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Change In The 1950's

Decent Essays

What comes to mind when you think of the 1950’s and 1960’s? This was a time of change in America. People from all walks of life were not longer content with their current situations. Due to this feeling, many people acted on it and helped shape America into what it is today. Between the 1950’s and 1060’s, it was was evident that African Americans, women, and a younger generation all wanted change. One group of people that vied for change was the African Americans. Martin Luther King Junior was one of the most adamant and outspoken in his race’s quest for change. While defending seamstress Rosa Parks, King said that African Americans, as a whole, are tired of being trampled over by the iron feet of oppression. King’s use of strong words emphasizes how they feel that they have endured their unjust torment long enough. Another example of the African Americans’ readiness for change is when King states that Negroes have been intimidated, humiliated, and oppressed for no other reason than the fact that they were Negroes. This shows the African Americans’ plight and how they are desperate for change. African Americans were not alone in their struggle for change, as women also felt that a change was needed. …show more content…

One activist, Edith Stern, described the average woman’s situation as an around the clock job with little to no pay and very little free time. This aptly describes how hellish a woman’s life would have been, to be working that much with no vacations from the unrelenting experience. Stern also states that the woman’s life is comparable to that of a slave’s life. This demonstrates how degrading and monotonous the work must have been for the women who had to suffer through it for years. Even though the women’s activist movement was in full swing, there was also the younger generation of the 1950’s and 1960’s fighting for change at that

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