Authorities love the "nonviolent". They're less sanguine about the "direct action".
But nonviolent direct action is an inseparable whole. And nonviolence is, although a crucial part, only a part of direct action.
Oddly enough, I learned this in 4th grade, in a public school in Mississippi (yes, really). I was the only white boy in the class, so for Black History Month they made me play Matthew Henson, because they could put me in a parka. (A few years later, I played Bull Conner, but by that point I was already committed to theater so nobody minded my hamming that role up.)
But anyways, that Black History Month program in fourth grade included an outline of nonviolent direct action, as well as the contrary arguments of the late 1950's, and the eventual triumph of the plan under King's leadership. It also included a reading by our (white (!)) principal of Douglass's "agitate, agitate, agitate" speech. (Separate point: this, to me, validates DuBois's argument that black history is American history, and everyone benefits from studying it.)
This was the mid-1980s, the swansong of true southern white populist politics, before they were completely co-opted by the GOP (I was from a county that seceded from MS during the civil war; not exactly the typical southern experience I suppose, but nobody in the county was rich enough to avoid the draft bounty, and nobody was rich enough to own any slaves, so they took a dim view of the war as a whole).
Anyways, as President Mandela is laid to rest, and I wait for the band to actually show up for this concert I'm responsible for, this thought does strike me. Don't be fooled by the authorities' praise of nonviolence: nonviolence is only one component of what we are called to. The logic of nonviolence is only operative in the context of direct action. There is no other reason to call for people to surrender the inherent right of self-defense (I exclude religious principles from that statement; I mean politically). There is no Malik Shabazz without Malcolm X. There is no Nelson Mandela without Liliesleaf. But never, ever confuse nonviolence as the most effective means with acquiescence. Nonviolent direct action works; slowly and painfully, but reliably. But its two components cannot be separated. Direct action is still called for, and probably always will be.