Background
This case study is centered around the “I Have a Dream” speech by Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) in Washington D.C. in August 1963. In stating “we can never be satisfied” until justice is served, King (1963) alluded to the rampant history of prejudice and racism, and by ‘we’ he meant the black population of the U.S., fighting for its civil rights. This fight is also known as the civil rights movement in the United States, whose historic and contemporary relevance will be analyzed in this study.
Changing the Nation
The civil rights movement was a key event in American history. It unraveled from 1955 to 1968, following racial segregation and discrimination (Bostelen, 2021). The prior state of the U.S. observed an official policy of segregation in the South, with acts of violence against African Americans protected by law enforcement agencies (Bostelen, 2021). Systemic racism in the South was undeniably a reality, but the push for civil rights has changed this dynamic – and the nation with it. This ‘push’ was a nationwide mass campaign to obtain equal social, legal, and economic rights for African Americans in the U.S. (Govind Sarswat, 2018). Its legislative accomplishments, such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965, have resulted in a major transformation of the life of the American nation (Bostelen, 2021). The movement has fundamentally changed race relations in the U.S. as black activists insisted on full integration and assimilation, dreaming of a nation where race was not a barrier.
This protest gave rise to numerous other victories, each of which transformed American society into what it is today. It has begun with achieving the desegregation of buses at Montgomery by boycotting the city’s public transportation (Govind Sarswat, 2018). Ending school segregation, first in lone states and then nationwide, partial desegregation of formerly all-white restaurants by sit-ins and other struggles led up to the historic moment of MLK’s speech that called for the new era. Govind Sarswat (2018) argues that the 1980s commenced a process of “cultural renaissance” in the U.S., where the cultural heritage and artistic collaboration transcended racial lines (p. 6). The civil rights movement has changed many aspects of the nation, such as housing, the economy, and jobs (Jenkins-Robinson, 2017). It achieved granting the civil and political rights denied to blacks: access and use of public spaces, voting rights, fair employment, and housing opportunities (Jenkins-Robinson, 2017). The movement changed the outlook, the power structure, and the very core of the nation.
Effect on Minority Groups
The minority groups across the continent were impacted significantly by the Civil Rights Acts. From the time that first African slaves were brought to the U.S. by colonizers, they were treated as subhuman (Govind Sarswat, 2018). In his speech, King (1963) refers to the historic lack of progress since then, painting the picture of a life in poverty, segregation, and discrimination. Upon depicting the horrors of such life, King (1963) calls for granting “the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” to all. Indeed, the civil rights movement led to several legislative victories, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Bostelen, 2021). The most widely discussed aspect of this act is its prohibition of segregation and discrimination across the board: for instance, in public facilities, federally funded government agencies, and schools (Hahn et al., 2018). The Act also encouraged and enforced the desegregation of schools and laid the groundwork for equal voter registration rights (Hahn et al., 2018). Overall, legislative changes put forth many advances in minority groups’ rights.
The civil rights laws strive to provide minority groups with indiscriminate access to many societal resources. The various areas include a healthy and safe environment, housing, food, education, employment, financial institutions, justice, transportation, healthcare, and others (Hahn et al., 2018). Upon implementing the non-discrimination legislation, minorities’ civic participation, social capital, self-respect, and sense of control would grow (Hahn et al., 2018). Ultimately, for the minority groups, the effects would include reducing traditional prejudices and the correspondent burden, creating a cohesive egalitarian community and improving intergenerational well-being (Hahn et al., 2018). Hence, a higher degree of inclusion and emphasis on minorities’ rights and well-being brought by the Civil Rights Acts aided in creating not just safe spaces but a safer society for these groups.
Contemporary Applicability to Racial and Ethnic Conflicts
New social movements like Black Lives Matter analyze historic tactics to address racial conflicts. The civil rights movement arguably succeeded due to its diverse repertoire, and the use of nonviolent protest ways like “boycotts, sit-ins, mass street demonstrations, freedom rides and picketing” fundamentally aided it in accomplishing its goals (Bostelen, 2021; Govind Sarswat, 2018, p. 4). King (1963) stressed that protesters “must forever conduct [their] struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline” and “not allow [their] creative protest to degenerate into physical violence.” In today’s context of the rise of racism in mass incarceration, police killings of unarmed black civilians, and white resentment towards the African American population, social order is threatened (Mazumder, 2018). Jones-Eversley et al. (2017) argue that such nonviolent tactics are still effective for encouraging the target public (white Americans) to increase their support for the protesting group (African Americans). Specifically, presenting an African American identity beyond race and stereotypical signals provides plausible ways to change attitudes and reduce prejudice against the protesting group (Jones-Eversley et al., 2017). The message of peace may thus work for both 1960s and 2020s.
However, modern activists may face the issue of operating in American society. The U.S. governance is ‘color-blind’ yet perpetuates the implicitly racialized policies (Mazumder, 2018). One such example is discussed by Kearl (2018) in critically evaluating the Created Equal project, which brought MLK’s ideology to the absurd degree of condemning any movement outside of anti-abortion politics. While such an example is extreme, perhaps, the modern context requires a change in the way activists address political and legislative-executive decisions. Therefore, while it is feasible to apply some of the same tactics as the civil rights activists used in the 1960s for addressing contemporary racial and ethnic conflicts, the activists should be aware of the different contexts of operation.
Contemporary Relevance of Ideas
The civil rights movement has greatly transformed the nation and perpetrated great social and political changes. It triggered the turbulent cycle of the 1960s and 1970s protests, followed by the 1980s and 1990s, strengthening communication; it has since shaped many social movements (Bostelen, 2021). As outlined before, the major sentiment of the civil rights movement was to see all people equal and end segregation. The hope for equality has persisted through the years, inspiring organizations like feminists fighting for women’s rights. The movement that is often brought up in the context of civil rights ideas is Black Lives Matter.
Comparing the ideals of the 1960s and the current ones yields a major difference. As Jenkins-Robinson (2017) argues, the civil rights movement addressed many areas of social and political change but did not directly confront the racist degradation that black people have been suffering at the hands of the police. Meanwhile, the Black Lives Matter movement seeks to highlight police mistreatment of black people and create police reform (Jenkins-Robinson, 2017). Nonetheless, both movements share the dream that all American society will strive for racial equality. “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” (King, 1963). While the focus of some of the addressed areas has shifted, these ideas of equality are still as relevant as in the 1960s – only different aspects are now brought into focus.
Impact on Diversity
The Civil Rights Movement has left a substantial mark on American society. While it has opened the U.S. to acknowledging and embracing cultural diversity, the current state of diversity is still arguably flawed. The civil rights movement opposed ethnically discriminatory immigration policies and called for multiculturalism, which eventually altered the racial composition of immigrants in the U.S. population (Smooha, 2018). Such an impact on diversity is truly significant; however, there may be more issues beyond the surface acknowledgment. Smooha (2018) states that liberal multiculturalism in Western democracies consists mainly of the authorization of subcultures, non-discrimination, and inclusion policies. However, it fails to uphold minorities’ cultural autonomy and power-sharing, partly alluded to in the Black Lives Matter movement (Jenkins-Robinson, 2017; Smooha, 2018). Essentially, a person is accepted despite their ethnic descent only if they conform to the mainstream culture of the white population and do not attempt to ‘overpower’ it. Smooha (2018) further argues that the U.S., as a liberal democracy, still objects to societal diversity and denies its objection. Therefore, while the civil rights movement has helped significantly bring diversity to America, this diversity may only hold a symbolic place.
References
Bostelen, L. V. (2021). Analyzing the Civil Rights Movement: The Significance of Nonviolent Protest, International Influences, the Media, and Pre-existing Organizations. Political Science Undergraduate Review, 6(1), 53–61.
Govind Sarswat. (2018). Civil Rights Movement: A Nonviolent Revolution that Blurred the Color Line in the U.S.A. Upstream Research International Journal, 6(1), 1–8.
Hahn, R. A., Truman, B. I., & Williams, D. R. (2018). Civil rights as determinants of public health and racial and ethnic health equity: Health care, education, employment, and housing in the United States.SSM – Population Health, 4, 17–24.
Jenkins-Robinson, S. (2017).Black Lives Matter: The Movement’s Relevance and Comparison to the 1960s Civil Rights Movement[Old Dominion University].
Jones-Eversley, S., Adedoyin, A. C., Robinson, M. A., & Moore, S. E. (2017). Protesting Black Inequality: A Commentary on the Civil Rights Movement and Black Lives Matter. Journal of Community Practice, 25(3–4), 309–324.
Kearl, M. K. (2018). WWMLKD?: Coopting the Rhetorical Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. And the Civil Rights Movement. Journal of Contemporary Rhetoric, 8(3), 184-199.
King, M. L. Jr. (1963).I have a Dream [Speech]. Lillian Goldman Law Library.
Mazumder, S. (2018). The Persistent Effect of U.S. Civil Rights Protests on Political Attitudes. American Journal of Political Science, 62(4), 922–935.
Smooha, S. (2018). How do western democracies cope with the challenge of societal diversity?Nations and Nationalism, 24(2), 215–236.