Exploration 7 Christian

In this film, issues like racial discrimination and racism were discussed. These were the biggest issues of the 1950s and 1960s. Civil rights activist decided to take matters into there own hands, by using the method of civil disobedience. As mentioned, in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s letter from Birmingham jail, "In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action." This film, mainly focused on the use of direct action for social justice. More specifically, sit-in were the means of direct action for the activist of Nashville Tennessee. In preparations of the sit-ins, workshops were used to practice and embrace the violent and hatred behavior they were expected to intake. The workshops were essential to reinforce and remind the activist to remain nonviolent. It was important to remain nonviolent, despite the brutal beatings and harassment of the white citizens. The sit-ins resulted in beatings and imprisonment. Although being jailed may sound embarrassing or even shameful, to the civil right activist, this was a sense of accomplishment. A black activist said, "Going to jail became an honor." During this period of time, standing against social injustice and being locked up in jail became a noble act to the civil right activist.

The most memorable part of the non-violent direct action was see the pride that the student had, despite the berating of the white citizens. For example, Diana Nash talked about the excitement and pride she felt after her group was arrested and the second wave of students sat down immediately. This was an enlightening part of the film for me because you could see and feel the sense of dignity each student had. The students were willing to get beaten and harassed to advocate for social justice, and this was heartening to see.

The persistence of the civil right activist is what made the movement successful. I truly believe that without the dedication and will power of the activist, the civil right movement would not have been as successful as it was. What we can learn this, is to never give up, regardless of any negative circumstance. If one has enough determination to overcome a feat, and one must endure any obstacle.
The civil rights movement has tremendously shaped the world attitude towards social equality.

 

Black Panthers

The black panthers was an organization that was formed in California in 1966 and they played a short but important part in the civil rights movement. They believed that the non-violent campaign of  Martin Luther King had failed. The black panthers viewed the civil right movement as a "revolutionary war." Contrary to the non-violent sit-ins that took place in Nashville, the black panthers were willing to use violence to get what they wanted. The Panthers eventually developed into a Marxist revolutionary group that called for the arming of all African Americans. At its peak in the late 1960s, Panther membership exceeded 2,000, and the organization operated chapters in several major American cities.