The Influence of the Student Protest Movement on United States' 1960's

Student activism was widespread during the late 1960s, as students protested a multitude of issues such as class inequalities and racial inequalities. The Third World Liberation Front of 1968 provided an avenue for student groups of color to band together against discriminatory practices in the university. The multiracial coalition consisted of six student organizations, including the Black Student Union (BSU) and the Asian American Political Alliance. The BSU was extremely important in rallying other student groups to be part of the movement to improve the lives of colored people. For example, it was a member of the BSU who approached the leaders of the Intercollegiate Chinese for Social Action (ICSA) to join forces with BSU. It was moments like these interactions that made Asian American activists realize that their own liberation could only take place in accordance with other color liberation movements. Thus, interracial affinity expressed not only to blacks, but to Latinos, Native Americans and other ethnic groups of

Thus in conclusion, the drafting of young American men by the American government and the subsequent reaction of draft protests, added to the chaotic situation the Policy makers were facing due to the public disorder created, but at the same time also evidenced the limitations of the student’s power and ability to truly gain significant public support and be taken seriously. Such limitations will reoccur later and mark one of the reasons why the student’s movement was not fully responsible for the withdrawal of American troops in 1975.

According to testimony in the film, the FSM exposed students the “mechanisms of oppression” and their hard-won right to open discussion allowed for a collective understanding of the omnipresence of those mechanisms throughout US society and foreign policy. Validated by the success of the FSM, student interests turned toward the national civil rights struggle and the deepening conflict in Vietnam. UC Berkeley’s location in the Bay Area also allowed for a hybridization of student activism with the burgeoning counterculture in San Francisco and the radical politics of the Black Panther Party in Oakland. The film ends with a rumination on the People’s Park experiment, an attempt to create a material manifestation of countercultural values in a land rights struggle that joined student organizers with the local

Through the rise of groups such as the Black Panther Party, violence became increasingly prevalent. “The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense calls upon the American people in general and the black people in particular to take careful note of the racist California Legislature which is now considering legislation aimed at keeping the black people disarmed and powerless at the very same time that racist police agencies throughout the country are intensifying the terror, brutality, murder, and repression of black people (Document F).” As a result of the lack of movement on the bill previously proposed my Kennedy to remove segregation, many African-Americans began to give up on this method of peaceful protest. “All of these efforts have been answered by more repression, deceit, and hypocrisy (Document F).” This is because as it appeared to them, it was not working and had no effect on the government. Instead, they discovered a much more direct approach which, was assured to catch the eye of the government. This method was violence. “The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense believes that the time has come for the black people to arm themselves against this terror before it is too late (Document F).” Through violent “black power” groups such as the Black Panthers, the previously peaceful Civil Rights movement began to take on a new

From Cherokee Indians refusing to abandon their homes in 1838 to the Sit-ins of the civil rIghts movement in the early 1960s, people have been using acts of civil disobedience to stand against injustice they saw in their communities. Although there are many examples of people abusing this benefit and causing more grief and shame than progress, many have used it to their advantage to bring about positive change for the greater good of society, therefore acts of civil disobedience can positively impact a free society if they remain peaceful, respectful, and justified.

The 1960s in America brought a host of movements that pushed for equality, power, and change. Each movement helped to shape and effect the other

At this point they have had many defeats, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee known as SNCC, came to help and went to Trailways bus station to see if they would be arrested if they desegregated there. They were not planning on getting jailed because of the federal decree that was in effect. They did not think there would be this much chaos with the federal

fight for civil rights, and what was known as the radical 60’s; which saw student

Throughout the 60s, new cultural factors begin to appear, as the country divides from just the liberal ideas awakened in the 50s, to the “New Left.” The new ideology went extremely far with their views. This is most evident through student groups, such as the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). This extremely active group, and many others like it began to cause waves by taking protests too far and disrupting universities. So much so, the University of California at Berkeley had to prohibit some protests (Hewitt 876). Photographs capture how disruptive these groups can be, like the one taken on December 3rd, 1964, which shows a college protests of students literally cramming a building so full, hallways become impassible (Hewitt 876). This idea within the young generation that they can make a change is referred to as “baby boomer power.” They were told they were important economically their entire lives, so they believed they could also have political power. Additionally, the Civil Rights Movement reached its full potential in the 60s with leaders like Malcom X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., even though King was about integrating peacefully, Malcom X’s Black Power aggressive movement was an extremely far left

How did the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee seek to shed light on the southern struggle of African Americans during the 1960s?

They argued that a lot of local people are getting into the campus. They call these locals doids and claim that doids bring crime and violence to the campus. The leader of those students claimed: “When Schenectady sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”

One of the most elements of the book is the evolution of the organization called SNCC. SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) was founded in conjunction with the lunch counter sit0ins that originated in Greensboro, North Carolina in February 1960. SNCC activists were known to practice slow, tedious and patient voter registration drives in the most dangerous parts of the South. However, they seldom received credit for their efforts on a national level. Despite their lack of national attention, SNCC activists often managed to annoy white federal officials and black civil rights leaders. SNCC attracted radicals from the Revolutionary Action Movement, black nationalists from the North and a host of other mavericks. From its humble beginnings, SNCC was a peaceful group that used nonviolent methods to seek racial equality. Over the course of time, SNCC became more assertive in their methods of demanding racial equality and

During this decade, the Civil Rights movement continued to gain momentum. The black community was continually persecuted and discriminated against by prejudice white individuals and figures of authority. Blacks everywhere struggled to end discrimination. They demanded the right to vote, to receive quality education, and to become respected individuals in the community which shunned them. (Sitkoff 35) Students, in particular, played a significant role in the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960's. Many college students were outraged by

The documentary The Weather Underground was about a group of students – predominantly from White affluent backgrounds - who wanted a revolution to end imperialism led by the USA in developing countries, in the late 1960’s. Their major focus was on ending the atrocities that the US military were administering on the Vietnamese civilians in the name of war during the Vietnam war. Initially they called themselves Student for a Democratic Society (SDS) and conducted peaceful marches to bring awareness to their cause. At one point, the SDS had more than 100,000 members around the nation and their campaign to bring about the social and political change through peaceful marches gave SDS the power to influence

The May ’68 uprising in Paris is known as the beginning of 1960s student movements in the world. To answer the question “Why did the May ’68 uprising fail to spread and transform into a full-scale revolution, as many of the student organizers had hoped?”, it is important to clarify what was the goal that student organizers set. This movement started from students occupied the Sorbonne university, then developed student marches and demonstrations and workers’ movement. The main purpose of the May ’68 uprising was demanding for democracy. However, according to ‘The general strike and the student revolt in France’, “The government and media strive to portray the street battles in the Latin Quarter as the work of radical groups and troublemakers”