The Civil Rights Movement is considered one of the greatest and most successful movements in all of history for many reasons. The NAACP used litigation as a strategy during the Civil Rights Movement to move toward progress on a national political scale. The SCLC and SNCC helped the Civil Rights Movement gain momentum throughout the years through community organizing and activism. Many figureheads of the Civil Rights Movement met with many politicians, including ones on the national scale, bringing the attention it needed. Martin Luther King Jr. was also a very well-respected leader and was the middleman between minority communities and U.S. politicians. These aspects led to the undeniable power and change that took place during the Civil Rights Era.
People often compare 2016 to 1968, to the extent of the discriminatory and racist rhetoric, violence, and the protests and movements taking place. There’s been a wave of more and more protests in the last few years and it’s only been picking up. In the last week since President Trump has taken office, I feel like I’ve seen more Facebook events for marches and protests to resist and stand up than ever before. It’s more than just civil rights, too. Even scientists march to fight for the environment in response to the recent gag orders for EPA employees. Educators also protested and stood up against the confirmation of Betsy DeVos. There’s been momentum for different groups of people, and it’s picking up and moving on from community to community. It’s now everyone’s fight.
With the power of technology and media, these issues get heard more. There are online petitions that you can share on Twitter and Facebook just with a click of a button to share with hundreds or even thousands of people. It’s easier to create momentum and change in this new age of technology. We didn’t have the internet during the Civil Rights Movement. Now we do, and we’ve been able to see the effects of it. It’s become a way of connecting people who want to make change and have similar agendas. We would not have seen a protest like the Women’s March have a ripple effect in other countries around the world in 1968. There weren’t online petitions that circulated the internet and got the necessary signatures needed in just two days. There wouldn’t be as much organization and power for the protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota, either. It’s a new way of organization, sharing information, and unity. It’s a newer more broad Civil Rights Era that’s revolutionary in its own way, just the way the Civil Rights Era had their own revolutionary ways.
I’m not saying you should only get involved by only sharing events on Facebook or signing a petition, but to use technology and media as a resource for making change is still helpful. The first step to any change is being informed and using your voice. It’s a new and special generation with the power of media that’s crucial for social progress, change, and resistance.
