Paper Example on Protest Movements

Introduction

Protest movements have characterized the American social, political, racial and cultural landscape for as long as the republic has existed. The movements have been driven towards realizing a cause and they arguably played a fundamental role in forcing changes in legislation, political changes and redefined the American social fabric. For the two periods, 1960-1989 and 1990-2018, the tone, forms and reasons for protest remains similar: the fight against injustice, unfairness, and inequality. The protests in the two time periods were characterized by different key people and forms

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A characteristic feature of protests in the two time periods is the use of protest marches. People have always agitated for different reasons as mentioned above and the use of protest marches has been characteristic. In the 1960s, the civil rights' movement was most pronounced to use protest marches. The leaders such as Martin Luther King Jnr staged protest marches in the country for various reasons. In recent times, protest marches have also been witnessed. In this paper, I argue that protest marches characterize both times and that the 1960-1989 period saw more protest marches than today. The protest marches realized different degrees of success in the two periods mentioned (Lessonsite, 2015).

The 1960s is often regarded as the decade of activism. The people realized that they could realize much change by engaging in protest marches. At the time, famous protest marches include the civil rights movements, the anti-Vietnam war movement, the gay rights movements, and the women empowerment movement among others. The civil rights' movement is perhaps one of the most known today and was spearheaded by rights' crusaders such as Martin Luther King Jnr and often entailed massive amounts of people taking on the streets to protest. Led by King, blacks agitated in courts, lobbied their elected representatives, and most importantly, began a sustained campaign of nonviolent direct action in demand for the changes (Janowiecki, 2011). The country witnessed major demonstrations in places such as Albany, Georgia (in 1962), Alabama, Birmingham, Washington and in Selma.

These demonstrations involved long walks in streets, speeches by the leaders, work boycotts among other aspects. In the recent era, the spirit of active direct action in form of protests has remained, though the intensity has reduced. In the late 1980s and in the 1990s, political protests were organized and were centered on issues such as racism and discrimination. In the 1980s and 1990s, there were widespread protest marches against issues such as legalization of abortion, pitting evangelicals and conservatives alike. After the 9/11 attack, there was a rise in anti-xenophobic sentiments in the country which has often led to protests. Street protests have often been organized in recent times, but their intensity has waned. The 1960s protests, for instance, were sustained for several years until the change was effected. Most protest marches in the latter phase are organized sporadically and often last a shorter time (Wilson, 2016).

A distinguishing feature of modern protests is that they have shifted from active marches to mostly online activism. Due to unavailability of the internet in the 1960s, the majority of the people could be reached and involved using active marches and direct protests. Advancements in technology today, especially, social media, is seen as a more effective protest strategy and is more used today.

A clear-cut way in which the protests in the two eras are similar is the participation of students. Students have been involved in active protests against social and political issues since the 1960s. In the first era mentioned above, there were several student protests that occurred. The Greensboro sit-in of 1960 pushed for black rights and contributed to outlawing of segregation with the passage of the Civil Rights' Act of 1964. In the university uprisings of 1968, more than 1000 students from Howard University demanded inclusion of more black issues in the curriculum. In the recent times, students have taken a center-role in protest marches (Astor, 2018). In the Black Lives Matter movement, for instance, students drawn from different learning institutions in the country have been at the forefront for protesting against racial discrimination. With rising school shootings in the country, students have also played a significant role in protesting against the current gun laws and calling for stricter control. The 2018 gun control protests were sparked in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parklands, Florida, where school shootings had left 17 students dead. The movement saw many students protesting in different states and aimed at elevating the need for the government to change its gun control policies.

Protest movement marches have largely been successful. The 1960s and 1970s protest marches resulted in the enactment of legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and enhancing awareness of issues such as equality and fairness. The recent protest marches have also widened the understanding of critical issues advocated.

As mentioned above, active direct protest marches is one of the oldest means of protest used by different movements over the years. Even today, many people always resort to protest marches as a means of ensuring that the public and policy makers are compelled to take action about the issue. In the 1960s, the black community faced a lot of backlash and discrimination and did not have significant protection by the laws at the time. Despite this, they pushed hard on the streets and compelled the policy makers to effect changes in their favor. The consistency of use of the medium shows that it yields results as compared to other means. The results are immediate as compared to other protest mechanisms such as the use of songs, speeches, and music.

Protest marches gives the power to the people and is a critical way through which the masses can demand change directly. When people take to the streets in thousands, for instance, they affect the day-to-day running of the city, compel other people to see the seriousness of the issue agitated for, and compel the legislators and other policy developers to realize the significance of the issue and address it appropriately.

Conclusion

It is an agreeable fact that other protest mechanisms have played a significant role in the protest movements in the country. Use of arts such as music has highlighted contentious issues and helped push for change. This also applies to films and others. In the modern era, the use of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter as protest platforms has helped transform the protest movement. While these mechanisms' role in the movement is applauded, the use of protest marches is an undeniably effective approach that has been used over the years and continues to be used today.

References

Astor, M. (2018). 7 Times in History When Students Turned to Activism. Nytimes.com. Retrieved 29 October 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/05/us/student-protest-movements.html

Janowiecki, M., (2011). Protesting in 1980s and Beyond. Americanarchive.org. Retrieved 29 October 2018, from http://americanarchive.org/exhibits/first-amendment/protests-80s-andbeyond

Lessonsite, (2015). Protests in the 1960s. Lessonsite.com. Retrieved 29 October 2018, from http://www.lessonsite.com/archivepages/historyoftheworld/lesson31/protests60s.htm

Wilson, C. (2016). Finding Lessons for Today's Protests in the History of Political Activism. Smithsonian. Retrieved 29 October 2018, from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/finding-lessons-todays-protests-history-political-activism-180961309/

"1960s: An Era of Pessimism and Activism." Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. . Retrieved October 29, 2018 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/culture-magazines/1960s-era-pessimism-and-activism