Introduction
The concept of human rights and freedoms came to America with the revolutionary movements of the mid-nineteenth century. The civil rights movement is a term that refers to a series of political groups and movements that advocate the equality of citizens before the law. The peak of activity of such movements in different countries of the world was in the 1960s. The Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s began the struggle for freedom and equality, whose ideas remain relevant in today’s America. The movement influenced other formerly oppressed groups, urging people to fight for their rights and to spread their importance.
The Women’s Rights Movement
The mass protest movements of black people in the 1960’s allowed women to see the chance for their activity and to transition to a new stage of rights and freedoms. American women’s struggle for their rights was renewed, and black women were among those leading it (Corbett et al. 800). In the 1970s, women began to be involved in politics through powerful organizations. In the Cold War with the USSR, women were directly involved, getting educated and forcing male society to accept them into institutions and educate them. New organizations emerged to assert women’s civil rights and make society consider them worthwhile and influential people. The civil rights movement led to the formation of a national organization for women (NOW) that ran several campaigns for employment and decent wages (Corbett et al. 808). Under pressure from NOW, many programs changed their attitudes toward equality in schools and universities and began actively sponsoring women’s organizations. In addition, under pressure from interested parties, the Supreme Court banned criteria that discriminated against women.
Women’s organizations rushed to purposeful action, and public consciousness changed. Women began to be recognized as full-fledged political subjects, with the right to participate in politics and make decisions at all levels of government on an equal footing with men. Moreover, thanks to the efforts of American women, the issue of gender equality was placed at the center of the world community’s attention. Labor issues were another significant victory for women’s collectives, which continued to point to the need for a diverse (including people of color) and equal society (Corbett et al. 809). Finally, in 1975 the UN proclaimed Women’s Year, and from 1975 to 1985, the decade of women. Consequently, the civil rights movement allowed women to become more confident and assert their importance.
Native American Movement
The black riots prompted authorities to act more cautiously and choose a more inclusive political direction. Compensatory quotas in affirmative action programs, in which racial and ethnic minorities took center stage, gradually began to be introduced. Thanks to King’s speeches, Native Americans saw a chance to fight for their rights and declared political leaders from their territories (Corbett et al. 818). King pointed out that recognizing Native Americans as an inferior race was wrong, and Native Americans were grateful. They joined the civil rights movement: in 1963, for example, Native Americans made up a relatively large percentage of the march on Washington. Since 1968, it has been accepted that the official Native American rights movement was formed as a struggle against militant political leaders in the United States.
Native Americans began to organize rallies that began an offensive confrontation with the American government. They pushed for the passage of the Education Act of 1971, which prohibited discrimination based on race or nationality and allowed education in multiple languages (Corbett et al. 818). The Office of Indian Education was created and still fights for the opportunity to promote education in small tribes. The Voting Rights Act of 1975 made it possible to add languages to the ballot and to comply with election accessibility rules.
Gay Rights Fighters
The culture of struggle since the 1960s has created an environment in which every American has sought to assert their freedom and rights. As a result, the gay and lesbian rights movement and the introduction of the gay and lesbian agenda into U.S. politics grew from closed to open and diverse (Corbett et al. 819). In 1967, the San Francisco Sexual Freedom League emerged, actively fighting against the criminalization and discrimination of LGBT people. Until the 1980s, homosexuality was persecuted by the law, but this did not stop activists and promoted their freedoms against the backdrop of the civil rights movement.
The main points of the campaign were to demand the elimination of restrictions on medical care and the elimination of stereotypes. In 1969, a major confrontation at a bar where police were armed to confront gay club members and hold prisoners there (Corbett et al. 820). It continued for several days, after which an even more vigorous confrontation began. Activists got homosexuality removed as a diagnosis from the APA in 1974 (Corbett et al. 820). Gradually more states decriminalized transsexuality and homosexuality, and there is now virtually no practice of prosecuting orientation.
Conclusion
The civil rights movement in the 60s was a fierce struggle for freedom and equality. Black people became the primary opponents of an established layer of society that discriminated against minorities. The movement served as a model for action by other minorities. Women formed civic and national organizations, promoting education among women and providing them equal work wages. Native Americans asserted their cultural and linguistic identity and gained rights to bilingualism and inclusion in health insurance plans. Gay rights activists say that protests and direct demands were effective and began campaigns to spread truthful information and eliminate prejudice. The civil rights movement can now be considered one of the most influential because it has allowed America to become more accessible and more diverse.
Work Cited
Corbett Scott P. et al. U.S. History. Houston: OpenStax, 2021.