The process of African American people gaining essential human rights was complex and excruciatingly challenging, with multiple sacrifices having been made and multiple people’s lives taken in the process. The 1960s represent a point in time when the effort made by African American people to put an end to rampant racism affecting their lives and opportunities was especially strong and painstaking. In his article, Hall elucidates the nature, development, and effects of Civil Rights activism in Virginia in the 1960s. Though the problem of racism remains an unfortunate and egregious element of present-day reality, the changes that the 1960s activism created allowed for establishing the basis for both public activism and the scholarly foundation for it.
While the WWII created an exceptionally high demand for workforce and, therefore, contributed to a drop in racism rates within the U.S., the problem of racial disparities still prevailed. The observed trend percolated further into the 1960s, yet the social change propelled by the described alterations in the state policies had taken its toll (Hall, 2007). As a result, the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s gained particularly strong potential and power in the U.S. community (Hall, 2007). Indeed, according to Hall (2007), “Grassroots organizing in the Old Dominion was boosted by civil rights campaigns outside the state that grabbed national media attention” (p. 303). However, as Hall (2007) points out, the propensity toward conservat6ivism created quite a number of challenges, therefore, reducing the effects that the movement initially produced.
Therefore, one must recognize the fact that the 1960s also represented one of the most challenging points in the development and sustenance of the Civil Rights movement. Remarkably, the constraints that reduced the extent of activism within the movement could be attributed both to external factors and the situation within the African American community itself. Specifically, among the external obstacles on the path toward the liberation of African American people one must mention the development of McCarthyism and the resulting realignment of social priorities within the American community (Hall, 2007). Namely, the emphasis on pursuing Communists and averting the threat of Communist ideas percolating into American society prevented the Civil Rights Movement from drawing public attention to the needs of African American people and the presence of drastic social injustice and racism dominating the cross-cultural American discourse (Hall, 2007). Specifically, Hall (2007) states that “the NAACP’s national leadership had grown increasingly conservative in the years following World War II, cutting their ties with radicals and seeking refuge from McCarthyism within the liberal anticommunist consensus” (p. 252). Therefore, in addition to the shift in the public focus, the extent of the activity within the movement was curbed substantially due to the threat of being associated with the Communist movement.
Furthermore, the misunderstandings and discrepancies within the movement, exacerbated by the presence of external factors, also contributed to the further complications in advancing the issue of Civil Rights. Arguably, the specified issues in the development of the fight for African American people’s civil rights have percolated into the present-day setting, where the continuous struggle for ensuring that the specified population is provided with essential liberties and freedoms is obstructed by the presence of institutionalized racism. Indeed, taking a closer look at the present—day sociocultural and sociopolitical contexts, one will recognize the persistence of racial prejudices on an institutional level. Specifically, the problem of racism in the police and consistent police brutality against African American people should be regarded as one of the manifestations of the continuous struggle. Indeed, according to the recent reports, the present-day legal standards in the U.S. “permit and even encourage the current deleterious practices within the criminal justice system, specifically with the aggressive, proactive policing practices that disproportionately affect Black community members” (Graham et al., 2020, p. 543-544). Thus, the 1960s Civil Rights Movement must be recognized for its tremendous impact on the lives of African American people in the present-day context, as well as the development of relationships between the African American and White communities in the specified setting.
Nonetheless, the specified stage of the Civil Rights Movement, specifically the 1960s, should be regarded as the pivotal moment in the promotion of rights and freedoms for African Americans. Specifically, the fact that the movement not only survived the challenges mentioned above but also managed to thrive and allow African American people to introduce a collective effort to fight bigotry and racism indicates that the specified stage of its development represented its strongest point (Hall, 2007). One could argue that the disagreements within the movement outlined above and the problems in maintaining cohesion have defined the present-day complications and challenges that African American people are facing. Indeed, the presence of racial prejudices and discrimination remain visible in the modern American community. However, the general propensity toward seeking social justice and introducing it into the existing legal framework is evident given the emergence of movements such as the BLM (McKersie, 2021). Therefore, the Civil Rights Movement can be considered the one that brought the foundational change to the sociocultural environment of the U.S., therefore, affecting the current perceptions of race and equality.
Furthermore, the effects of the 1960s’ Civil Rights Movement have percolated into the present-day context. Although the phenomenon of racism remains a part of the present-day community and continues to be institutionalized, the echo of the Civil Rights Movement still sends ripples through history. Specifically, the development of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement that started in the early 2010s and continues to this day can be seen as the direct effect of the Civil Rights Movement, having been launched almost 60 years ago. Indeed, while the specified movements cannot be considered the same, there is an obvious continuity between the specified phenomena (Graham et al., 2020). McKersie (2021) explains that the Civil Rights Movement represented the basis for a much vaster and all-encompassing BLM trend: “The breadth and depth of BLM is unprecedented in many ways. The size of the current movement is impressive, even when compared to the earlier CRM. It is estimated that millions of Americans have been involved in marches, with over 2,000 separate protests” (p. 304). Thus, the Civil Rights Movement can be considered the basis for the further fight against racism, racial discrimination, and prejudices in American society
Despite the fact that racism is still a despicable part of the present-day reality, the 1960s activism that incorporated academic debates and grassroots movements set the foundation for radical change that would promote an essential shift in the public’s perception of social justice toward African Americans. Specifically, the 1960s movement made it possible to condemn openly the phenomenon of racism and recognize the fact that it is institutionalized. As a result, the challenges that African American people are facing currently despite years of fighting for equality can be explained and countered effectively.
References
Graham, A., Haner, M., Sloan, M. M., Cullen, F. T., Kulig, T. C., & Jonson, C. L. (2020). Race and worrying about police brutality: The hidden injuries of minority status in America. Victims & Offenders, 15(5), 549-573. Web.
Hall, S. (2007). Civil rights activism in 1960s Virginia. Journal of Black Studies, 38(2), 251-267.
McKersie, R. B. (2021). The 1960s civil rights movement and black lives matter: Social protest from a negotiation perspective. Negotiation Journal, 37(3), 301-323.