In many ways, the 1950s planted the seeds for the progress of the 60s. Glimpses of the rebellious generation, who would later find its way to the anti-War protests, are found throughout the fifties, specifically in movies like Rebel Without a Cause and more overtly in Jack Kerouac?s On The Road. The move away from conformity and towards more of an individualistic mentality began in the somewhat closed circles of the Beat movement and spread throughout America during the sixties. The Montgomery Bus Boycotts and Brown V. Board of Education were great precursors to the revolutionary civil rights legislation of the mid sixties. Whereas for most of the aforementioned societal changes, the 50s only exhibited hints of what was to come in the sixties, members of the civil rights movement built an impressive resume and did more than merely build a base for the 60s. The fifties marked a time when civil rights began to take front stage for many Americans and served as the call to action for African-Americans. Blacks decided that they would no longer sit around waiting for change, but that they were going to get up and right the wrongs of the North and South. Tremendous historical events, some which took days and some which took years, were planned and successfully carried out in this decade. Individuals were mobilized, great leaders emerged, and powerful organizations took center stage. But, the African-Americans were certainly not alone. Along with them stood Whites of all backgrounds and religions, of all social classes and perspectives, and of all reasons and justifications.
American Jews, who had the unenviable predicament of being both White and a persecuted minority, disproportionately involved themselves with the struggle against s...
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...ms: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Jewish Community p.41.
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Greenberg, Cheryl. "The Southern Jewish Community and the Struggle for Civil Rights."
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Dollinger, Marc. "Hamans and Torquemadas: Southern and Northern Jewish Responses to the Civil Rights Movement 1945-1965"
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Webb, Clive. Fight Against Fear: Southern Jews and Black Civil Rights. p. 45-56
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Dollinger, Marc. The Quest For Inclusion: Jews and Liberalism in Modern America. p. 167
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Schneier, Rabbi Marc. Shared Dreams: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Jewish Community. p. 40
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Schneier, Rabbi Marc. Shared Dreams: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Jewish Community. p. 62
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Rose, Peter. "Blacks and Jews: The Strained Alliance." The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. Vol 454, March 1981. p. 55
The original edition of The Strange Career of Jim Crow had as its thesis that segregation and Jim Crow Laws were a relative late comer in race relations in the South only dating to the late 1880s and early 1890s. Also part of that thesis is that race relations in the South were not static, that a great deal of change has occurred in the dynamics of race relations. Woodward presents a clear argument that segregation in the South did not really start forming until the 1890s. One of the key components of his argument is the close contact of the races during slavery and the Reconstruction period. During slavery the two races while not living harmoniously with each other did have constant contact with each other in the South. This c...
"Demonological anti-Semitism, of the virulent racial variety, was the common structure of the perpetrators' cognit...
The 1950s created an environment and culture that allowed for the beginning of a wide-scale civil rights movement because of prominent leaders in the black community, the death of Emmett Till, and the Brown vs. Board of Education decision.
Essay, Philosophy 115, St. Louis. University of California, Berkeley, 1995. Rottenburg, Anne. A. & Co. "Dr. Martin Luther King, Letter From a Birmingham
...n to construct a rapprochement with the WASP community as well. Actually, he reminds the WASP community of its anterior fights against both the British oppression and the Nazi regime. Thus, he intends to illustrate with analogies that the fight for African Americans' civil rights is not so far from the WASP community prior demands. Consequently, he obliterates the false dichotomy that runs rampant in the WASP community, namely the requirements for civil rights are not as justifiable and moral as the independence of the thirteen colonies or the suppression of the Nazi anti-Semitism. An important element of this Letter from Birmingham Jail is that Martin Luther King, Jr. concludes his missive with an appeal to peace and unity. With those words, if the readers have just forgotten the entire discourse, the readers keep in minds his motivation for appeasement and concord.
...War and the Civil Rights Movements in order to illustrate how the 1960s was a time of “tumult and change.” To Anderson, it is these events, which sparked the demand for recognition of social and economic fairness. He makes prominent the idea that the 1960s served as the origin of activism and the birth of the civil rights movement, forever changing ideals that embody America. The book overall is comprehensive and a definite attention grabber. It shows how the decade had the effect of drastically transforming life in America and challenging the unequal status quo that has characterized most of the nation's history. Despite the violence and conflict that was provoked by these changes, the activism and the liberation movements that took place have left a permanent imprint upon the country.
This investigation is centered on the question “To what extent did racism and anti-Semitism affect the court case of The People V Leo Frank?” The essay focuses on the effect of racism and anti-Semitism against Leo Frank, a Jew from Brooklyn, during and after the trial where he was found guilty. It discusses these forms of racism and anti-Semitism in context of the time period of the court case, from 1913 to 1915. The paper discusses the portrayal of the court case in the papers as well as the public view and their actions, such as the lynching of Leo Frank without any repercussions or charges. The sources used in this investigation were newspapers from this time, court records, as well as other information found in the 1913 Leo Frank Case and Trial Research library as well as in academic Journals. The investigation also references An Unspeakable Crime by Elaine Marie Alphin.
In his letter, Martin Luther King is trying to persuade his readers to understand his action and point of view of an African-American living in this era. He did so all while replying to the public published statement and criticisms written to him by the eight Alabama clergymen. This illuminating work of art that King had created was filled with heightened terminology which was gratified by his precise framework. By King writing this response letter with such high dialect, it reflects off of his determined and highly educated mentality immensely. In this letter King directly tries to build a connection
Wilmore, Gayraud S. "Chapter 1-3." Black Religion and Black Radicalism. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1972. 1-71. Print.
Strack, Hermann L. “Anti-Semitism.” Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics. Vol. 1. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, [n.d.]
During the sixties, Americans saw the rise of the counterculture. The counterculture, which was a group of movements focused on achieving personal and cultural liberation, was embraced by the decade’s young Americans. Because many Americans were members of the different movements in the counterculture, the counterculture influenced American society. As a result of the achievements the counterculture movements made, the United States in the 1960s became a more open, more tolerant, and freer country. One of the most powerful counterculture movements in the sixties was the civil rights movement.
The 1960s was a period well remembered for all the civil rights movements that occurred during that time frame and the impact these movements had on the social and political dynamics of the United States. The three largest movements that were striving in the 1960s were the African American civil rights movement, the New Left movement and the feminist movement. These three movements were in a lot of ways influenced by each other and were very similar in terms of their goals and strategies. However, within each of these movements there were divisions in the way they tried to approach the issues they were fighting against. Looking at each of these movements individually will reveal the relationship they all share as well as the changes that were brought forth as a result of each groups actions.
John A. Kirk, History Toady volume 52 issue 2, The Long Road to Equality for African-Americans
For additional help in understanding his reasoning and thought processes, The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr., edited by Clayborne Carson, can give one a sense of exactly why King had such a strong religious background. In fact, the first words of the writing state “Of course I was religious. I grew up in the church. My father was a preacher, my grandfather was a preacher, my great-grandfather was a preacher, my only brother is a preacher, my daddy’s brother is a preacher. So of course I didn’t have much choice” (Carson 1). Furthermore, this work is special because it combines hundreds of King’s writings in order to make a first person narrative of his life. The book skips no part of his life and includes his thoughts and feelings
The 1960’s was a time period in which produced a plethora of social movements were taking place and consequently, laws were changed that affected our society as a whole. Some of those social movements were the Women Rights and Gay Rights movements, which were directly influenced by the Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Rights Movement produced many leaders, two of whom are Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X (El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz). King’s call for little black children to play with little white children, his admonishment of a black revolution due to the detrimental effects it would have on black and white relations, and his support of white and black children receiving the same education, directly shows that he supported a united effort to tackle discrimination. Consequently, during the 1960’s racial, political, and socioeconomic divisions were abundant and only through inclusion of all people to promote unity could society become better. Therefore, Martin Luther King Jr.’s philosophy made the most sense for the 1960’s because he promoted the inclusion of people from all backgrounds to produce harmonious living within our society.