Califano Jr., a former aide to Johnson who claims that Lyndon B. Johnson himself suggested the march on Selma, to more mild critiques on general portrayal, like those of a series of letters sent to the New York Times. While I do believe that some of the controversy following Selma has merit, many historians who specialize in Johnson believe the film’s portrayal of him is not entirely fair. It appears that the more educated one becomes in Johnson’s affairs, the more they defend Johnson in ‘Selma’. The claims of Joseph Califano, Mark Updergrove, and Alexander Harrington, all historians on Johnson, show this. Joseph A. Califano Jr., who acted as President Johnson’s top assistant for domestic affairs from 1965 to 1969, holds Johnson in a highly regarded view. Califano claims the film grossly misinterprets Johnson’s involvement, and even claims that “Johnson was enthusiastic about voting rights,” and that “Selma was LBJ’s idea, he considered the Voting Rights Act his greatest legislative achievement.” Califano’s memory serves as a stark contrast against the rough and angered Johnson seen in ‘Selma’. Mark K. Updergrove, author and former director of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum, quotes King’s former lieutenant, Andrew Young, in saying that Johnson “didn’t have the power to introduce voting rights legislation in 1965,” which would explain Johnson’s apparent hesitation towards pushing the bill forward. Updergrove
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Bottom-Up Analysis
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both can be justified in terms of historical analysis, Selma demonstrates a top-down perspective throughout the movie. There are numerous scenes throughout Selma that distinguish the movie’s top-down perspective on the Civil Rights movement. For example, there are multiple scenes where Martin Luther King Jr. is addressing a group of Civil Rights supporters. One scene in particular is when King speaks after the murder of four girls in
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A Comparison Between Booker T. Washington (19th century) and Martin Luther King Jr. (20th century)
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COMPARISON PAPER I. INTRODUCTION For decades, Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) was the major African-American spokesman in the eyes of white America. Born a slave in Virginia, Washington was educated at Hampton Institute, Norfolk, Virginia. He began to work at the Tuskegee Institute in 1881 and built it into a center of learning and industrial and agricultural training. A handsome man and a forceful speaker, Washington was skilled at politics. Powerful and influential in both the black and white
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