed by Mahatma Gandhi in his lifelong efforts to lead the civil disobedience movement aimed at ending British rule and taxation in India.

Gandhi not only highlighted issues through a series of nonviolent protests in India advocating for independence, but he also established a method for addressing outrageous injustices.

I wonder if today’s ICE protesters could have planned more effectively, not only by following Gandhi’s example in protest planning but also in organizing and managing the demonstration.

For example, Gandhi established the practice of protest sit-ins, effectively separating the protesters from any news-seeking flag-wavers, car-burners or rock-throwers.

His plan worked: The salt tax was abolished and the British departed, allowing the country to govern itself.

Martin Luther King Jr. was significantly influenced by Gandhi’s philosophy and methods of nonviolent resistance.

King studied Gandhi’s techniques and applied them during his many protests, most notably during the march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965, a brutal event marked by police violence that horrified television viewers around the world.

The march, aimed at securing voting rights for African Americans, gained national attention due to its brutal suppression by Alabama law enforcement.

His plan worked: King’s Civil Rights Movement resulted in a radical shift in public opinion, a renewed focus on social justice and, most importantly, the enactment of significant civil rights legislation.

As an example of “lessons learned,” the Vietnam War sparked one of the most significant peace movements in US history, yet it did not lead to what could be called a world-shifting “global civil rights movement.”

Millions of Americans participated in protests to demand an end to the conflict.

The movement succeeded in shaping public opinion but failed to stop the war outright or prevent future military engagements.

Internal divisions and the absence of a unified strategy to engage policymakers made the movement ineffective, ultimately fading after the U.S. withdrawal.

There’s only a problem if we fail to learn from history and act on what we know will help make our world a better place to live.

Societal movements, like the ones we are witnessing today in the streets of America, require leaders with plans to achieve visible results, promote ethical, equitable, and fair treatment for all citizens, and foster lasting peace.

Gandhi and King showed us how.

Now the search is on for someone who can lead the way.

Jeffrey Charles Hardy, of Novato, is founder and president of the Care for Peace Foundation nonprofit organization based in Marin. Email jeff@careforpeace.org