Transcript Civil Rights

Civil Rights
Latinos, Native
Americans,
Women and the
Counterculture
Latinos
• Encounter poor
living conditions
and
discrimination
• Demand equal
rights
• Respect for
culture and
heritage
Cesar Chavez
• United Farm
Workers
• Organized farm
workers to increase
wages and improve
working conditions
• Boycott - grapes
Bilingual Education Act of
1968
• Greater recognition of Hispanic
Culture
• provided federal funding to
incorporate native-language
instruction.
• Most states followed the lead of the
federal government, enacting bilingual
education laws of their own or at least
decriminalizing the use of other
languages in the classroom
Native Americans
• High
unemployment
rate
• Poor health care
• High death rates
Declaration of Indian Purpose
• Demanded the right for
Native Americans to
choose their own way of
life
American Indian Movement
(AIM)
• Confronted the gov’t in highly public
actions that sometimes resulted in
violence
• Laws/courts gave Native Americans
greater rights over the education of
their children and renewed land
rights
AIM
Wounded Knee
• In February of 1973 the American
Indian Movement and the Lakota Nation
made a final stand for Native rights with
siege at wounded knee.
• controlled the town for 71 days
Women
• Feminism- the belief that women
should have economic, political, and
social equality with men
Women
• Growing # of women entering the
work force but paid less than men for
the same job
• Actively involved in both the civil
rights and anti-war movments
Women
• NOW- National Organization for
Women
• ERA – Equal Rights Movement
Culture and Counterculture
• During the 1960s, a youth
movement challenged
American society, its values,
and its politics
– Began with the “beat”
movement of the 1950s
– Baby boomers
• By 1970, 58 % of the population
was under 34
Counterculture (cont)
• Colleges gave young people the
opportunity to congregate and share
their feelings and concerns about
society
Counterculture (cont)
• Hippies wanted a freer society,
closer to nature, full of love,
empathy, tolerance and cooperation
• Communes – group living
arrangements in where members
share everything, and work together
Hippies
Counterculture (cont)
• The counterculture influenced international fashion
• Wore long hair, Native American headbands,
shabby jeans, long dresses
– Military, worn-out, ethnic clothing were all popular
Counterculture (cont)
• Illegal Drug Use
– Marijuana and LSD
• Timothy Leary
– Early experimenter and
promoter of LSD
– “Tune in, Turn on, Drop out”
Music
• The new music added
to the rift between
parents and youth
• Musicians like the
Beatles, Bob Dylan
and Janis Joplin
came to represent the
hopes of the new
generation
Woodstock 1969
Gay Liberation Movement
• 1969 police raid gay bar in NYC sparks
riots and gay rights movement
• By mid 1970s homosexuality is no longer
considered a mental illness
• 1993 “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”
Environmental Movement
• Fear of Technology
– 3 mile Island nuclear power plant accident
(1973)
– Chernobyl (1986)
– Exxon Valdez (1989)
• Protective legislation
– Clear Air Act
– Clean Water Act
– EPA
– Superfund- cleans up toxic dumps!