9.1 Historical overview of ethnic and racial activism in the U.S.

Ethnic and racial activism in the U.S. has a long history of fighting for equality and justice. From abolitionism to women's suffrage, labor rights to civil rights, various movements have shaped American society and politics.

The 20th century saw major strides in civil rights activism. The Civil Rights Movement, student-led organizations, and ethnic pride movements like Chicano and Black Power pushed for change through protests, legal challenges, and community organizing.

19th and Early 20th Century Movements

Abolitionism and Women's Suffrage

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• Abolitionism was a movement to end slavery in the United States during the 19th century
  • Prominent abolitionists included Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and William Lloyd Garrison
  • The movement gained momentum with the publication of anti-slavery literature like Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin"
• Women's Suffrage Movement fought for women's right to vote in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
  • Key figures included Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Alice Paul
  • The 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, granted women the right to vote nationwide

Labor Rights and the NAACP

• Labor Rights Movement advocated for better working conditions, fair wages, and the right to unionize in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
  • Notable events included the Haymarket Affair (1886) and the Pullman Strike (1894)
  • The movement led to the formation of labor unions like the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)
• NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) was founded in 1909 to fight for the civil rights of African Americans
  • The organization used legal strategies to challenge segregation and discrimination, such as the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case (1954)
  • Notable NAACP leaders included W.E.B. Du Bois, Thurgood Marshall, and Roy Wilkins

Civil Rights Era Activism

Civil Rights Movement and Student Activism

• Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s fought to end racial segregation and discrimination against African Americans
  • Key events included the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956), the Little Rock Nine (1957), and the March on Washington (1963)
  • Prominent leaders included Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X
• SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) was a student-led civil rights organization founded in 1960
  • SNCC organized sit-ins, freedom rides, and voter registration drives to challenge segregation and disenfranchisement
  • Notable SNCC members included John Lewis, Diane Nash, and Stokely Carmichael

Direct Action and Protest

• Black Panthers, founded in 1966, was a revolutionary socialist organization that advocated for the rights of African Americans
  • The group engaged in community service programs, such as free breakfast for children, and armed self-defense against police brutality
  • Prominent Black Panther leaders included Huey P. Newton, Bobby Seale, and Fred Hampton
• Sit-ins were a form of nonviolent direct action protest where activists would occupy segregated spaces and refuse to leave until served or arrested
  • The Greensboro sit-ins (1960) at a Woolworth's lunch counter sparked a wave of similar protests across the South
• Freedom Rides, organized by CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) in 1961, challenged segregation in interstate bus travel
  • Activists rode buses through the South, facing violence and arrests, to test compliance with the Supreme Court's ruling in Boynton v. Virginia (1960)
• March on Washington, held on August 28, 1963, was a massive demonstration for civil rights that attracted over 200,000 participants
  • The event featured Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech and helped build support for the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Ethnic Pride Movements

Chicano and American Indian Movements

• Chicano Movement, also known as the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement, emerged in the 1960s to fight for the rights and cultural identity of Mexican Americans
  • The movement encompassed labor activism, such as the United Farm Workers led by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, and student activism, like the East Los Angeles Walkouts (1968)
  • Cultural expressions of Chicano pride included the Chicano art movement and the development of Chicano studies programs in universities
• American Indian Movement (AIM) was founded in 1968 to advocate for the rights and sovereignty of Native American communities
  • AIM engaged in direct action protests, such as the occupation of Alcatraz Island (1969-1971) and the Wounded Knee Incident (1973), to draw attention to issues like treaty rights and cultural preservation
  • The movement also fought for the repatriation of sacred objects and ancestral remains through the passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) in 1990

Asian American and Black Power Movements

• Asian American Movement emerged in the late 1960s to challenge discrimination and stereotypes faced by Asian Americans
  • The movement was influenced by the Civil Rights Movement and the anti-Vietnam War movement
  • Key events included the San Francisco State College strike (1968-1969) for the establishment of ethnic studies programs and the fight against the eviction of elderly Filipino residents from the International Hotel in San Francisco (1968-1977)
• Black Power Movement developed in the mid-1960s as a more militant and self-determinationist approach to the struggle for African American rights
  • The movement emphasized racial pride, economic empowerment, and self-defense against oppression
  • Black Power activists, such as Stokely Carmichael and the Black Panthers, argued for the development of independent black political and economic institutions and the embrace of African and African American cultural heritage