Introduction
The history of the United States is diverse and involves many events that later became milestones in the foundation of the American nation. For millennia, American society has been exposed to segregation of its people, prejudice, and limitations of fundamental human rights and liberties. At times, significant breakthroughs were made, and in certain years, there were major setbacks. However, some decades are recognized to be among the most important times for certain communities, with themes of racism and discrimination, and the importance of this decade cannot be understated. Among such significant decades in the 1960s, which is recognized as the decade of hope for many women and black communities and, at the same time, rage between the domineering masses and the oppressed.
The Decade of Hopes
First, when it comes to women, the 1960s were the decade of change and hope for a better future. In the 1960s, when the women’s movement in the U.S.A. was at its peak, there was a significant drive to remove both social and legal restrictions for women in terms of career and education (Garg et al., 2018). The place of women in the U.S. nation was changing during the 1960s as a result of profound cultural shifts (Garg et al., 2018). Women were eager to receive equal pay and opportunities in terms of education. Similarly, the 1960s were the decade of seeking justice and not letting the oppressors decide their fate. Among the most famous leaders of movements for black people was Martin Luther King Jr.
The Decade of Rage
However, while the decade was marked to be life-changing, there was additionally rage prevalent since the powerful conservative minority was not eager to grant liberties and lessen restrictions to these groups. For instance, as more women than ever entered the professional sector, women’s frustration with the stark gender disparity in salary and promotion and workplace harassment escalated. Feminists met in several nations to raise awareness of violence against women and to regain rights for women (Garg et al., 2018). The first demonstrations evolved into yearly gatherings for social empowerment and protest that feature speakers, vigils, demonstrations, as well as other programs.
Moreover, similar raging opposition was met by the black community. The killing of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968 was a turning point in the growth of many African-Americans (Garg et al., 2018). As it was mentioned by Blauner (2019), this was the “inflation of racism,” which was particularly severe during this decade (Blauner, 2019, p.34). Before the 1960s, neither sociology nor American public life frequently utilized the word racist. White communities tended to oppose the expanded terms, while blacks preferred to accept them. The figures of systemic racism changed during the 1960s, shifting from personal behaviors and ideologies to cultural norms and institutional processes (Garg et al., 2018). The focus was no longer on intent but rather on the more impersonal social mechanisms of exclusions, oppression, and prejudice that contributed to the racial stratification of society. According to this perspective, racism was ingrained in society and hardly needed prejudiced views to be maintained.
Conclusion
Hence, the 1960s are remembered as the decade of hope for many black and female groups and as a time of conflict between the oppressed and the ruling class. This was the era of fighting for justice and refusing to allow oppressors to determine one’s fate. When the women’s movement in the United States was at its height in the 1960s, there was a strong push to eliminate societal and legal barriers that prevented women from pursuing careers and higher education. The decade was destined to change people’s lives, but resentment was also rife since these groups’ constraints and rights were being withheld by the dominant conservative minority.
References
Blauner, B. (2019). Talking past each other: Black and white languages of race. In Race and ethnic conflict (pp. 30-40). Routledge.
Garg, N., Schiebinger, L., Jurafsky, D., & Zou, J. (2018). Word embeddings quantify 100 years of gender and ethnic stereotypes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(16), 3635-3644. Web.