Assignment 1

This posting will explore social movements in terms of radicalism and assimilation. Specifically, it will examine these concepts in the positions taken by Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, and within the following movements: Black Panthers, anti-Vietnam war, women’s, gay rights, and Chicano protest. Finally, I will examine how the Global Warming movement compares to the various strategies espoused.

Before beginning this discussion, it seems necessary to point out that it is a somewhat sad state of affairs, that in our country of “democracy” and the rule of law, people of color, women, and gays had to fight and, in many respects, are still fighting, for equal treatment under the law, and for equal standing in society.

King v. Malcolm

Dr. Martin Luther King (King) was a proponent of constructive, nonviolent direct action and civil disobedience, and advocated that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. King described the rights that African-Americans are entitled to as being “constitutional” (for example, the right of people to peaceably assemble), and “God given”. Accordingly, King drew upon the Constitution, U.S. history, and Biblical references to validate the right to protest. He reiterated Thomas Jefferson’s universal truth that “all men are created equal”, and further stated that this type of civil disobedience had been exercised for centuries, by Christians who were thrown to the lions instead of pledging allegiance to the Roman Empire, and by our own nation at the Boston Tea Party. King believed that if African-Americans’ repressed emotions were not allowed to be expressed in nonviolent ways, that it would ultimately lead to violence. King, Jr., M. (1963) Letter from a Birmingham Jail (p. 1-3, 5, 8). Not only did this kind of thinking add to the number of African-Americans who mobilized and joined the movement, because people are more likely to engage in nonviolent activities rather than violent ones, it also showed that King was a shrewd “politician”, employing what might be deemed a veiled threat in order to get others’ attention, lest there be violence. If King had chosen to employ more violent means, this movement would not likely have been as successful since he would have alienated many of the (white) people who had the power to make changes to our country’s laws.

Malcolm X, on the other hand, dismissed nonviolent activism and advocated for racial separatism, through “any means necessary”. He believed the answer to African American struggles was by strengthening the organizations in their communities and by attaining a positive sense of racial identity. This message resonated among many of the disenfranchised, as well as young, politically active African Americans. Malcolm began building ties to the more militant elements of the African American protest movement with the goal of forging relationships with grassroots leaders and young activists of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. In order to encourage and mobilize African American students to join the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee’s movement, the Committee arranged to have Malcolm give speeches that had the effect of exciting and inspiring many in the crowds. Despite all his fiery rhetoric, Malcolm eventually came to understand that nonviolent techniques could be used militantly, and were an important aspect of any mass social movement. Carson, C. (1998) The Unfinished Dialogue of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, adapted from A Common Solution, published in Emerge (p. 12, 14, 17-18).

The Black Panthers

The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, founded in 1966, was part of the “Black Liberation Movement”, and had as its main goal the liberation of African Americans through a socialist revolution. The Black Panthers were an armed, militant movement that appealed to young, disenfranchised African Americans and achieved a mass following. Acoli, S. (1995) A Brief History of the Black Panther Party & Its Place in the Black Liberation Movement, Sundiata Acoli Freedom Campaign. Similar to Malcolm, they advocated for protecting themselves from the racist police and military “by whatever means necessary”. October 1966 Black Panther Party Platform and Program, number 6. Several techniques they used were “serving the people” (living with the masses and experiencing their burdens), advocating for equality of women both within the organization and society, and the dissemination of their message through propaganda. Acoli, S. As part of their platform, they argued that they were entitled to certain rights as afforded under the Constitution, namely, the right to bear arms and due process of law. Black Panther Party Platform and Program, numbers 7 and 9. Although arguing for Constitutional rights is a very rational and pragmatic approach, unfortunately, the movement was otherwise somewhat dysfunctional in many respects and suffered from corrupted leadership, structural flaws in its organizational structure, and the use of rhetoric instead of fact based arguments and solutions.

The Anti-Vietnam War Movement

Similar strategies were used in the anti-Vietnam war movement. As King was one of the prominent protesters of this movement, not surprisingly we see many of his nonviolent direct actions present. These included “teach-ins”, student strikes, legal demonstrations, grassroots organizing, congressional lobbying, electoral challenges, civil disobedience, and draft resistance. However, elements of Malcolm’s militant protest approach were also present, including self-immolations and political violence. Ultimately, the movement facilitated widespread public opposition to the war and helped bring about its end. In fact, it has been called the most successful antiwar movement in the country’s history. However, the more militant aspects of the movement fostered a divide within the country. Wells, T. (1999) Overview of Anti-Vietnam War Protests, The Oxford Companion to American Military History (p. 1-3). These wounds, and the utterly disrespectful way that veterans of the war were treated when they returned home, have still not completely healed.

The Women’s Movement

There were four essential elements that contributed to the emergence and success of the Women’s movement: 1) the expansion of a preexisting communications network movement; 2) the network was composed of like-minded people who were receptive to the ideas of the new movement; 3) a series of crises that roused the network into spontaneous action; and 4) subsequent organizing to connect the spontaneous groups together into the movement. The fact that in 1979, Reverend Jerry Falwell founded the “Moral Majority” for the purposes of opposing the Equal Rights Amendment, abortion, and gay rights, meant that the Women’s movement and others were not only making progress, but were becoming forces to be reckoned with. Similar to King’s strategy, the Woman’s movement approached many problems as political ones, which they sought to solve by organizing. Also similar to King’s approach, the movement was fueled by crises, which served to crystallize and focus unhappiness. Freeman, J. The Women’s Movement, Goodwin, J., & Jasper, J. (Eds.) (2003) The Social Movements Reader, (p. 22-23, 27, 29) West Sussex, UK: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. King described how his nonviolent direct action created such crisis and tension within a community that it had no choice but to finally confront the issue that it had been hiding from. King, Jr., M. (p. 3). Similarly, the Women’s movement’s reaction to crisis was not to panic; instead, the crisis was perceived as an immediate need for change, which is an important factor in influencing people and communities to accept new ideas. Freeman, J. (p. 30). Interestingly, there does not appear to be any militant acts associated with the Women’s movement. (I do not think bra burning can be considered “militant”.) Perhaps, because this movement was made up almost entirely of women, they therefore intellectualized how to achieve their goals differently than men, and came to the logical conclusion that has been borne out by history time and time again, and that men seem so often to forget - - that “might” does not always make “right”.

The Gay Rights Movement

More than anything, the 1969 Stonewall incident and subsequent riot served as the impetus which propelled the Gay rights movement into fast forward. Word of the incident spread quickly, and within a year, gay liberation groups sprung into existence in cities and college campuses across the nation. Adding to its meteoric rise, the movement “borrowed” tactics from other radical groups, such as militant confrontational politics, and used these tactics for their own purposes to describe the oppression suffered by lesbians and homosexuals. Lesbians, especially, made immediate contributions to the movement because of their unfortunate status of being oppressed not only as women, but also as homosexuals. There were several incidents of militant or aggressive actions: riots, confrontations with the police, general disruptions at publisher’s offices who were critical of the movement, and towards politicians. The movement’s confrontational tactics and ostentatious conduct thrust it into the public spotlight and motivated others to join the movement. D’Emilio, J. The Gay Liberation Movement, Goodwin, J., & Jasper, J. (Eds.) (2003) The Social Movements Reader, (p. 32-34) West Sussex, UK: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. As King said, if an individual’s repressed emotions are not given a forum to be released, those emotions may then very well be expressed through violence. King, Jr., M. (p. 8).

The Chicano Protest Movement

Similar to the Women’s movement, this movement did not advocate militant activities in order to achieve its goals. Although the modern Chicano movement arose during the mid 60s, at the same time as the “Black power movement”, most similarities end there. This is not to say that there were no militant acts; there were, and many Chicanos were involved with the “Black power movement”. However, militancy was more the exception than the rule. In many respects, the Chicano movement was similar to the African American movement to obtain basic civil rights in that it sought liberation, the improvement of peoples’ lives, an end to segregation and police repression, improved educational opportunities and increased political representation, and the attainment of self-determination. A development that greatly helped this movement along was the increase in Chicano students attending universities, and the integration of Chicano studies. Not content with being taught their culture and history from white professors, Chicano and Chicana scholars began emerging and spreading knowledge about their own community. The increase in students, coupled with their desire to learn their heritage from Chicano professors, fueled and furthered not only the political portion of the movement that focused on civil rights, but also led to an intellectual movement that would ensure the movement’s future viability. Rodriguez, R. (1996) The Origins and History of the Chicano Movement, JSRI Occasional Paper #7. The Julian Samora Research Institute, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan. As they say, and as the Chicano movement aptly demonstrated, “knowledge is power”.

Strategies in the Global Warming Movement

Looking at the Global Warming movement in the context of the different strategies discussed above, the biggest similarity is to King’s nonviolent direct approach of creating crisis in order to make society wake up and pay attention. Scientists have been telling us for years that we are in a climate change crisis. Unfortunately, it has only been recently that society has pulled its head out of the sand. Of course, there are still, and probably always will be, critics and naysayers. In fact, just the other day while driving on I-10, I saw the following license plate on an SUV: “GLBWRMR” (Global Warmer). I chalked it up to ignorance, but it incensed me, nonetheless.

The Global Warming movement also uses successful strategies such as King’s method of organization, protest, and marches to demand changes in legislation. As King stated, “we have not made a single gain in civil rights without determined legal and nonviolent pressure.” King, Jr., M. (p. 8). The big focus of the Global Warming movement is on working collaboratively and globally, and using legal means through legislation to achieve results in lowering greenhouse gases. More and more people from around the world are rising to the challenge and taking action. From international diplomacy to homeowners switching to compact-fluorescent light bulbs, citizens are taking action to reduce pollution and energy waste and combat global warming. About Global Warming, Climate Crossroads, retrieved June 10, 2009 from http://climatecrossroads.sierraclub.org/about-climate-change/index.html. Furthermore, recent legislation has been introduced that seeks to limit greenhouse gases by requiring polluters to receive or buy emission permits. Advocates and opponents of the legislation are contacting their legislators to try and influence the passage or defeat of the Bill. Marshall, C., Will mail to Congress influence the outcome of Waxman-Markey?, New York Times, Published: May 21, 2009. Retrieved June 10, 2009 from http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/05/21/21climatewire-will-mail-to-congress-influence-the-outcome-12208.html?scp=5&sq=Waxman-Markey&st=cse.

In one respect, the Global Warming movement differs from the other movements discussed above because it affects all members of society. It has been shown that poor communities are the biggest victims of pollution and environmental hazards. Cotgrove, S., & Duff, A. (2009) A Chronology of the U.S. Environmental Movement, The Social Movements Reader, (p. 76) West Sussex, UK: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Unfortunately, this will likely hold true for climate change as well, and affect poor communities disproportionately, yet all segments of society will ultimately suffer from the effects of climate change if the crisis is not solved. Accordingly, so far, militant options have not arisen because the crisis affects all of society, and not just one segment. However, this could certainly change, and dire predictions portray future rampant violence as people fight over the Earth’s dwindling natural resources as a result of the effects of unchecked climate change.

Certainly, there have been cases of environmental eco-terrorism: fire-bombing Hummer dealerships, burning down new homes and buildings built on sensitive natural habitat, and damaging cosmetic companies who test their products on animals. Brown, L., Enabling, and Disabling, Ecoterrorists, New York Times, Published: Sunday, November 16, 2003. Retrieved on June 10, 2009 from http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/16/weekinreview/16BROW.html?scp=7&sq=eco-terrorists&st=Search. However, I believe militant violence in the context of social movements is rarely justified as a means to an end, especially in environmental movements. Accordingly, I tend to disagree with Clayborne Carson that the positions taken by King and Malcolm are reconcilable. Furthermore, violence is usually not very successful. Most times, it only serves to distract and to take the focus off of the message of the movement. In addition, it often serves to alienate the very people, especially lawmakers, that need to be convinced to take action and effectuate change.

Of course, the one glaring exception when militant action was not only warranted, but absolutely necessary, was in the context of defeating Hitler in his “movement” to exterminate the Jewish people.