Where Local Meets Global
I like Kevin’s idea of centering on a few stories – to show the different faces and feelings of the spirit of the sixties and the civil rights revolution. I wonder, too, if touchstone events could draw out some of the gripping storylines. I’ve also used music to tell the stories, with “We Shall Overcome” followed by “People Get Ready” and then onto “Mississippi Goddamn.” (quick mention here of an amazing book on civil rights music and local politics: check out Suzanne Smith’s Dancing in the Streets on Motown and the cultural politics of Detroit). One that students may be familiar with (but probably don’t know that much about) is the September 1963 church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama. As an event, it hits on so many points and it links to a bunch of themes in the Major Problems readings. I’ll mention a few of the themes and connections here.
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| Church after bombing |
1: Violence. We know the fire-hoses, and we know the assassinations. We can read about them in documents from Robert Williams, as he defends “self defense” in 1962 or in the short essay from Tim Tyson. But at Birmingham, we see militancy moved to sacred places – a church bombed on a Sunday morning.
2: Highs and lows, gains and setbacks. Coming only three weeks after the excitement of the March on Washington, the church bombing brings us back down to the sad realities of racial discrimination. MLK was prominent at both, and students could compare and contrast his “I have a dream” speech with his eulogy at Birmingham. I think the next edition of Major Problems probably needs a document showing the sadness of civil rights gains and multiracialism under assault so that we can understand the ups and downs of movement people.
3: Media technology transformed local events into national ones. This is evident in the marvelous essay by Henry Louis Gates Jr., discussing civil rights moments on television, and for Birmingham, it can be connected to Anne Moody. She heard the story on the radio, and her response was visceral (all of which she details in her memoir, and I would nominate her for one of the stories that Kevin could narrate; and maybe her response to Birmingham can get a place in the next Major Problems edition).
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| Wales Window for Birmingham |
4: International interest: we know King won the Nobel Peace Prize, and we know events in India and Africa were crucial to the storyline of the age. The Birmingham bombing story traveled throughout the world and a group in Great Britain commissioned a new piece of stained-glass to repair a window destroyed by the bombing. The new sacred symbol, the “Wales Window for Birmingham” connected the violence in Alabama with apartheid in South Africa as part of an overall sacred challenge to any form of racial colonialism.
What other touchstone events would folks use?
The document I am discussing is document #5 in Chapter twelve: Army Veteran Robert Williams Argues “Self-Defense Prevents Bloodshed,”1963
The first point that really stood out to me in this document is the feeling i get that at this point, African Americans were absolutely fed up with racial segregation and violence. At this point in the Civil Rights movement, African Americans were seeing all the violence on T.V as well as in their daily lives. Almost 100 years since there freedom as a people was established and yet they were still being persecuted.
The second point that struck me was how this man telling the story was a Veteran of the military. It feels weird to think that this man went to war to defend freedoms of country that he definitely did not have fool access too. Being a veteran myself, i received a lot of benefits from my time in the service. I now enjoy my schooling paid for. What did Robert Williams receive? Mobs of white people threatening to burn and kill him. Similarly in today’s military, “Don’t ask, Don’t Tell” essentially requires men and women to fight for freedoms that they are not granted as well. Homosexuals in the military might not experience quite the same violence the African Americans did but nevertheless it is still wrong.
I think the level of violence and hatred African Americans experienced during the Civil rights movement is horrific and i think it was a low point in our countries history. After 100 years of freedom and still white Americans were yelling to burn a man because of his skin color.
Scott C. Said….
The document I am discussing is document #3 in chapter 12: Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., Defends Seamstress Rosa Parks, 1955.
This article was interesting to me because it showed how unfairly African Americans were treated. Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat to a white person on the bus. African Americans were supposedly given the same rights as any American, but as I read this article they clearly were not given the same rights. African Americans were scared to ride the bus because of being “intimidated and humiliated and oppressed because of the sheer fact that they were Negroes”. Martin Luther king Jr. stood up for Rosa Parks and all African Americans in a non violent way getting people to understand we live in the greatest country and all people are equal no matter race, religion, language, or beliefs. He explained this by telling people we live in a democracy which allows people to protest their views.
My second point about this article is African Americans were fed up with being oppressed and treated differently than whites and they were going to change that without violence. Martin Luther King Jr. explains how African Americans are going to stick together and protest to give African Americans equal rights. This interests me because during this time African Americans were being threatened, beaten and even murdered and Martin Luther King says, “Now let us say that we are not here advocating violence”. The African American society did not want violence, they wanted equal rights and that’s it. My question about this article is why did the police arrest her? To me that show’s that the government was still backing up unequal rights for African Americans.
I don’t have any answers for the conundrums about how to successfully teach civil rights, but I’ll no longer be assuming my students are familiar with the topic, as this recent NY Times piece pointed out. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/28/education/28civil.html
ABC
Ed,
Great ideas. I would also recommend Sam Cooke’s “Change is going to come.” Not only is a great, historically grounding song (“I was born on a river”–Great Migration, etc), but Seal re-did in 2008 for Obama.
But I really like the idea of the church bombing, for all the reasons you say. And I debate every year between using Anne Moody or Fire Next Time for this section. Next year it’ll be Anne Moody!
The article I’m going to talk about is “The National Organization for Women Calls for Equality,” from Chapter 12 of Major Problems.
I thought this article was interesting because it is an important part of the civil rights revolution. What was important about it was that women accepted that it wasn’t going to be easy, and that they’d have to dedicate a lot of work to achieve true equality. They wanted to remove discrimination, ensure equality in employment opportunities, education, civil and political rights. Women were willing to take jobs and support the household along with the husband. They said that “women will do most to create a new image of women by acting now, and by speaking out in behalf of their own equality, freedom, and human dignity-not in pleas for special privilege, nor in enmity toward men, who are also victims of the current half equality between the sexes.”
I think the important aspect in this is that they aren’t complaining without acting. They are also being fair about it and taking on the responsibilities that the equality will entail.
I am discussing document 5 in Chapter 12: Army Veteran Robert Williams Argues “Self-Defense Prevents Bloodshed.” I found this document the most interesting because it gives you a general idea of how far a person might go in order to protect themselves from a group of people are constantly attacking them. For example, in the 2nd paragraph it talks about a white man who intentionally tried to hit a car with black people in it. He was unsuccessful and only managed to strike the front of the car driving both of them into a ditch. What i found revealing was the perception of the crowd who witnessed the accident but had a skewed perception of what had really happened. The crowd started screaming at the car with blacks in them, accusing them that they had hit the white man and not the other way around. The amount of hatred coming from the crowd is shocking. “Kill the niggers! Pour gasoline on the niggers. Burn the niggers!” It’s hard to believe this kind of hatred ever existed. The man who intentionally hit them is an example of how violent and hateful white america can be, armed with a bat making false accusations. With these kinds of people running around, the only way you can protect yourself is with a weapon of your own. Even with the amount of violence and hate that black encountered, the gun was never fired and was only used for intimidation. However, the opposing side did not hesitate to fire a gun of their own. Even cops were people who targeted you so that doesnt leave a person with much options. Without that gun, they would have been killed. The document ends with an old white man in the crowd screaming and crying like a baby saying “god damn, god damn, what is this god damn country coming to that the niggers have got guns…” I found this part somewhat humorous because that guy is a nutcase but apparently that much hate can drive a person to tears.
-Dominic V
The article I will be discussing is Chapter 12, “Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., Defends Seamstress Rosa Parks, 1955.”
One interesting thing King said was that people are tired of being trampled over and humiliated by other and he is not “advocating violence…[but a] great glory of American democracy is the right to protest for right…[because] God grant that we will do it before its too late.” I feel King uses God to evoke hope to his followers in orders to gather more attention to push for civil rights for his fellow African Americans. He brings hope by also using Rosa Parks, an ordinary person who decided to not give up her seat as another sign of hope, beside god. This generates an idea to look up and or be more like her, who is standing up for their rights. Parks was just a good candidate for King to use to create a better foundation to encourage more people to fight. I feel like he is showing that if one grab the opportunity at the right time than a further step is initiated towards their goal, such as King using Parks to amplify the power of an ordinary people. It’s just happen that her arrest was perfect to use to motivate more people to join the movement or get attention. I wonder if there were other people who were bold like Rosa Parks. If there were how come only Parks became an icon for the Civil Rights Movement, and what happen to those ordinary individuals who also made a difference, who also probably “refused” to give up their seats?
The document I will be discussing is from Chapter 12 of Major Problems, document 5 which is entitled “Army Veteran Robert Williams Argues ‘Self-Defense Prevents Bloodshed,’ 1962.”
This document was extremely interesting to me because it gives a firsthand account of the amount of violence that African Americans were shown during this time. Some of the testimonial account that was written by Robert Williams I thought hard to believe possible. The first thing that stood out to me was the fact that the swimming pool segregated the African Americans from the whites because the African Americans were not allowed to swim in the pool at any time. To me, I don’t see why anyone would go to as much trouble as to make sure that African Americans didn’t use the pool in the town. The second thing that I found interesting is that the writer describes that “there were two policemen who had been following us from my home.” This goes to imply that the police were following the African Americans with the perceived notion of charging them with a crime without the men even doing anything. A third thing that I found interesting about this document was that the man that was in the car outside of the restaurant intentionally ran into the car that was full of African Americans. The writer states “As soon as we drew near, this car started backing out as fast as possible. The driver hoped to hit us in the side and flip us over.” The reaction of the crowd at the scene was just as disappointing to me as the fact that the man hit their car intentionally. Overall, I found this document to be a very interesting article of an account of violence that was shown towards African Americans in the early 1960s.
Thanks,
Devin W
The document I will be discussing is document one entitled “The United Nations Approves a Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948.”
The first thing that came to mind as I was reading this article was former President Wilson and his 14 points. The six articles that the United Nations put together sound so well on paper, but weren’t really effective in any way. Much like Wilson’s 14 point plan, they both sounded like good ideas but failed to deliver. It also struck me as to how similar this Declaration compares to the United States Declaration of Independence.
Eleanor Roosevelt chaired the committee of the U.N. so this could explain the similarities, but the question I have, if the United States had so much influence in creating these rights of world wide freedoms, why weren’t these freedoms granted to its citizens back home?
Thanks,
Alejandro L.
Professor Blum,
In response to your second point referring to some of the gains and set backs of the civil rights movement, I find the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to fit perfectly. Although the 24th Amendment ended poll taxes in federal elections, black Americans were still discriminated against until this act passed. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is the topic to my essay and am wondering if there are other main examples of black voters rights besides the ones listed in our textbooks. I find this act to be the most important of all the civil rights acts and would love to hear some feedback from you on the topic.
Thanks,
Shane P. (Hist 110)
I will be discussing the article “Army Veteran Robert Williams Argues ‘Self Defense Prevents Bloodshed'”. This article struck me because when I first read the title I was confused about how the author could possibly mean that more fighting could protect people. However, after reading the article I understand how important it would have been for African Americans to be able to be armed in the South.
By carrying weapons, Robert Williams was able to avoid a lynching.
Robert Williams was a part of a protest to allow African Americans use of the public white only pool. There was no pool available and black children had been drowning in the local creek. They only asked that they be allowed access one day a week. After four years of this request being denied, there was a protest. Williams was purposely attacked by a white man in a motor vehicle, then blamed for the attack. A mob of white southerners were shouting for him to be killed and burned. He was being attacked by a mob, and instead of being helped by the police, was asked to surrender. Having a weapon on him was the only thing that saved his life.
Ordinarily I would not argue that more guns leads to less violence, but in this case I see the importance of Williams’ argument. When people are being targeted for murder, and have no help from authorities, they need a means for self defense. This article highlights the level of violence that African American’s faced during the Civil Rights Movement, and their resiliency to overcome discrimination.
Scott C said….
The document I will be discussing from Major Problems is document 1 in chapter 12 “The United Nations Approves a Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948.”
This article was interesting to me because the declaration of human rights looks so good in writing but, in reality I feel as if it was just a political statement to make the United States look good. The six articles are great but, the U.S. did not really enforce them. How are you suppose to enforce these with the United Nations if the U.S. themselves does not follow them? During this time period there was many brutal beatings and murders of African Americans for slim to no reason except race. The Declaration of Human rights was a good step towards equal rights for all but, it lacked enforcement by the government and states. I do not know if there was a better way to introduce equal treatment to all, does anybody have a better solution to introducing equal rights to all?
I agree with Scott’s comment above. I too read the document “The United Nations Approves a Universal Declaration of human Rights, 1948” The six articles listed in this Declaration of Human Rights were definitely not enforced by the U.S. during this time. After making this declaration, why didn’t they do a better job of enforcing them? This shows me that they didn’t really take what they stated in the articles seriously, and like Scott said, this Declaration was a political statement just to make the U.S. LOOK GOOD. This declaration would have been very effective if it was actually enforced by the U.S. instead, African American’s continued to suffer. Why weren’t the six articles of the Declaration enforced?
The article I will be discussing is The United Nations Approves a Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948. This article was interesting to me because it talks about human rights and how everyone should be treated equally. In the article it says, “disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind.” This is why they made Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It lists 6 articles that every American must abide by.
The questions I have about this topic is what makes humans treat others in such uncivil ways? Also why must we have to have a document stating how we should treat each other, rather then just know it’s wrong to discriminate based on skin color?
Zoe C
The article I will be discussing is on Robert F. Williams: Change from the Bottom Up. While it is not a primary document, it reflects issues based on Robert William’s argument on ‘Self-Defense Prevents Bloodshed, 1962” and MLK Jr. defending Rosa Parks. Williams illustrates the civil rights movement being shown in many difference ways. His essay highlights the violence of the movement, the gains and setbacks, and the self-defense of the African American Rights Movement. Due to self-defense being “so deeply engrained in rural southern America” it took great effort to trust the NAACP being able to push things through the law system. While gains were made through legal process, setbacks occurred when courts did not act fast enough and it became “necessary to stop lynching with lynching.” This spawned violence from blacks in order to “defend themselves on the stop when they are attacked by whites.” I believe this article captures the many difference aspects that went into the successes and failures of the civil rights movement, especially from a black standpoint.
The document I am going to be discussing is, “The National Organization for women calls for equality, 1966.”
I chose this article because it really intrigued me. It explains how women were tired of not being treated equally, they wanted to take action, they wanted to have an equal partnership with men. Women didn’t want to be looked down upon as if they needed a man to support them their whole lives. They wanted, “to bring women into full participation in the mainstream of American society..” They felt that the civil rights of all human beings must be applied. All they wanted was to be equal, for it to be as important for girls to go to school as it was for boys, they wanted freedom and the sex discriminations to be eliminated. I feel that sex discrimination hasn’t gone away completely today, but it is not nearly as bad as it use to be, some people have and always think that men are more superior and that is something I will never understand.
Carli Johnson
The document I will be discussing is ” Author Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Remembers Civil Rights on TV, 1957. in chapter 12.
In this document Henry Louis Gates shares how he remembers when “Civil Rights ” was broadcasted nation wide on the TV. He said ” I was like watching the Olympics”. I found this interesting because this depicts how much has changed since then. How even just our entertainment has changed. No one blinks or bats an eyelash when someone of color is on T.V, it’s obviously accepted and very normal and routine in our age. To think that kids were growing up with the thought that black people on TV was considered entertainment, and their families all came together at night to watch this is crazy to me.
I wonder what it would be like now if we still had racial issues and our entertainment was watching colored people on t.v instead of reality t.v shows. It sounds so arrogant to even think about that. I am so glad that there is no racism today like there used to be back then. It saddened me when he talked about how the kids were “picked” to come to their school. They looked all clean and greased down. I can only imagine, in circumstances such a these, the impression the black kids were trying to make.
The article that I am going to discuss is document 5 from chapter 12 of Major Problems entitled “Army Veteran Robert Williams Argues ‘Self-Defense Prevents Bloodshed,’ 1962.”
This article was very interesting. It depicts the story of African Americans being attacked and threatened by a mob of Americans. It all started when a driver purposely hit a car filled with African Americans, hoping to harm them. As the attempt failed, bystanders began to blame the African Americans. Mobs of white folks ran up to their car screaming “Kill the niggers! Kill the niggers! Pour gasoline on the niggers! burn the niggers!” The African Americans pulled out guns as weapons for protection which scared off the majority of people. This piece was intriguing to me because it was surprising to see how violent things got especially when the victims are being blamed. Violence in the sixties against African Americans were accurately displayed in this document. Majority of whites became tired of Africans which progressed into anger and hatred. Another reason why this document was interesting is because during the scene, three policemen were on duty. Instead of running to the scene and helping the African Americans, they did nothing until they saw the Africans pull out guns. You know rights need to be enforced when policemen hesitate to protect citizens just because of their skin color.
The one question I have about this document is what happened to the policemen? Robert Williams tells his audience about their failed attempt to contain the Africans but I am interested as to if they got in trouble due to the fact they just watched as the violent white mob begun to approach the car.
Thanks,
Brian Lieu
I’ll be discussing document 9 from chapter 13, “Carl Wittman Issues a Gay Manifesto, 1969-1970.” This article caught my attention because today I saw a presentation on Gays and Lesbians in Japan. In Japan, Japanese that are homosexual are still struggling just to be acknowledged in their communities. It made me realize how far homosexuals here in America have come compared to the sixties. Of course there is still discrimination and danger for some, but I feel like now there is at least a general tolerance for homosexuality in America. Today, I would never compare San Francisco to a refugee camp or a ghetto. Most are aware of the large gay population there, but I think it’s considered a beautiful city (that’s why it cost a fortune to live there). Also, on television you see more and more gay characters. Even the movie, “BrokeBack Mountain” was nominated for eight Academy Awards. These are just a few examples of the tolerance/acceptance of homosexuals. Even the military’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy was a step ahead. Same-sex marriage is still illegal in most states, but at least six allow it. They are still fighting for rights, but they are way ahead of the Japanese. It’s hard to fight for rights when people pretend you don’t even exist.
Although the document I’m going to talk about is set in 1955 (a little early), i believe it applies well to this post. The third document from chapter 12, “Reverend Martin Luther Kind Jr., Defends Seamstress Rosa Parks, 1955,” sparked my interest on the Civil Rights Movement before the sixties and how it struggled from beginning to end. MLK Jr. defends Rosa Parks and her decision to stand up for her rights and not move on the bus. He compares her to all citizens of Montgomery, black and white, and makes her and equal rather than a minority. This incident was just one of many that shaped the Civil Rights Movement and influenced the 50’s and 60’s as a whole. I believe this event was important for its time because it inspired people to stand up and tae action. MLK Jr.’s speech inspired people to fight for their rights (nonviolently, of course). Although there were probably many more incidents that happened, just like this one, before Rosa Parks, hers was just the perfect opportunity to bring everyone together and protest. MLK Jr’s speeches are always inspiring and this was no exception. He embraced the moment and successfully set people into action.
Jordan Kirchberg-
This post is very interesting because it greatly explains how the new media was changing our views on life. Before television, people would only hear about these incidents through mouth and by newspapers. Now people were able to see it happening live through everyone’s television. Because there were only a few channels at the time, millions of people were seeing what our nation was doing to African Americans and it ultimately lead to them receiving equal treatment. The movement also helped groups such as the homosexuals to achieve the rights they want such as same sex marriage. The new technology was able to allow us to see what struggles they were going through and we as people gave them their rights.
The article I will be discussing is the third article from chapter 13 titled, “Bill Moyers Remembers Kennedy’s Effect on His Generation, 1988 (1961)”. Kennedy got Moyers to head to Washington to work for him, and Moyers discusses the impact Kennedy had on him. Moyers states, “So I remember John Kennedy not so much for what he was or what he wasn’t but for what he empowered in me”. After reading this article I was left with the impression that Kennedy was a very positive President and that he had an enormous amount of faith in the people. I feel as thought Kennedy made a great attempt to boost the morals of the American population and to help them accept a sense of individualism. That he was pro-people, where that he wanted Americans to feel that they had a purpose and could make a change. In an era faced with cultural wars I feel like his charisma and personality could have been somewhat refreshing to people. This article made me question how the people of this time felt about his positive personality and if it had any affect on them? It also made me wonder what Kennedy’s biggest accomplishment was during his Presidency and if it affected what was to come of the 60s?
The document I will be discussing is from chapter 11 document 9, “Feminist Betty Friedan Describes the Problem That Has No Name, 1963”
After World War II all the men came home and sent the woman back out of the factories and into the household to raise the children from the baby boom. And after a decade of staying inside woman have become discontent with their lives. Women said, “All they had to do was devote their lives from earliest girlhood to finding a husband and bearing children.” What would they do after that? Women were feeling discontent in life and began to rebel. They want to be treated as equals by men and thanks to them today we are.
Kelsey Rodocker
The document I will be discussing is in Chapter 12 (“We Can Do Better”: The Civil Rights Revolution) in Major Problems entitled “Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., Defends Seamstress Rosa Parks, 1955”
Why is Martin Luther King Jr. even having to defend Rosa Parks? If the Declaration of Human Rights, a document presents earlier in this chapter, was enforced then there would not be a problem at all. If they are going to make such laws they must follow them. The African Americans did not want violence, they just wanted equality. Something promised to them in the that declaration. Rosa Parks stood up for her race and all being treated unequally. MLK Jr. gave his people some courage that they were not going to give up and that they were going to stick together to fight for what was right.
I would like to discuss document 9 on page 406, “Carl Wittman Issues a Gay Manifesto, 1969-1970”.
This document brought sympathy to me in the opening, “San Francisco is a refugee camp for homosexuals. We have fled here from every part of the nation, and like refugees elsewhere, we came not because it is so great here, but because it was so bad there”. With much oppression from everywhere else, homosexual people could only find their place in San Francisco as they called it their “camp”. However, San Francisco was not a paradise to expose who they truly were, but just good enough for them to stay. Therefore, I wonder why San Francisco? Why not other places? My guess is that maybe San Francisco is in the West where it could be consider as modern, not as traditional as places in the East. It allowed and accepted immigrants so maybe the ideals here were more liberal than other places. Homosexual people did not find acceptance but they did not receive such harsh treatment from society like in other places. Therefore, that was the reason why San Francisco was their refugee camp. From this document, I felt that the first gay people who exposed themselves publicly were very brave. They had options, unlike other oppressed groups. They could choose to hide themselves forever and lead a peaceful life or they could expose themselves and be looked down upon. They chose the latter and I really admired them for that. This document definitely allowed me to explore what these people experienced.
The document I will be discussing is from chapter 13 document 9, “Carl Wittman issues a Gay Manifesto, 1969-1970.”
In America, gays have been rejected for who they are and forced to flee their homes. Wittman writes, “San Francisco is a refugee camp for homosexuals. We have fled here from every part of the nation, and like refugees elsewhere, we came not because it is so great here, but because it was so bad there.” There in San Francisco they began a social movement, these people just wanted to be accepted by society and recognized as a social group. They no longer wanted to be discriminated against. What was it about San Francisco that made people flee there?
Kelsey Rodocker
The document I am going to talk about is document number 2: President John Kennedy Tells Americans to ask “What You Can Do,” 1961. This excerpt from Kennedy’s public papers is no doubt inspirational and unifying. I remember as in high school asking my mother if she remembers where she was when JFK died. She responded with her personal story of where she was as well as telling me what a great president he was. its always stuck with me that she contributed the unification of our nation in a time when we where deeply divided to JFK and his presidency.
I can agree with her now, after reading this document I see what she means. He had everyone identify with what it meant to be be American and then told them to get off their butts and do something. Brilliant.
-G. Aldaba