The 1960’s in American history was marked by a wave of social protest and cultural transformation. American Archive discusses 1960’s and 1970’s protests. “The decade that began with the protests of the civil rights movement would end in a wave of activism by students, marginalized communities, and women that continued into the mid 1970s.” (Janowiecki) Digital History reads, “African Americans used sit-ins, freedom rides, and protest marches to fight segregation, poverty, and unemployment. Feminists demanded equal job opportunities and an end to sexual discrimination. Mexican Americans protested discrimination in voting, education, and employment. Native Americans demanded that the government recognize their land claims and the right of tribes to govern themselves. Environmentalists demanded legislation to control the amount of pollution released into the environment.” (“Digital History”)
A major catalyst for this resistance was the modern African American civil rights movement. Thirteen.org Brown V. Board of Education (1954) talks about how the legal victory against segregated schools set the foundation for later activism. Were the black and white schools "substantially" equal to each other, as the lower courts had found? After reviewing psychological studies showing black girls in segregated schools had low racial self-esteem, the Court concluded that separating children on the basis of race creates dangerous inferiority complexes that may adversely affect black children's ability to learn. The Court concluded that, even if the tangible facilities were equal between the black and white schools, racial segregation in schools is "inherently unequal" and is thus always unconstitutional. At least in the context of public schools, Plessy v. Ferguson was overruled. In the Brown II case a decided year later, the Court ordered the states to integrate their schools "with all deliberate speed." (McBride)
The NPR podcast on Claudette Colvin talks about how the movement was built by lesser known figures. When Claudette Colvin was 15 she refused to sit in the back of the bus 9 months before Rosa Parks. “At the same time, Garrow believes attention to Colvin is a healthy corrective, because "the real reality of the movement was often young people and often more than 50 percent women."The images you most often see are men in suits. Hoose says he believes Colvin understands the pragmatism that pushed Parks to the fore, but "on the other hand, she did it. Hoose says the stories of Parks and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. are wonderful, but those are the stories of people in their 30s and 40s. Colvin was 15” (Adler) Social change often begins with marginalized voices.
I can see a lot of similarities in our society today of intense activism. Groups like Black Lives Matter, climate justice, reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ equality, and anti-war movements are uniting humans all around the world. In the past and presently disillusionment with the American Dream continues to motivate people to fight for change. There is a core issue that has remained the same, which is that when the system fails to protect people collective protests become not only justified but necessary.
Works Cited:
Adler, Margot. “Before Rosa Parks, There Was Claudette Colvin.” Npr.org, Margot Adler, 15 Mar. 2009, www.npr.org/2009/03/15/101719889/before-rosa-parks-there-was-claudette-colvin.
“Digital History.” Www.digitalhistory.uh.edu, www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraid=17&smtid=1.
Janowiecki, Michelle . “Speaking and Protesting in America.” Americanarchive.org, 2019, americanarchive.org/exhibits/first-amendment/protests-60s-70s.
McBride, Alex. “The Supreme Court . Expanding Civil Rights . Landmark Cases . Brown v. Board of Education (1954) | PBS.” Thirteen.org, PBS, Dec. 2006, www.thirteen.org/wnet/supremecourt/rights/landmark_brown.html .
A major catalyst for this resistance was the modern African American civil rights movement. Thirteen.org Brown V. Board of Education (1954) talks about how the legal victory against segregated schools set the foundation for later activism. Were the black and white schools "substantially" equal to each other, as the lower courts had found? After reviewing psychological studies showing black girls in segregated schools had low racial self-esteem, the Court concluded that separating children on the basis of race creates dangerous inferiority complexes that may adversely affect black children's ability to learn. The Court concluded that, even if the tangible facilities were equal between the black and white schools, racial segregation in schools is "inherently unequal" and is thus always unconstitutional. At least in the context of public schools, Plessy v. Ferguson was overruled. In the Brown II case a decided year later, the Court ordered the states to integrate their schools "with all deliberate speed." (McBride)
The NPR podcast on Claudette Colvin talks about how the movement was built by lesser known figures. When Claudette Colvin was 15 she refused to sit in the back of the bus 9 months before Rosa Parks. “At the same time, Garrow believes attention to Colvin is a healthy corrective, because "the real reality of the movement was often young people and often more than 50 percent women."The images you most often see are men in suits. Hoose says he believes Colvin understands the pragmatism that pushed Parks to the fore, but "on the other hand, she did it. Hoose says the stories of Parks and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. are wonderful, but those are the stories of people in their 30s and 40s. Colvin was 15” (Adler) Social change often begins with marginalized voices.
I can see a lot of similarities in our society today of intense activism. Groups like Black Lives Matter, climate justice, reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ equality, and anti-war movements are uniting humans all around the world. In the past and presently disillusionment with the American Dream continues to motivate people to fight for change. There is a core issue that has remained the same, which is that when the system fails to protect people collective protests become not only justified but necessary.
Works Cited:
Adler, Margot. “Before Rosa Parks, There Was Claudette Colvin.” Npr.org, Margot Adler, 15 Mar. 2009, www.npr.org/2009/03/15/101719889/before-rosa-parks-there-was-claudette-colvin.
“Digital History.” Www.digitalhistory.uh.edu, www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraid=17&smtid=1.
Janowiecki, Michelle . “Speaking and Protesting in America.” Americanarchive.org, 2019, americanarchive.org/exhibits/first-amendment/protests-60s-70s.
McBride, Alex. “The Supreme Court . Expanding Civil Rights . Landmark Cases . Brown v. Board of Education (1954) | PBS.” Thirteen.org, PBS, Dec. 2006, www.thirteen.org/wnet/supremecourt/rights/landmark_brown.html .