Media's Influence On The Civil Rights Movement

In 1960, there were tremendous of social ferment that was responsible for agitation and protest. Through direct protest, many African Americans, women, and homosexuals were able to gain recognition and break down the walls of discrimination and segregations. Out of the numerous elements that arose in the 1960s, there are three movements that truly affected the American society. Firstly, the rise of the civil rights movement was greatly influenced by racial discrimination of colored people in the South. Secondly, the women’s movement aimed to convince the society that women are capable of achieving and maintaining higher waged job like males. Lastly, the gay rights movement aimed to gain acceptance and stop discrimination of homosexuality. The most significant effect on the development of American society was the women’s movement and how they expanded their economic and political opportunities. The common goal among African Americans, women’s, and homosexuals was to obtain their equal rights as citizens of America and to desegregate all the boundaries between white and black population.

We live in a society in which media has such a great influence on us, yet the influence is only in certain aspects and on certain people. “Mass media is arguably the most influential in molding public consciousness” (562). People might think that media is managed by a combination of different people but in reality, since the number of media companies is decreasing, only certain people control the industry and what gets to be put out to light. Since media is mostly controlled by a few people who belong to the 1%, the information that goes into the media is influenced by their beliefs as well as race, class, and even gender. Media influences every aspect of our lives since “media plays a key role in defining our cultural tastes, helping us locate

Have you ever heard of the Civil Rights Movement? The Civil Rights Movement was caused by two major things; discrimination and segregation against the African Americans. The other main cause of the Civil Rights Movement includes violence the causes and effects of the Civil Rights Movement.

Although there was significant progress made in the 60’s Civil Rights Movements, African American lives still find themselves the subjects of racial profiling and police brutality cases. Specific incidents have brought the controversies to the public eye through social media and backlash from social movements. The cases of Trayvon Martin and Sandra Bland led to the controversies and feelings of judicial injustice; these events and public outrage sparked and fueled the movement “Black Lives Matter”, which was established to challenge and combat racial discrimination and police brutality. Since then, the movement has gained momentum and continues to gain followers and validity. Social media has also been a main contributor to the cause, as the

Maxlcom X was born on May 19, in Omaham Nebraska, also knows as Hajj Malik Elshbazz, His family lived in in Omahan his father was a preacher of a Baptist church he was an active man where he dedicated himself to preaching to the community of blacks his father Belonged to a movement called Marcus Garvey. Maxlcom X and his family received many threats from the Ku-klux klan group where many times they had to move through the established threats. However one of those groups of racists set fire to their house. After that, Malcolm Little named so grew up with much hatred towards the white race. His mother Louise was a housewife with eight children. After the death of her father, the mother lost custody of her children where she underwent break-out and was submitted to a psychiatric hospital when she saw the separation of her children where they were scattered in orphanages. - After living in orphanages. At an early age Malcolm X showed his vocation for advocacy he was one of the best students in his class when one of his teachers gave him a justification that he managed to quit school. “Malcolm was a bright student and, in fact, was at the top of his class in junior high school. In the eighth grade, however, one of his favorite teachers told him that his dream of becoming a lawyer was “no realistic goal for a nigger” At that point he lost interest in formal education and

Social movements are one of the primary means through which the public is able to collectively express their concerns about the rights and wellbeing of themselves and others. Under the proper conditions, social movements not only shed light on issues and open large scale public discourse, but they can also serve as a means of eliciting expedited societal change and progress. Due to their potential impact, studying the characteristics of both failed and successful social movements is important in order to ensure that issues between the public and the government are resolved to limit injustices and maintain societal progress.

“There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time”-Malcolm X. In every movement men and women have crossed paths with others that share their goals, but not everyone shares the same path to achieve it. The civil rights movement of the nineteen fifties and sixties were no different in this case, while many shared the common goal of equality for all, not everyone shared the same style or belief system to achieve it creating sources of conflict within various civil rights organizations as well as between organizations. Freedom activists, Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael sharing the same goal as other civil rights leaders John Lewis

In today’s society mass media has major influences on the beliefs/perceptions one may have on certain ethnicities or controversial topics. Media outlets have the power to shape certain situations and place people in an image that may not always be accurate. As stated in an article by Narissra M. Punyanunt-Carter, Communication research and theory suggest that the mass media is an important source of information about African Americans and media portrayals contribute to public perceptions of African Americans(2008). Further, it was mentioned that media outlets such as television may cause viewers to conceive, alter, or even reinforce their beliefs and opinions about African Americans ( Punyanunt- Carter, 2008). For Instance, in the Netflix documentary called “13th” Media outlets consistently used the word “Super predators” when describing the numerous African American men who were being arrested in the 80’s during the war on drugs era. The constant use of the word super predator can persuade viewers to believe that ALL African American men are super predators when that is not the case! Just because there are a few African Americans who are seen on Media outlets committing heinous crimes does not mean that all African Americans are criminals. As stated in a scholarly article by Tony Weaver, Media outlets create a narrative that portrays African Americans as lazy, violent individuals, who are prone to crime. The Misrepresentation of African Americans in media has

Slavery and Mississippi during the nineteenth and twentieth century went hand and hand. Along with this slavery came prejudice, bigots, racism, and perhaps the worst of all; lynching. Lynching was commonly accepted in the south during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Governors approved, sheriffs turned a blind eye, southern blacks accepted, and for the most part the rest of the United States ignored it. Lynching in the south was seen as check on society, not a criminal offence it helped keep 'those niggahs in order.' However, there was one lynching in the summer of 1955 that the nation could not ignore; the press, NAACP, and Mrs. (Mammie) Till Bradley made sure of this. The lynching sent shock waves through most of the

There was, in fact, a great deal of contact between whites and blacks in the slave South. Instead, he argues, the Jim Crow system of “white supremacy, Negro subordination, and racial segregation” originated in the North, and emancipation led to increased separation of the races. The established system of segregation in the North moved to the South during and after Reconstruction. However, Reconstruction was, he argues, a unique period in history during which each race was figuring out its place in the new social system, and can therefore not be related to either the era of slavery or of Jim Crow. Instead, during Reconstruction, there were alternatives which Woodward argues are often forgotten. Before their attitudes became degrading, whites were more paternalistic towards blacks. He ensures that he is by no means arguing that this was a “golden age of race relations”, however, he does argue that “the era of stiff conformity and fanatical rigidity that was to come had not yet closed in and shut off all contact between the races…[and] there were still real choices to be made.”

One of the first topics we discussed this semester was the idea of “covering.” How is covering defined? How does covering relate to at least two civil rights topics that we have discussed this semester? Provide two specific examples other than the ones given in the original article.

The Race Beat, written by Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff, was about the major impact that the press had on the American People to show the ignorance we’d had to that point in ignoring the horrible segregation our country was showing towards african americans. The events portrayed take place during the civil rights movement. The Race Beat shows the change in style of coverage of the civil rights movement and how the movement itself could take advantage of the press and use it in a much more productive way than before. The author points out in his thesis what he is trying to prove. “There is little in American society that was not altered by the civil rights movement.There is little in the civil rights movement that was not changed by the news coverage of it. And there is little in the way the news media operate that was not influenced by their coverage of the movement.”(page 7) The authors were very good at proving this thesis to be correct because of their first hand experience that is portrayed and the accuracy of the reaction to the new reporting, as it gained national attention. Gene Roberts was one of the young reporters that took on coverage and Hank Klibanoff was one of the editors. The information and coverage of their first hand accounts is very detailed and gives a perspective to the reader, but what stands out is the

We have all heard about this movement, the major events that have taken place, and its magnificent leaders. However, what is meant by civil rights? What does this term refer to?

“The brutality with which official would have quelled the black individual became impotent when it could not be pursued with stealth and remain unobserved. It was caught—as a fugitive from a penitentiary is often caught—in gigantic circling spotlights. It was imprisoned in a luminous glare revealing the naked truth to the whole world” – Martin Luther King (8, Kasher)

Media bias is a topic that has been in great focus of many political leaders over the past few presidential elections. However, what many people fail to see is that media bias has been around since the beginning of major news companies. Most Americans do not know what media bias is or how to identify it. That stated many people have noticed that most news stations are biased towards one religion, political party or even gender. This has been like this for decades however has become much more prominent during major wars, the great depression and many social and political reforms such as the industrial era or the civil rights era. However the type of bias has been shifted mostly from a war focus and the focus on exposing corruption to