57 i n oPPosition to civil disobedience: black churches’ ambivalence about martin luther king J r.’ s Protest strategy in the context of the “black lives matter” debate Paulina Napierała Jagiellonian University, Krakow abstract: The main aim of this article is to discuss Black churches’ ambivalence toward Martin Luther King Jr.’s protest strategy in the context of the “Black Lives Matter” (BLM) debate. Although many Black churches played a signifcant role in the Civil Rights Movement, some of them presented harsh criticism towards King’s civil disobedience – criticism which is rarely mentioned today. Analyzing their arguments is especially interesting now, when churches that oppose BLM claim they would support it if it resembled King’s movement more. Recalling the past controversies and comparing the discussion in the civil rights era to the contemporary debate might be helpful in understanding Black churches’ reasons for accepting or rejecting protest movements. Keywords: Black churches, Black Lives Matter, civil disobedience, Martin Luther King, Civil Rights Movement. resumo: O objectivo principal deste artigo consiste numa discussão da ambivalência das igrejas das comunidades negras relativamente à estratégia de protesto de Martin Luther King Jr. no contexto do debate em torno do movimento “Black Lives Matter” (BLM). Embora muitas dessas igrejas tenham desempenhado um papel signifcativo no Movimento pelos Direitos Civis, algumas fzeram duras críticas à desobediência civil de King – críticas que raramente são mencionadas nos dias de hoje. Analisar os seus argumentos é de especial interesse na actualidade, quando igrejas que se opõem ao BLM declaram que o apoiariam se ele fosse mais parecido com o movimento de