The Civil Rights
Movement was based on the human right for equal
protection of the laws and carried out between
the 1960s and the 1980s. This political movement
comprised of a great deal of civil unrest and
widespread rebellions. The Civil Rights Movement
was carried out for different purposes in different
countries and while it was successful in achieving
objectives in some nations, in others it was not
so. In most countries, the process to equal rights
of the laws was tenuous and longsighted. However,
in later years, the Civil Rights Movement acquired
an incisive inclination towards the radical left.
The Civil Rights Movement as well as the Vietnam
War proved to be sparks for popular protests of
the sixties. The Civil Rights Movement in the
US was drawn to an end after the Civil Rights
Act passed by the Congress in 1964 and the Voting
Rights Act of 1965. This political movement guaranteed
the basic civil rights of all Americans after
almost a decade of protests and marches.
In the US Civil Rights Movement, unprecedented
nonviolent resistance and boycotts were carried
out which received national attention as all networks
including the radio, television and newspaper
struggled to document every aspect of the Civil
Rights Movement. The efforts of the Civil Rights
Movement were successful in achieving the 1954
Brown decision, 1964 Civil Rights Act as well
as the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The black struggle
for equal civil rights had also inspired other
liberation movements such as those of Native Americans.
Gender
The feminist movement spanning from 1963 to 1982
was focused on issues of educational qualities,
social and economic choices as well as general
equality of rights to female in minorities instead
of gender discrimination. The first wave feminism
had previously focused on precise rights such
as the right to vote. In contrast, the second
wave of feminism, the movement focused on numerous
issues concerning political power, reproductive
freedom, sexuality, professional equality and
choice as well as many other issues.
Even though, the movement has been widely noted
to have spanned from 1960s to late 1980s, the
precise years of the feminist movement are contradicted.
It is well accepted that the movement began in
1963 with Betty Friedan aka Mother of the Movement
published the “The Feminine Mystique.”
Another trigger for this movement is considered
as the report released by John F. Kennedy’s
Commission regarding the status of women and inequality
based on gender. This led to formation or establishments
of numerous feminine groups at the local, state
as well as the federal level along with many liberation
organizations dedicated towards gender equality.
The feminist movement achieved its objectives
with passages of laws such as the Title VII of
the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Equal Pay Act of
1963 and also the Supreme Court Ruling in 1965
in the Griswold vs. Connecticut. The feminist
movement of 1960s and 1980s gained more support
when Betty Friedan joined to establish the National
Organization for Women in 1966.
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