Shaping New America
“Black Power”
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“Black Power” was a phrase coined by Stokely Carmichael that was meant to rally the blacks in
America.
Was led by Stokey Carmichael, founder of the SNCC, after James Meredith was shot in an
ambush during a peaceful march from Memphis to Jackson, Mississippi.
o James Meredith was also the first black to enroll in the University of Mississippi.
o Carmicheal and Floyd McKissick of CORE were determined to finish the walk despite
Meredith’s assassination.
o The two were frustrated that despite the assassination, white townspeople still harassed
the marchers while police didn’t intervene.
The movement emphasized some points made by Malcolm X
o Rejected Integration as short-term goal.
o Racial Pride.
o Self-sustaining African American communities.
Gay Liberation
1. During the 1950s, many gay people were treated badly. For example, police raided
and closed Gay Bars.
2. The Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis were homophile organizations
who campaigned to reduce the discrimination against gay people or homosexuals in
employment, armed forces, and social life.
3. During the 1960’s, gay and lesbian organizations multiplied. Many publicized their
sexual identity with the saying, “Say it Loud, Gay is Proud”.
Fight for reproductive rights
1. In the 1960s, men and women did not have equal rights. Many, both men and women, thought that this was
not fair.
2. Men had more rights than women. They said that men “sow a few wild goats” but for women, “good girls
don’t”.
3. During this time, most relationships resulted and pregnancy and some men chose to not be responsible for it.
Therefore, birth control pills were invented so that women would have a choice if they want to be pregnant or
naw.
4. Many religious groups like the Catholics were against these birth control pills because they believed that it
was against the Bible’s law.
Roe vs. Wade: (1973) Supreme court case ruled unconstitutional a state law that banned abortions except to
save the life of the mother. The Court ruled that the states were forbidden from outlawing or regulating any
aspect of abortion performed during the first trimester of pregnancy, could only enact abortion regulations
reasonably related to maternal health in the second and third trimesters, and could enact abortion laws protecting
the life of the fetus only in the third trimester.
Feminist Movement
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During the 1950’s, it was expected that all women acted the same way.
o This was referred to as the “Cult of Domesticity.”
However, some women rejected this set of rules and some wanted to be different.
In 1963, Betty Friedan published the book “The Feminine Mystique” which encouraged women
to break this social norm.
o This book was very controversial as it questioned why women didn’t do things other than
domestic duties.
Within three years of publication, the book’s ideas incited a feminist movement.
o This movement demanded equal employment rights.
The National Organization for Women (NOW) was formed.
o The goal for this organization was to attain “full participation of women in mainstream
American society.”
The feminism movement soon turned radical, much like the antiwar and civil rights movement.
o Radical women demonstrated feminism via “Freedom Trash Cans.”
o These trash cans were meant as a place to dispose symbols women oppression, such as
fake eyelashes and hair curlers.
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Equal Rights
Amendment
● It said, "Equality of rights under the law shall not be abridged by the United
States or by any State on account of sex."
● This amendment was proposed by the National Women’s Party
o They wanted to eliminate all gender based discrimination
● The house of representatives and the senate both approved of this, so it
was then taken to the states
● 30 out of the necessary 38 states ratified it
o The amendment was never passed because not enough states
were willing to enforce this law
Environmental
Reform
● Citizens wanted to protest in order to preserve the nation’s wilderness
areas
● Trash began to pile up and emissions into the atmosphere were creating
smoggy haze rings above many metropolitan centers
● Rachel Carson wrote a book called Silent Spring and this book was a wake
up call to Americans
o It rose awareness about what was happening to the environment
● President Johnson enforced laws to protect the environment
o Wilderness Protection Act, Water Quality Act, and the Air Quality Act
Others Demand Equality
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Everyone wanted to obtain the same rights and demanded reforms
Mexican American (chicanos) population was growing in American
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Cesar Chaves
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followed Martin Luther King’s way
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led a strike in California to better pay and conditions
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organized the united work farmers union and had a nationwide boycott of grapes
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received national attention by having people participate in a hunger strike lasting three-week
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Brown Berets
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modeled after the black panthers
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tried to take control of Chicano neighborhoods
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battled the Immigration and Naturalization Service
Native Americans
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“Red Power” movement
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American Indian movement
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did stunts to grab people’s attention
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Seized Alcatraz islands
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offered America the same amount of trinkets as Peter Minuit
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Occupied the Bureau of Indian Affairs
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Final battle of the Great Plains seized Wounded Knee in South Dakota
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siege collapsed after 71 days
Homosexual Americans
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Gay rights movement began when officers raided the Stonewall Inn in New York
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New York parade on the one year anniversary
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American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from their mental illness list
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FBI no longer saw them as a security risk
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no longer denied from civil jobs