To gain more context for this week’s reading, I will be looking more into the events and culture around the civil rights movement of the 1960s. The words and actions of society at the time allows us insight to better understand the words of MLK and John Lewis.
When trying to understand the context of MLK’s letter from Birmingham jail and John Lewis’s The March, it is crucial to note the events surrounding these readings. By looking into the events of the civil rights movement surround MLK’s letter, we can see the build-up of demonstrations that reflect the call for justice. Events such as Brown v. Board of Education and The March on Washington provide context to the state of American society during the civil rights movement (History.com Editors). When looking at the statement from the clergymen that MLK responded to, it is critical to note the language being used in the public statement, “these demonstrations are unwise and untimely” and “obey the principles of law and order and common sense”, the former addressed by MLK (Kinginstitute.stanford.edu). The language used in the clergymen’s statement undermined the civil rights movement in that area of Alabama by suggesting deferment to the city of Birmingham.
Social reform relying on the city seems like a logical move until you look more into how news coverage changed based on location. The first paragraph of the Birmingham News covering the demonstrations is a follows, “About 100 negro demonstrators singing and strutting were dispersed with fire hoses and police dogs this afternoon as new marches were attempted….”. The same protest coverage on the nationally read The New York Times headlined “Violence Explodes at Racial Protest in Alabama” (Cornish, Audie). The differences in language are apparent here and they help us understand the context behind the scathing words of MLK’s letter. MLK would consider the clergymen as lukewarm supporters of racism. Is there anything that may have held the indifferent people of racism from supporting MMK’s cause?
I think it’s also relevant to connect MLK’s pushes for change in the 1960s to protests today. How are the civil rights movement and today’s social unrest similar? And is there a better way to bring change than protesting in today’s society?
References:
Cornish, Audie. How The Civil Rights Movement Was Covered In Birmingham. 19 June 2013, www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/06/18/193128475/how-the-civil-rights-movement-was-covered-in-birmingham.
Https://Kinginstitute.stanford.edu, 19 Dec. 2000, kinginstitute.stanford.edu/sites/mlk/files/lesson-activities/clergybirmingham1963.pdf.
History.com Editors. “Civil Rights Movement Timeline.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 4 Dec. 2017, www.history.com/topics/civil-rights-movement/civil-rights-movement-timeline.
Hey!
I thought this was a good presentation that helped me connect more with the readings this week. The part I found most intriguing was the difference in the language used by varying news reports during the civil rights movement you described. I couldn’t help but consider how this relates to the current Black Lives Matter movement. Depending on where and how you receive news today can drastically change your perspective on the topic. Most news channels tend to lean towards the left or right on the political spectrum, so the way they report is typically biased. This is extremely important for viewers to understand because they typically won’t receive the whole story. Society must consider reports from a variety of news sites to determine what news is actually reported truthfully.
Hello!
I found this presentation to be very thought-provoking and helped me to draw connections between this piece of American History and current events. I think that it is important to consider the events leading up to the protests then and now, as well as public response. A major discussion point in modern protests, especially regarding racial issues, is police brutality and they way it has disproportionally common usage against black Americans. Police brutality in the modern light reminds me of the disproportionate reaction from segregation supporters in March: Book 1 where the protesters were beaten and abused for sitting at the restaurant bar, an action that was technically illegal/against policy at the time, but also entirely moral. I think that this kind of violent reaction is evidence of an underlying problem that has continued in America where black Americans are still regarded as lesser by certain groups/individuals. I also think that on the legal side it is important to note the disproportionally longer prison sentences for black individuals who committed the same crime as their white counterparts. Finally, I think its very important to highlight the continuation of segregation in some form, even in Columbus; inner-city, underfunded schools, such as Columbus City Schools, are predominately black while their nearby, suburban counterparts are predominately white. While the segregation may not still be legal, there is obviously a flaw in our system that continues to favor affluent, white people.
Hi!
I really enjoyed your post, especially because it is evident the amount of research you did in order to provide context to this week’s readings. It is clear that, even though news outlets may seem credible, they are always subject to human bias. In your comparison, we can see how drastic the reporting of the protests was based on who wrote the article. I think the similarities of the Civil RIghts Movement in the 60’s and the BLM protests today are extremely evident. First of all, we still have some news sources reporting protests in an unfair and biased way. For example, some conservative outlets chose to highlight specific events to make it seem like BLM protestors were violent and unlawful. Secondly, we still are seeing police brutality against passive protestors and people of color. While progress has been made since the 60’s, we still have a long way to go to achieve the equality that MLK was fighting for.
Hello daugherty！
Your point of clergymen’s statement undermined the civil rights movement and MLK would consider the clergymen as lukewarm supporters of racism made me think a lot. When the civil rights movement was reduced to a single image, there was nothing more appropriate than Martin Luther King. To a certain extent, King was born for the civil rights movement. He had only graduated for two years when he became famous in Montgomery World War I. His personal history was blank and quite clean. Unlike other civil rights leaders, he mostly experienced the 1930s and 1940s, and many have leftist backgrounds. King’s own socialist inclinations did not have a chance to manifest in the 1950s. It was only in the late 1960s, the last year of his life, that he was selectively ignored by his accidental death. Absolutely now we should keep these activities going on and just like what MLK did.
Hi! I found your context presentation very informative and interesting as it relates to similar movements that we are experiencing today. It is sad to think that some of those same problems that Dr. Martin Luther King advocated for are continuing to happen. The reality of our nation is that we are facing real issues and situations that need to be addressed, I like the emphasis you put surrounding the event that led to John Lewis’ “The March”. I liked that you included the details necessary to gain a deeper understanding of his work and actions. Seeing what was happening in the streets, the police brutality and the injustices meant that there was a need for action. I think your presentation was a great insight to look at what is happening today and determine what needs to happen in the future. The media coverage hasn’t changed and there are some “lukewarm” supporters of the BLK movement.
Hi! I enjoyed reading your presentation on this topic as I feel that we are currently in a revolutionary period of social and racial justice. Something I found interested from your presentation was the differences in article titles describing the protest. I think that our news outlets are still writing titles like this to create negative emotions towards the Black Lives Matter protests and to create a negative outlook on the current protests. While I do think that protesting is effective, I also think large scale boycotts would also be effective. I have also seen people stop supporting specific businesses if the owners are racist or have treated people of color poorly.
Hello, I agree with you that how people protested in the past during the civil rights moment is very similar to how protest are now with people protesting equality and the end of police brutality and racism. No we do not have dogs being let lose on us but we are being pepper sprayed and arrested for noticing that there needs to be a change. I think that years of oppression against black people is really getting to us that we do not want our future children to be treated differently because the color of their skin that encourages us to fight for what is right. Great work