Movements in America Essay example

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Movements in America When was the last time you saw a movement within the United States? Nowadays, we barely see any type of public display of protest compared to the 60’s and 70’s. During that time, the United States was not as equal and fair compared to what we are today. There were protests and marches for everything you can think possible. One of the greatest was the civil rights movement. If you thought something was unfair or unequal, you’ll take it to the streets. Many of our parents, grandparents, and great grandparents partake in those movements. Many were able to hear and see and even joined the great Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X preach and fight for equal rights. If it weren’t for those great leaders and the people who were willing to stand next to them, America wouldn’t be the America we are today. There were many struggles and resistance but these marches and protests were meant for changes, changes for the good. While there were those who wanted change there also were those who opposed of it. There were many groups fighting for their own causes but there were also groups terrorizing America. So who should be thanked for shaping America the way it is today, the political power that enforced the laws, or the people who forced the political power to enforce the laws that we have today. Many of our rights that we have today wouldn’t have existed if it weren’t for the movements that were made during the late 50’s, the 60’s and to the 70’s. Movements were made because of inequality. The most known and greatest movement was in fact the civil rights movement. The civil right movement was known to have started in May of 1954 from the Brown vs. Board of Education. The Brown vs. Board of Education was a court case involving segregation of public schools. Brown won and public schools were forced to accept colored children to attend the same schools as whites. There was segregation in public buses also. A movement was formed in 1955 when a lady refused to move to the back of the bus. She was then arrested and fined, which lead to a local boycott evolving into a nationwide movement. The woman that was arrested was Rosa Parks. As the group began to form they were able to find spokesman named Martin Luther King Jr. King was famous for his nonviolent protests. He preached not only for blacks but also for all minorities. His movements were not only towards Civil rights but he also lead protests against the Vietnam War. He was not the only one that opposed the war. Majority of Americans did not support the war causing many protests. The antiwar movement emerged out of the New Left radicalism that was present on many college campuses. The New Left came out from college and university campuses in the early 1960’s. One organization that emerged from the New Left was the Student for Democratic Society (SDS). SDS would preach, “Must give form to the feelings of helplessness and indifference, so that people may see the political, social, and economic source of their personal troubles and organize to change society”. (Rosenzweig 1) The SDS also formed the Free-Speech Movement in 1964. There were plenty of other major movements that have impacted the United States, such as the Environmental Movement, The Occupational Health and Safety Movement, Hispanics and Native Americans Demand Equal Rights, The Women’s Movement, The Gay and Lesbian Rights Movement, and Militancy and Dissension in the Labor Movement to name a few. These were major movements during the 60’s and 70’s that changed the way we live today. Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of the bus for a white man, by doing so she was arrested by the local police and fined for disobeying the segregation rules. With her arrest, it sparked a statewide boycott evolving into the Civil Rights movement soon to be lead by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. King lead rallies and violence free protests across the nation. He fought for equality throughout the United States and also
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