What was protested in the 1960s

THEN: For integration of public schools, fair housing and equal access to public accommodations. Read More. NOW: For an end to police brutality against people of color; against institutional racism in all its forms.

More Videos Protests now and in the past Who is protesting. Many were inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King, although others thought he moved too slowly. NOW: A larger nationwide coalition of people of all colors, including members of the decentralized Black Lives Matter movement. That latter focus represents one of the biggest uncertainties about the current wave of protest. Reporters following the current protests have found no shortage of local activist leaders equally suspicious of mainstream electoral organizing.

One of the pivotal questions of American politics over the next decade may be how quickly, if at all, the young people now protesting in the street develop electoral clout comparable to their numbers. While the Baby Boomers changed social attitudes and popular culture relatively quickly, they did not elect one of their own as president until Bill Clinton, in The next decade could produce a similarly bifurcated outcome for Millennials, Gen Z, and the even younger and more diverse cohort following them.

Their preferences already dominate popular culture, and their tolerance of diversity has lit the path for broader changes in social attitudes, such as public support for gay marriage. But their electoral impact remains less defined. But, despite their animosity toward Trump, only about half of eligible Millennials and Gen Zers voted in And while turnout among younger voters was much higher in than in the previous midterm election, in , many surveys have found only modest enthusiasm among them for presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

Significant numbers of younger voters say they are considering either voting for a third-party candidate or not voting at all. The payoff would be enormous if he can: Frey calculates that Millennials and Gen Z will comprise almost exactly as large a share of eligible voters in November as Baby Boomers and their elders do now just under two-fifths in each case. By , that balance will tip toward the younger generations, and the gap will widen steadily after that.

That is the crux of all these conversations. Like the Baby Boomers during the s, the younger generations dissatisfied with those arrangements have demonstrated, year after year, that they can fill the streets in protest. Their next test is to do what the baby boom could not: tip the outcome of national elections while they are still young.

The last event—in which National Guardsmen shot and killed four Kent State students at an anti-war protest—led to a nationwide student strike that shut down colleges. This resource from the New York Public Library covers the movement during the pivotal year of Chicago: Law and Disorder : This exhibit from the Chicago History Museum covers the Democratic Convention through photographs, documents, and ephemera.

Advanced Search. Speaking and Protesting in America. Explore the exhibit. View records from exhibit section. Protesting in the s and s When discussing the role of protests in America, it seems fitting to begin in the s— one of the most contentious decades in living memory. As one historian put it, "In the s, dissidents shook the very foundation of U. Next: Protesting in s and Beyond. Go to asset's full record. Previous 1 of 1 Next. Angela Davis at protest. Exhibit Sections.

Research Notes.