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Civil rights movements in the united states
Civil Rights movement in the USA
The US civil rights movement
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Introduction
As the political consultant for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community (LGBT), my duties are to push for the basic rights of the individuals who do, or cannot (in fear), identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. As the nation stands right now, being attracted to someone of the opposite sex is considered unnatural, unethical, and a choice to exist against God. However, the foundation that this nation was built upon was created centuries ago, and to be unwilling to change in time would be an inaccurate interpretation of the Constitution. My goals are to address the changes in time, and advance the civil rights that human beings deserve. I will discuss non-violent direct actions that can raise awareness, political actions that can create a strong voice for the community, and use of the court system to give the rights that the LGBT community deserves.
Non-Violent Direct Actions
In order for the demands of the LGBT community to have a firm stand, we must first use non-violent direct actions to raise awareness within the nation. The purpose of these non-violent direct actions (NVDA) will be to target unjust laws that discriminate against LGBT’s (Shaw, 2014). In the 1950’s through the 1960’s, African-American civil rights activist took a passive approach in letting their concerns be heard to the general public. Through protest and boycott, they attracted the attention of many black and white citizens to stand for the movement’s cause, and this created a platform for the activists to utilize (Shaw, 2014). This is the initial approach the LGBT community should take. Activists willing to participate must recognize that there are consequences to performing these actions as they will be defy...
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...reject someone for being homosexual. Instead, the Bible says to love one’s neighbors and pray for those in sin. If the Bible did hold political value, it would stand up for and protect the LGBT community.
The purpose of this plan is to create a voice within the LGBT community and project that voice onto the policy makers in Washington. The focus will be on using non-violent direct action to generate the support of the general public. This will help create interest within communities to get involved with the LGBT civil rights movement. Then, the interested members will be specialized into groups that will boost same-sex policies in local government in order to snowball these policies into Washington. To finalize the policies, legal action will be taken in order to emphasize the need for nationwide civil rights for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.
In Vicki L. Eaklor’s Queer America, the experiences of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender people in the years since the 1970s gay liberation movement are described as a time of transformation and growth. The antigay movement, threatened, now more than ever, created numerous challenges and obstacles that are still prevalent today. Many of the important changes made associated with the movement were introduced through queer and queer allied individuals and groups involved in politics. Small victories such as the revision of the anti discrimination statement to include “sexual orientation”, new propositions regarding the Equal Rights Amendment and legalized abortion, were met in turn with growing animosity and resistance from individuals and groups opposed to liberal and
One of the most influential leaders of the African American Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King Jr., stated in a letter from Birmingham Jail: “We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God-given rights.they were in reality standing up for what is best the American dream”(75). In the document written by Casey Hayden and Mary King, they discuss how there are many similarities between the way African Americans were being treated and the way women were being treated. These women go on to say that people aren’t discussing these issues enough socially to give them adequate importance. All of these advocates for both movements chose to voice their concerns and opinions through writing or speaking to groups rather than through violence. They were parallel in this sense because they thought this was the most effective way to get the message across to America.
Historian David Carter, provides an intriguing in-depth look into the historical impact of the Stonewall Riots in Stonewall: The Riots that Sparked the Gay Revolution. This engaging book adds to the genre of sexual orientation discrimination. Carter extensively analyzes the various factors that played a role in igniting the Stonewall riots and the historical impact that the riots had on the Gay Revolution and movement for gay equality. Through the use of interviews, newspapers, and maps, Carter argues that the riots were a product of many geographical, social, political, and cultural factors. Carter further argues that the riots ultimately led to the forming of the Gay Revolution and caused sexual orientation to be a protected category in the growing movement for civil rights. Carter’s book provides a well-structured argument, supported mainly by primary evidence, into the different factors that contributed to the riots as well as a detailed account of the events that transpired during the riots and the political attitudes towards homosexuality in America during this time.
The media considers the1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City the spark of the modern gay rights movement. This occurred after the police raided the Stonewall bar, a popular gay bar in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. Allyn argues that the new energy and militancy generated by the riot played a crucial role in creating the gay liberation movement. Arguably, the Stonewall Riots have come to resemble the pivotal moment in gay rights history largely because it provided ways for the gay community to resist the social norms. In fact, the riots increased public awareness of gay rights activism (Allyn 157). Gay life after the Stonewall riots, however, was just as varied and complex as it was before. In the following era, ho...
In the early 1990’s there were two prominent homosexual activist groups: the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT-UP) and Queer Nation. ACT-UP is a direct action group that exists solely as a political organization although it is in a battle for power against other government agencies and drug companies (ACT-UP Phil). This group was formed to “agitate for a concentrated response to the AIDS crisis from the federal government, and by default, the single loudest voice of opposition to the Republican social policies, from housing to health care”(ACT-UP). ACT-UP is a volunteer organization that is run by its members and by consensus. The group will choose its causes based on what is decided at the meeting (ACT-UP Phil). Direct action groups are known for their guerrilla-style demonstrations. This means that they are a group related to strong, nonviolent fighting; the ‘in your face’ approach to activism.
Prior to the 1970’s, members of the LGBTQ community, and especially those who also identified as people of color, were forced to stay silent despite constant discrimination because of their minority statuses. They did not have a voice or means to speak out against the oppression. During the 1960’s, the few safe spaces established for QPOC in urban communities had disappeared, since this particular era was being overshadowed by the Civ...
The American debate on homosexuality reveals an unquestionable, though awfully uninvited, fusion between religion and politics, revealing a dangerous lack of separation between the church and state. The concern is not about the presence of spirituality in American politics, but the implications institutionalized religion has on the lives and rights of human beings. Nothing hinders the political and social progress of lesbian women and gay men quite like the complexities of religion. Dating back to the beginning of literature itself, homosexuality is far from modern. Nonetheless, homosexuality is currently the most divisive and fiercely debated topic in recent religious discourse. While most Christians maintain allegiance in labeling same-sex relationships as morally wrong, the church is dramatically divided on the proper place for gays and lesbians in American society and of course, American politics.
...protest movements throughout America and the world.” Among the gay community Stonewall has become the word for freedom, for fighting, for equality. It became a turning point in Gay history, so much so that most books on the subject refer to “pre-Stonewall” and “post-Stonewall” as the lines of demarcation. Of course the journey is still long and fight has not been won. At the turn of the century there were still 20 states that made homosexual sex illegal , any only a few states would recognize the love and companionship of gays through marriage or civil unions. The military policy of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is still active and prejudices continue to exist. But, as exemplified by any other civil rights movement, it is through the constant grind of activists and lay-people constantly protesting and educating, that change occurs, even if only one person at a time.
Dating back to the 1940s’, peaceful protests are one of the well-known methods to engage in direct action, particularly for the LGBT movement. Public speeches, rally, and expos are also other forms of nonviolent direct action. This method of campaigning can be an ethical high ground from which a community can be built to harness the strength of many to stand up to injustice, take action together, and empower others for change. Nonviolent direct action is known by many names: Gandhi called it satyagraha or “truth or soul force,” Judaism calls it Tikkun Olam or “to heal the world,” Henry Thoreau called it civil disobedience, and others simply call it people power. Whatever the name, nonviolent direct action is a proven method to institute peaceful insurgence through directly confront and disrupt situations, institutions, or laws that is oppose as morally unjust. Place such as California, Hawaii, New York, the District of Columbia, and ___ other states all have domestic and civil partnership laws, which is close it a marriage without matrimony but still allow couples the ability to have joint bank accounts, live in the same house, pay bills together, etc. Though these are sensational accomplishments, the endeavor is no where near over. Peaceful protests have been monumental actions to aid causes like
basic civil rights protections for GLBT people.” (Currah, Minter p.9) Many of the LGBT population feel like their personal freedoms and liberties have been violated as lawmakers in some states and countries infringe on their personal rights. Passings of legislature that marginalizes the LGBT population is not only unjust and inhumane but it causes sociological and societal implications that question that persons beliefs about themselves leading to the dangerous climate facing the group from within themselves and the population around
The world as we know of it today has evolved over several decades of conflict. The conflicts have taken place due to many factions fighting for their rights. It began with African Americans wanting to be treated as equals. The Civil Rights became the theme of the 1950’s and continued for many years. More recently, there have been conflicts based on sexuality and gender preferences. The LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer) Movement of today has changed and evolved over the last several decades just as the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s which gave African Americans the fight for racial equality. The similarities and differences of both movements are striking, and deserve thorough investigation.
“Equal rights for lesbians and gay men may be the greatest civil rights battle of the 21st century” (Avery 2007, p. 71). Homosexual couples have been fighting a losing battle for years, and their struggle has recently taken the spotlight once again as a burning topic. Over the years, many people have come to support equal love. However, many Americans still advocate the one man-one woman institution of marriage. The fight for equal rights in general has always been a complex issue. African Americans, women, and many other minorities have had to fight for the rights that they hold today. There are many factors involved in gay activism such as support, attitudes, roles, and the implications of the movement. Social psychology takes a particular interest in gay rights and these factors in particular, as it is a current, controversial topic within American society.
The LGBTQIA community has faced strong opposition from groups falling outside this minority for years, primarily conservative and religious groups. This phenomenon is not particular to the United States, but spans hundreds of countries across the world. Religious leaders in varying religions not only oppose the act of marriage, but often times oppose the actual act of homosexual behavior. Often religious oppositionist will cite religious text, like the Bible as a means of opposing the LGBTQIA lifestyle. One of the most blatant oppositions to homosexual b...
One day in May 1988, Rebecca Wight and Claudia Brenner were backpacking on the Appalachian Trail in south central Pennsylvania. Claudia was thirty-one, and Rebecca was twenty-eight. Along the trail, they encountered a stranger who tried to involve them in conversation. Suddenly, the quiet of the afternoon was shattered by gunfire. Claudia was hit in the arm, neck, and face. Rebecca struck in the back and head; the shot in her back exploded her liver and killed her. The stranger, Stephen Roy Carr, shot them because they were lesbians (Oliver 8). There were laws against this of course. However, unfortunately for people who identify as homosexual, not many of these laws were followed for the reason that discrimination against gay people was clearly evident in America. When this incident happened, a social movement was well under way. This movement, of course, was the gay rights movement. One of the earlier accomplishments of the movement was in 1951, when the First National Gay Origination was founded. Yet, during the 1950s, it would have been immensely illegal and dangerous to register any kind of pro-gay organizations (Head). The gay rights movement continues to create and achieve goals even today. Many people did not support the movement; however, fortunately the gay rights movement had many followers from homosexual to straight people all over the country. Some memorable leaders would be Kathy Kozachenko, first openly gay women elected into politics, and Harvey Milk, first openly gay man elected into politics. In 1977 Harvey Milk won a seat in the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. It was there that Milk delivers a famous and inspirational speech which would later be called the “Hope Speech”. The main idea to take away from th...
Within the recent years, the transgender movement has become more apparent than ever. With television shows like “RuPaul’s Drag Race”, “Keeping It Up With Cait” and “I Am Jazz”, the voices of transgender people are more public than ever. Celebrities like Caitlyn Jenner and Laverene Cox are changing the face of the movement by showing people that it is never too late to be their true selves. American laws are acknowledging the rights of transgender people, but not in a positive way. These are just people trying to be their best selves. Transgender people deserve to have all the rights that a non transgender person has.