April 29

Blog #152 – Reactions to the chapter, “The Good Protest”

The chapter entitled, “The Good Protest,” primarily focuses on two things:

  1. That the “classic phase” of the Civil Rights Movement beginning with the Brown v. Board of Ed. case in 1954 and ending with the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has been the only part of the Long Civil Rights Movement usually taught in schools, and by focusing on only these events, it does a disservice to the longer struggle for civil rights that Black Americans have waged since Reconstruction.
    2. That the author points out numerous times when the classic phase of protests and past civil rights leaders have been used by current politicians to criticize modern civil rights protests for not following the older models.

What I would like you to do as you read over the chapter is pick several of these questions and answer them fully.

1. How have American protests, whether individually or in groups, been treated in our history books?
2. Describe the four misconceptions of the CRM from 1955-1968.
3. How did Alabama’s reaction to Homer Plessy’s protest on a segregated Louisiana train car directly lead to Rosa Parks’ arrest over 50 years later?
4. Provide at least one example of resistance to segregated busing and sit-ins that had happened BEFORE the first ones honored in the classic phase.  Why has the author included these examples?
5. The classic narrative of the CRM suggests, according to the author, that white people just suddenly became aware of the evils of segregation in 1955, and that a small group of whites became allies in the struggle to end segregation.  How believable is this scenario?
6. How surprising are the poll numbers from 1966 about the country’s perception of the CRM to you?  Explain.
7.  How can you explain the way that Parks and King were smeared as communists while they were alive but now are treated as iconic American heroes as great as any heroes America has produced?
8. How did President Reagan and Press Secretary McEnany misuse King to support their own agendas by knocking down a controversial topic of their time?
9. How did A. Philip Randolph’s plan to have a March on Washington in 1941 motivate FDR to sign Executive Order 8802?

10. How did Ella Baker’s speech to SNCC (Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee) in 1960 reflect Black Lives Matter’s attack on structural racism?
11. How did the CRM protest acts of police brutality in the past?
12. Why do you think the author compared baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson to Colin Kaepernick?
13. What did the Pew Research Center find out about American attitudes in August 2020?
14. How did some states crack down on the right to protest in 2021?  Why do you think that they did this?
15. According to the author, why were some white people having trouble with BLM protests in the 2010s and 2020s?
16. Why do you think some people were critical of the protests against police violence in the summer and fall of 2020?

Your job: Read the chapter, answer bonded question #2 and then pick 4 additional questions to answer.  Minimum 400 words for your answers to all 5 questions.

Due Monday night, May 1, by 11:59 p.m.  

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Posted April 29, 2023 by geoffwickersham in category Blogs

54 thoughts on “Blog #152 – Reactions to the chapter, “The Good Protest”

  1. Luci Kucab

    1. American protests, whether individually or in groups, are always seen as an international human right in our history books. They often make protests out as heroic events that many Americans cherish. For example the Boston tea party is seen as heroic in many history books because an act of civil disobedience changed the course of history effectively.

    2. The four misconceptions of the CRM is that winning civil rights was much more difficult than most Americans’ believed/ African Americans have always fought for equality, that American’s always supported the protests, classical-phase protesters where and have always been about issues other than abolishing segregation, and that there are issues that still need to be addressed.

    4. Before Rosa parks action there were many, almost daily, protests launched. In Virginia, Pauli Murray, a young black woman, had been studying non violent protests techniques and refused to get up from the back of a bus. After her arrest she chose to go to jail rather than pay. This is so similar to Rosa Parks protest but has never been talked about similar to many other protests.

    6. These poll numbers are very surprising to me especially considering how heroic and influential many people view him now. I wasn’t too surprised by the underwhelming support of white people but the fact that 30% of African Americans didn’t think that he was helping the cause is shocking. It’s crazy to me that some people just didn’t see a point in the cause, but I also wonder if some of the doubt in the cause is caused by propaganda or the spreading that Dr. King had communist ideals.

    7. Dr. King and Rosa Parks are viewed as heroes now but back then the communist title prevented people from wanting to support them. Especially during a time like the cold war communism was being so heavily warned about, the idea of both Rosa Parks and Dr. King shaking things up was such an obscure idea that many just shied away from it. Now looking back to its relativity and time period, the action is viewed as heroic in the fight for African American rights.

  2. Camryn J

    2. Describe the four misconceptions of the CRM from 1955-1968.

    The first of the four misconceptions regarding the CRM from 1955-1968 is that the demonstrations were the first of their kind. This is due to the failed recognition of movement beginning in the 1890s. African Americans had been fighting for equality long before the “classical” phase of demonstrations. A second misconception is that most Americans gave their support to the protests and their leaders. Though CRM figures like MLK are highly regarded now, many aren’t aware of the disparaging comments made about them in the past. Additionally, many think the CRM was strictly related to issues regarding race, when in fact, voting rights , police brutality, and economic equality were all at play. The fourth misconception about the CRM is that it ended in happiness and equality, when truly issues that were advocated for in the past are still unsolved today.
    6. How surprising are the poll numbers from 1966 about the country’s perception of the CRM to you? Explain
    I found the pill numbers to be more disappointing than shocking. Throughout our studies this year, we’ve learned a lot about discomfort within white spaces regarding other groups trying to achieve what they have. I wasn’t shocked that only 36% of people said that he was helping the cause, but I was more surprised about the amount of people who had an overall unfavorable opinion of him. Due to him being known for promoting non violence, I’m surprised people found him unfavorable rather than just thinking he wasn’t solving things. However, after thinking more about what we’ve learned about this time period, I rethought my original reaction. I can see how some white people became very comfortable with inequality and felt threatened by anyone questioning it.
    11. How did the CRM protest acts of police brutality in the past?
    Martin Luther King was one of many leaders who called out and protest police brutality. In his writing Letters from a Birmingham Jail, King addressed those who supported the force used on protesters by Bull Connor. King detailed the abuse toward people of all ages, including fire hoses and dogs, calling for police to cease their actions .

    12. Why do you think the author compared baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson to Colin Kaepernick?
    I think the author compared the two because both of them were athletes who used their platforms and the attention they garnered to highlight issues. In many ways sports are a core and respected part of American culture. Both Robinson and Kaepernick were scrutinized for their views on inequality in the country, while participating in something many Americans considered to be a core feature of the country.

    16. Why do you think some people were critical of the protests against police violence in the summer and fall of 2020?
    I think one of the main reasons people took issue with the 2020 protest was because of ignorance. When most people are taught about the CRM, the causes being caught for are clearly outlined in a given background. However, in modern times people may have been ignorant to issues that had been affecting black people in this country daily. I think people who were uneducated about the motives for priestess didn’t think that the 2020 demonstrations had the same merit as the ones in the classical era. I also think people weren’t able to mentally separate the violent and nonviolent protests. Though most demonstrations were non violent, I think some people saw a few destructive ones and used that to label the entire movement.

  3. Emily Kruntovski

    The 4 misconceptions of the CRM 1955-1968
    The four misconceptions are that the demonstrations from 1955 to 1968 were the first of their kind, that most Americans gave their support to the protests and their leaders, that they quickly exposed and vanquished hatred and that they ended happily by bringing racial inequality to America.
    3. How did Alabama’s reaction to Homer Plessy’s protest on a segregated Louisiana train car directly lead to Rosa Parks’ arrest over 50 years later?
    Homer Plessy and Rosa Parks both became famous when they had refused to participate in segregated transportation although separated by years. Parks was known as the first person who challenged segregated transportation when she refused to move to the back of the bus and started civil rights actions. After the Plessy decision was made cities across the south passed public transportation segregation laws, which were in place in Montgomery Alabama where Rosa Parks was from. The council there passed a law prohibiting boycotting, picketing or other interference with lawful business. This was the law that police arrested Parks for.
    6. How surprising are the poll numbers from 1966 about the country’s perception of the CRM to you? Explain.
    In the article it stated that in 1966 only 36 percent of white people said that Martin Luther King Jr. “was helping the cause,” and 72 percent of white people “had an unfavorable opinion” of him. At the time most people felt outraged at the protestors not the police, even though the heads of the police were members of violent White supremacist groups. This really shocks me; at that time, I would think that people would absolutely be in support of the CRM. Although I feel that maybe being in certain parts of the US you felt the pressure to follow what others around were doing, to not stand out. This is wrong but maybe social pressures made you feel like you had to conform.
    8. How did President Reagan and Press Secretary McEnany misuse King to support their own agendas by knocking down a controversial topic of their time?
    In 1985, Ronald Regan argued that King would have opposed affirmative actions he stated “The truth is, quotas deny jobs to many who would have gotten them otherwise but who weren’t born a specified race or sex. That’s discrimination pure and simple” He then quoted his speech and said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Kayleigh McEnany used King’s words to praise law enforcements aggressive conduct against Black Lives Matter demonstrators. She stated, “We must learn to live together as brothers, or we will perish together as fools.” They also stated that she didn’t follow with “We can never be satisfied, as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.”

    13. What did the Pew Research Center find out about American attitudes in August 2020?
    The pew research was conducted on the last week of July and the first week of August 2020, it showed a lot of trends that were very alarming. It showed that 40 percent of the respondents “doubted that people could count on their right to peacefully protest”, which was an increase from the original poll in 2018. The other important fact found was six of every 10 people who were interviewed believed that the statement that ‘the rights and freedoms of all people are protected’ and did not accurately describe the situation in the country today’ There were also strong partisan divides, showing that 80 percent of republicans thought that the right to protest was safe but 43 percent of democrats did. It also noted that 53 percent of republicans said it was “highly important that protestors be able to peacefully assemble.”

  4. Anaiah Green

    #2 The Civil rights movement did not reveal previously hidden wrongs, instead it cast long visible wrongs in a new light for a small group of people who became allies. Four misconceptions – The demonstrations were the first of their kind. Americans supported protesters and the leaders. They ended racism and unfair treatment fast and easily. Protest ended on a good note and stopped racial-inequality

    #1 American protests in our history books are portrayed as celebratory actions. This is because the US is known and takes pride in its independence hence “Land of the free” It makes Americans seem like problem solvers but this isn’t always how it is. Only the patriotic parts are shown. the aspects of the protest or event that would make America or the leading party look bad are left out. Often there are negative aspects that happen in the events such as protests that textbooks leave out.

    #3 Because of Plessy’s refusal to move his seat the government charged him and he challenged the Jim Crow laws. These laws would later lead to the arrest of Rosa Parks because she too refused to move her seat on the bus just like plessy.

    #15 During the presidential election in 2020 Donald Trump declared protests against police brutality as being un-American, violent and anarchist and it was the democrats fault. During this time there were lots of black lives matters protests due to police brutality. He started condemning protests and said that they were trying to overthrow the president.

    #16 I think that some people were critical of the protest against police violence in the summer and fall of 2020 because of how destructive the protests were getting and people were blaming it on the protesters. The reason the protest escalated to extreme length was because of the police as well. The police were becoming aggressive with peaceful protesters. But there were also raids that broke out which put a stain on the black lives matter image and integrity when it wouldn’t even be people really associated with the BLM. Also political beliefs played a role in this the protests against police brutality were perceived as being aligned with political beliefs. Also how the media depicted the events played a role. A lot of times the media would only show violence or criminal acts of protesters instead of the actual protest and they would align the violence with the protest or movement when it would not be.

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