Many American cities encountered numerous challenges and obstacles after the Civil Rights Movement. Some of these challenges included “poverty, lack of proper houses, and inappropriate surroundings” (Gioielli 432). Many people in different urban regions died due to poor living conditions. Lead poisoning also became a major challenge after the Civil Rights Movement. This situation encouraged more people to form new political coalitions.
The people wanted the government to address their pathetic living conditions. Many people in different American cities were unable to achieve their potentials. Such coalitions managed to deal with the problem of lead paint. These political coalitions also reshaped the country’s health policy. Many doctors and physicians “began to take care of every citizen affected by lead poison in St. Louis” (Gioielli 430). Such coalitions also forced the American government to address the challenges affecting different cities.
The people focused on “specific challenges in order to make such coalitions successful” (Whitaker 209). The people also identified the major issues affecting different cities after the Civil Rights Movement. New policies and laws emerged in order to promote the rights of many American citizens.
However, such coalitions encountered new challenges and limitations. For instance, a new disparity “emerged between the minorities and the majorities in these cities” (Whitaker 209). Several minority groups were unable to work together. Some Mexican Americans and Latinos “also identified themselves as superior against the African Americans” (Whitaker 208).
This development created a new wave of animosity. Such political coalitions were therefore unable to achieve most of their goals. Although such “coalition politics managed to produce some goals during the time, the agreeable fact is that a new form of enmity emerged thus affecting different racial groups” (Whitaker 209).
Works Cited
Gioielli, Robert. “Get the Lead Out: Environmental Politics in 1970s St. Louis.” Journal of Urban History 36.4 (2010): 429-446. Print.
Whitaker, Matthew. “Black and Chicano Leadership and the Struggle for Access and Opportunity.” Race Work: The Rise of Civil Rights in the Urban West. Ed. Matthew Whitaker. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2005. 199-221. Print.