A Decade of Protest: 1965-1974

1. A Decade of Protest: 1965-1974 60s generation was best educated in US history • 1965 – 1974 was marked by protest due to: • Escalation of the Vietnam War • Attack on middle-class values • Increased college enrollment • The initial liberal protests began on college campuses but soon inspired other, national protests: African-Americans Mexican-Americans Native-Americans Women Hippies

2. The Student Revolt Refused to allow Free Speech movement to collect money for off-campus causes • Student protest movement began at UC-Berkeley in 64 with Free Speech movement • Protested “corporate face” & “50s rules” of UC-Berkeley • Students rioted when denied a political voice on campus • Inspired the formation of Students for a Democratic Society to end racism, poverty, & violence

3. Mario Savio & the Free Speech riots Berkeley protests inspired riots on campuses across US Brown University ended required courses & grades Many colleges ended “in loco parentis” rules

4. The “New Left” The Vietnam War was the most significant issue of the “New Left” • Student activism reflected new democratic political movement called the “New Left” • Youth involvement in issues (“participatory democracy”) • Supported Civil Rights • Rejected conventional “50s” roles for young people • Opposed war in Vietnam

5. The Cultural Revolution Harvard prof Timothy Leary activist for LSD: “Tune in, turn on, & drop out!” • Student protests coincided with youth counter-culture in 1965 • Beginning in SF & spreading through US, “hippie” culture emphasized: • Sexual expression • Clothing • Drugs • Music Increase in premarital sex & use of the “pill” “Summer of Love” in 1967 “Everybody must get stoned” – Bob Dylan Folk music British invasion & electric rock Acid rock

6. Folk singers like Joan Baez & Bob Dylan (until Dylan discovered the electric guitar) “Electric rock” like The Beatles “Acid rock” like the Grateful Dead Music was an important element to 1960s counter-culture

8. Is this the nation’s youth?? Drugs Sex Rock ‘n’ Roll No work ethic? Mostly children from upper-middle class families

9. 1968:The Year of Turmoil

10. 1968 • One of most turbulent years in US history • MLK & Robert Kennedy were assassinated • Riots broke out at the Democratic National Convention • Tet Offensive showed that US was not winning the Vietnam War

11. Protesting the Vietnam War • Most dramatic focus of youthful rebellion was Vietnam: • Mostly led by college students who escaped the draft • Students protested draft, military research on college campuses, & disproportionate use of black & Hispanic soldiers • Protests got stronger as fighting intensified in Vietnam in 1966

12. U.S. Troop Levels in Vietnam

13. Vietnam in 1968 • In 1968, the Vietcong launched the Tet Offensive against U.S. forces in South Vietnam • The attack was contrary to media reports that the U.S. was winning the Vietnam War • The attack led LBJ to believe that Vietnam could not be won • In 1968, LBJ began discussions to seek a truce & announced that he would not seek re-election

14. The Tet Offensive, 1968

16. In 1968, Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis & race riots broke out in over 100 cities In 1968, leading Democratic presidential candidate Robert Kennedy was shot during the California primary Assassinations in 1968

17. The 1968 Democratic Convention • Withdrawal of LBJ & death of RFK left 2 candidates for the Dem nomination • MN Senator Eugene McCarthy • VP Hubert Humphrey • TV showed angry protestors & police fight outside convention when Humphrey was nominated Idealistic & anti-war—supported by upper-middle class whites & college students Truman-style Cold Warrior—supported by Democratic party leaders; Did not campaign

18. 1968 Democratic National Convention Republicans benefited from the Vietnam disaster & a shattered Democratic party; Nixon won the election as a reconciler

19. Social Protests of the 1960s & 1970s

20. "Black Power" “I’m black & I’m proud!” —James Brown More than 50% of northern blacks lived in poverty • In the late 1960s, civil rights from political to economic equality • Leadership shifted from MLK’s nonviolent protest to militancy • Civil rights began to reflect the overt embrace of black culture & pride: dashikis, afros, “dap,” rejection of “slave names,” & the “black is beautiful” motto

21. 1968 Mexico City Olympics Tommie Smith & John Carlos

22. "Black Power" “Political power comes through the barrel of a gun” —Huey Newton • SNCC leader Stokely Carmichael: • Told blacks to seize power where they outnumber whites • Called for black-controlled unions, co-ops, & political parties • The Black Panthers dedicating themselves to defending blacks from police brutality & serving their communities

23. “Brown Power” • Mexican-Americans began to advocate for their rights: • “La Raza” called for cultural awareness, voter registration, education & poverty reforms • César Chávez organized the Nat’l Farm Workers' Assoc to demand better pay for pickers • “Chicanos” called for & won bilingual education programs

24. “Pink Power” Growth of female-run small businesses helped overcome corporate “glass ceiling” • Women's Liberation movement demanded increased rights & an end to sexism in America: • Friedan’s Feminine Mystique criticized 1950s housewife life • National Org of Women (NOW) called for equal pay, child care, rape laws, & abortion laws • Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was revived to end sexism In 1973, the Supreme Court upheld abortion rights in Roe v Wade In the late 1960s, the “pill” became widely available In the 1960s, women were still employed in stereotypical jobs… But…in most families, both parents worked out of the home …were still seen as “homemakers” …& unmarried adults outnumbered married adults for the first time

25. State Voting on the ERA The ERA fell 3 states shy of the ¾ needed for ratification The leader of the anti-ERA movement was Phyllis Schlafly who believed that women were protected by the Equal Pay Act (1963) & Civil Rights Act The feminist leaders supporting the ERA were Gloria Steinem & Betty Friedan, author of Feminine Mystique (1963) & president of NOW

26. “Rainbow Power” • The Gay Liberation movement started in 1969 after the Stonewall Riot in New York City • The Gay Liberation Front demanded end to discrimination & rallied gays to “come out” • The American Psychiatry Assoc ended its classification of homosexuality as a disease • ½ of all states changed their sodomy & employment laws

27. “Red Power” Resulted in marches on the Bureau of Indian Affairs in D.C. & Wounded Knee in S.D. • The American Indian movement sought to service its communities & regain lost lands: • “Indians of All Tribes” took Alcatraz Island in 1969 & called attention to the movement • “Trail of Broken Tears” in 1972 & “Long March” in 1978 helped lead to the return of lands across the country to tribes A 5-month protest from California to D.C. to protest past U.S. treaty violations

29. “Yellow Power” • The Asian-American movement began with the formation of the Asian American Political Alliance: • Protested U.S. involvement in Vietnam & use of term “gooks” • Called for & received Asian-American studies in colleges, health services in Asian communities, & reparations for interned Japanese-Americans

30. Civil Liberties • Civil liberties were protected for people accused of crimes: • Gideon v Wainwright (1963)—all citizens, no matter the crime, have the right to an attorney • Escobedo v Illinois (1964)—citizens have the right to remain silent during interrogations • Miranda v Arizona (1966)—suspects must be told of their right against self-incrimination

31. Conclusions • The counterculture & “power protests” used similar methods: • Active & often-militant protest for civil & economic rights • Cultural pride & awareness • These protests would continue but would faced confrontation by the conservative politics of the 1970s & 1980s “Black is Beautiful,” “Gay is Good,” & “Sisterhood is Powerful”