Social movements that looked to equalize and liberalize American society characterized the 1960s and ‘70s. The Civil Rights movements fought for racial equality within the United States, while the rise of ‘free love,’ hippie culture and the anti-Vietnam War movement mobilized young people and promoted liberation from traditional ideals. The Gay Rights movement combined the two concepts, fighting for equal rights for gay, lesbian, and transgender people, a group that often coincided with the counterculture movement because of discontent with conservative values. In 1969, patrons of the popular gay bar Stonewall Inn in New York City violently resisted a police raid, kick-starting the gay rights movement. It is not coincidental that Harvey Milk entered San Francisco’s political scene four years later, and became the United States’ first openly gay man to serve in public office when he was elected to the city’s Board of Supervisors in 1977. Harvey Milk is one of the most well known leaders of the gay rights movement, owing in no small part to his assassination in 1978, which made him into a martyr for the movement. However, Milk’s true legacy should be the impact he had during his life: galvanizing San Franciscans and people nationwide in support of gay rights, preventing anti-gay laws from being passed, and raising overall awareness of the plight of gay people with regards the their treatment by society. Harvey Milk used his forceful charisma and passion, as well as his role as an individual leader unassociated with major political group, to gain support for his political endeavors and inspire change for gay rights. Milk’s speeches and interviews demonstrate both his views and his personality, which aided him in the small, individua...
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...izations opposing the Briggs Initiative allowed him to stage his own protest and successfully convince voters to reject the proposition.
Harvey Milk was assassinated, along with San Francisco Mayor George Moscone, less than a year after he was elected to office by former fellow supervisor Dan White. Opinions differ on whether White’s actions were that of a virulent homophobe, a man driven to extremes by his failed career, or, as his lawyer infamously, and perhaps mythically, argued, the result of too much junk food. In any case, Milk was made into a martyr for his cause, and it is that legacy that we remember today. It is impossible to know whether Milk would have attained comparable renown had he not been killed before his time, but the post-mortem fame he achieved would not have been the same without the charisma, passion, and individuality he displayed in life
The book Murdering McKinley: The Making of Theodore’s America by Eric Rauchway examines the murder of President William McKinley and the assassin’s motives that impacted America. Rauchway also reveals to us the making of Theodore’s America through a tragic event to show us how Roosevelt gave it meaning through the start of the Progressive Era with his own political agenda. McKinley’s policies came to and end bringing open doors to new policies on social reform. The book is a well-constructed written book that presents to the reader the story of what had occurred chronologically from the beginning of the assassination to the end of the murder’s life. The main issues that are presented in the book include the assassination of the President and
Eric Rauchway’s Murdering McKinley: The Making of Theodore Roosevelt’s America is an examination of the events, social conditions and dramatic political changes taking place in America immediately prior to and during the birth of the 20th century that led to the assassination of William McKinley and the rise of progressivism. It is furthermore an investigation of the motives behind the assassination, and an analysis of the events leading up to what made possible “Roosevelt’s America,” arguably the first recognizably modern period in American history from a 21st century perspective: the progressive era.
In his book, Blood Done Sign My Name, the author Timothy Tyson tells the story of the highly combustible racial atmosphere in the American South before, during, and after the Jim Crow era. Unlike Margaret Mitchell’s account of the glory and grandeur of the Antebellum South, Tyson exposes the reader to the horrific and brutal reality that the black race experienced on a daily basis. Tyson highlights the double standard that existed during this period in history, arguing that the hypocrisy of the “white” southern judicial system allowed the murder of a young black African-American male at the hands of white racists to go unpunished (Tyson 2004, 244). The hypocrisy and double standard that allowed whites to bring harm to blacks without fear of any repercussions had existed for years before the murder Tyson wrote about occurred in May of 1970 (Tyson 2004, 1).
As Chris McCandless once said, “I now walk into the wild,” a phrase that not only represents a future with unknown mysteries, but a phrase that finishes the puzzle of his and Martin Luther King, Jr’s life. When looking at a historical or inspirational person, you may notice they operated outside the usual bounds of society to achieve a particular purpose. Such is the case for McCandless and King. Although Chris McCandless and Martin Luther King, Jr both shared a fatal death, these men had many similarities and differences between how they reached success, encountered obstacles, and left an impact towards people's lives.
The Times of Harvey Milk suggests that the experiences of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender people in the 1980s and 1990s reflect on the dangers of visibility. While the election of the first openly gay politician, Harvey Milk, was a first, representing change in it’s own, the murder of Harvey Milk spoke even louder, specifically the short amount of time his murderer, Dan White, was sentenced. The film suggests that while being openly gay at the time, while accepted by some, remained and still remains a danger. Public leaders within the movement experienced violence, discrimination, and in Harvey Milk’s case murder. Even so, it is shown that with every injustice the community grows bigger and stronger, never losing the support of its community and allies. This is shown in the film by the silent, candlelight parade of 45,000 people on the night of the murder, followed by an angry, violent, riot following the sentencing of his murderer. Though Milk was murdered, a decade before he would have never been elected, he wouldn’t have had support, this was a pivotal point in the growth of the movement.
On August 28, 1955, fourteen year old Emmett Till was beaten, tortured and shot. Then with barbed wire wrapped around his neck and tied to a large fan, his body was discarded into the Tallahatchi River. What was young Emmett’s offense that brought on this heinous reaction of two grown white men? When he went into a store to buy some bubblegum he allegedly whistled at a white female store clerk, who happened to be the store owner’s wife. That is the story of the end of Emmett Till’s life. Lynchings, beatings and cross-burning had been happening in the United States for years. But it was not until this young boy suffered an appalling murder in Mississippi that the eyes of a nation were irrevocably opened to the ongoing horrors of racism in the South. It sparked the beginning of a flourish of both national and international media coverage of the Civil Rights violations in America.
The Mayor of Castro Street is an inspiring yet emotional and tragic story that takes a look at Harvey Milk’s life and the way it influenced the Gay Liberation Movement. The book goes into detail about Harvey as a person and how that affected his political campaign. In this review I’ll be going over what the book was about, the fear gay people felt and how unfair things were for people in the LGBT community in the 1970’s.
In 1960, John F. Kennedy was elected president of the United States. During his campaign he had promised to lead the country down the right path with the civil rights movement. This campaign promise had brought hope to many African-Americans throughout the nation. Ever since Lincoln, African-Americans have tended to side with the democrats and this election was no different. The Kennedy administration had noticed that the key to the presidency was partially the civil rights issue. While many citizens were on Kennedy’s side, he had his share of opposition. Malcolm X differed on the view of the President and observed that the civil rights movement wasn’t happening at the speed Kennedy had pledged. Malcolm X possessed other reasons for his dislike of John F. Kennedy and his brothers, especially Robert. The Kennedy government stood for racial liberalism and Malcolm X argued their true intentions for the civil rights movement weren’t in the best interest of the black population. This tension streamed both ways. John Kennedy and the Federal Bureau of Investigation felt that Malcolm X had become a threat to national security. James Baldwin has written essays that have included the repeated attacks on the white liberal and supports Malcolm in many of his theories and actions.
The media considers the1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City the spark of the modern gay rights movement. This occurred after the police raided the Stonewall bar, a popular gay bar in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. Allyn argues that the new energy and militancy generated by the riot played a crucial role in creating the gay liberation movement. Arguably, the Stonewall Riots have come to resemble the pivotal moment in gay rights history largely because it provided ways for the gay community to resist the social norms. In fact, the riots increased public awareness of gay rights activism (Allyn 157). Gay life after the Stonewall riots, however, was just as varied and complex as it was before. In the following era, ho...
Up until 1955, many of the Northern, white Americans were unaware of the extent of the racism in the ‘Southern States’, one instance in 1955 changed that greatly. The death of Emmet Till became a vital incident in the civil rights movement dude to the horrific pictures of the young boy that circulated throughout America. It is thought that up to 50,000 people viewed the body of Emmet Till, as it appeared in a number of newspapers and magazines, this greatly increased awareness of racism i...
Harvey Milk said, “If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door.”(Aretha 83). Harvey Milk was the first gay politician that moved people’s hearts. He changed the way people thought about gay people back in the 1970’s. Defending homosexuals from criticism, he civilized them with the people. Since the background of homosexuality was harsh which affected Harvey Milk’s early life, he took the action to process of becoming civilized as an officer, and he left many legacies.
On July 27, 1919, a young black man named Eugene Williams swam past an invisible line of segregation at a popular public beach on Lake Michigan, Chicago. He was stoned by several white bystanders, knocked unconscious and drowned, and his death set off one of the bloodiest riots in Chicago’s history (Shogun 96). The Chicago race riot was not the result of the incident alone. Several factors, including the economic, social and political differences between blacks and whites, the post-war atmosphere and the psychology of race relations in 1919, combined to make Chicago a prime target for this event. Although the riot was a catalyst for several short-term solutions to the racial tensions, it did little to improve race relations in the long run. It was many years before the nation truly addressed the underlying conflicts that sparked the riot of 1919. This observation is reflected in many of author James Baldwin’s essays in which he emphasizes that positive change can only occur when both races recognize the Negro as an equal among men politically, economically and socially.
Feeling the warmth when they hold a loved one is something for which people should not be judged. It should not matter what sex their partner is because, put simply, they are in love. The gay rights movement is a continuing procession that fights for their rights. The gay rights movement actually begins on November 11, 1950 when gay rights activist Harry Hay founds America’s first national gay rights organization by the name of Mattachine Society, according to the “Timeline: Milestones in the American Gay Rights Movement”. Their leaders or people who advanced their purpose are Harvey Milk, Harry Hay, LGBT, or lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual groups. This purpose is to stop intolerance and, ultimately, gain the right of and benefits of marriage. The gay rights movement is embodied in “What We Want, What We Believe,” which shows that even though the group was not seen, or given rights, that in time with their unity they would gain equality. It is a manifesto that states what the entirety of the LGBT groups want. Moreover, no one should feel the shunning of discrimination or hatred for whom they love because of what sex they are.
The history of the gay rights movement goes as far back as the late 19th century. More accurately, the quest by gays to search out others like themselves and foster a feeling of identity has been around since then. It is an innovative movement that seeks to change existing norms and gain acceptance within our culture. By 1915, one gay person said that the gay world was a "community, distinctly organized" (Milestones 1991), but kept mostly out of view because of social hostility. According to the Milestones article, after World War II, around 1940, many cities saw their first gay bars open as many homosexuals began to start a networking system. However, their newfound visibility only backfired on them, as in the 1950's president Eisenhower banned gays from holding federal jobs and many state institutions did the same. The lead taken by the federal government encouraged local police forces to harass gay citizens. "Vice officers regularly raided gay bars, sometimes arresting dozens of men and women on a single night" (Milestones). In spite of the adversity, out of the 1950s also came the first organized groups of gays, including leaders. The movement was small at first, but grew exponentially in short periods of time. Spurred on by the civil rights movement in the 1960s, the "homophile" (Milestones) movement took on more visibility, picketing government agencies and discriminatory policies. By 1969, around 50 gay organizations existed in the United States. The most crucial moment in blowing the gay rights movement wide open was on the evening of July 27, 1969, when a group of police raided a gay bar in New York City. This act prompted three days of rioting in the area called the Stonewall Rio...
Despite who you are, or where you come from in the world, there would have been a time during your life where you have experienced conflict either directly or even indirectly. It is during those times where the possibility of one growing and changing into a different person is at its highest. It is in these times where the priorities you previously once held so preciously come crumbling down to be nothing. Earlier this month I spent several days in San Francisco, while I was there I had the great opportunity to visit the Castro and remember the memorable heartbreak and happiness that Harvey Milk, myself Daniel Nicoletta and as well as many others had whilst fighting for gay rights. As I ventured around I realised that Harvey made his values