Protests and Social Movements of the 60s

The Sixties are often conceived of as a series of cultural, social and political events on which many leaders and events had a shaping influence. There arose many movements during this time period that tried to change the mainstream norms of American society. Many organizations decided to stand up for their rights and their cause in an attempt to end many of the discriminations that they faced. Most people look at the sixties and think only about the hippies but they were only a small part of American culture at the time.

The Hippies of the 60s tried to challenge American society but they did it by trying to isolate themselves from it. They merely wanted to create their own society and culture that was away from mainstream America. They challenged many norms of society such as wearing jeans and having long hair instead of wearing the same type of clothes that their parents would wear. This movement was fueled by the new music that arose in the sixties as well as the use of LSD and other psychedelic drugs.

The civil rights movement was an attempt by African Americans to try end discrimination in America and end any type of segregation. The most well known leader was Martin Luther King who was the strongest voice in the civil rights movement. Martin Luther King advocated nonviolence and tried to change society through challenging the laws that justified discrimination. However there was another African American movement that arose to challenge American society and that was the Black Power movement. The agenda of the Black Power Movement was different from Martin Luther King's movement because it focused on empowering African Americans and encouraged segregation. They were strongly influenced by Malcolm X who really provided them with a strong message in the early sixties that later influenced many of the leaders of the Black Power movement.

The civil rights movement was echoed by the Free Speech movement that consisted of a minority of the youth of America but had a very strong voice nonetheless. Some of the youth in the Free Speech movement was greatly influenced by the civil rights movement and used it as an example to fight their own battles. They also wanted to challenge the norms of American society by refusing to submit to the authority of the school board that desired to limit free speech on the campus.

The youth of the Free Speech movement and the culture of the hippies really collided during the protests of the Vietnam war. They both sought to end the war and believed that it was an unjustified war that was killing American soldiers.

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