Has America Really Changed Since the Civil Rights Movement?

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For as long as I could remember, African Americans have succumbed to some of the cruelest treatment seen in America’s history. This mistreatment has taken on many forms particularly in respect to social and racial discrimination. Examples of prior struggles for equality of African Americans in America may include: the pursuit of their freedom and equal treatment that was attributed by slavery, attaining voting rights, and being able to secure a job that would not discriminate based solely on their skin color. A number of Key figures were instrumental in making American what it is today and here are just to name a few: Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr., and Thurgood Marshall. I chose the documentary “Fighting Back” (1957-1962) to discuss. This documentary deals with varying issues that African Americans faced during the civil rights movement period. Among them are the cases at Little Rock, Arkansas, “Ole Miss”, and the 1954 Supreme Court decision. Interviews are provided from Ernest Green, a senior at Central High School in Arkansas, University of Mississippi’s registrar Robert Ellis and the active U.S. Attorney General at this time, Herbert Brownell. This film explores numerous Supreme Court cases that made national headlines and paved the way for history to become what we know it as of today. It delves into not only the racial discrimination and injustices but also the social implications and effects that the integration process had on African Americans. Prior to the segregation of blacks and whites there were the struggles for equality due to slavery that subsequently have carried over for generations. The film stated that segregation is against the bible. Genesis 9:27 is a wonderful example to explain why God is again... ... middle of paper ... ...il rights movement is an example of conflict theory seen in our countries history. Conflict theory occurs when individual and group aspirations are shaped by the opportunities available. The context of the system is constructed because of inequality due to resistance and protest. African Americans lives were shaped even to this day by the opportunities or lack thereof that were available to them in our countries early days. The documentary portrays aspects of symbolic interactionism because society sets the standards and roles to which different sexes, races and minorities must follow in society, these roles then become the normal and may contribute to stereotypes. This perspective explains the societal expectations from the context of social roles. The documentary also sought to seek equality and justice for African Americans through the integration process.

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