I hate to use the analogy, but a lot of African Americans were
against the civil rights movement, fearing that it was just gong to
stirr up trouble and the backlash would make things worse for them.

Yep, and MLK insisted that the movement stick to peaceful protest
only. The other side wanted a fight and certainly tried to provoke one
at every turn. That would have undermined support from very effective
allies like the Justice Department, not to mention the average citizen.

Nobody here proposes that we not work to eliminate the ordinance.
We need to be smart and not play our opponents game.

Dan