Winter 2019 Part 2

 

Serena Williams

Serena Williams is the greatest woman tennis player in history. She broke down barriers for women, especially for black women involving athletics and her legacy is here forevermore. For numerous decades, she has expressed a great love for her family, friends, tennis, and excellence. Her accolades are monumental. She was ranked by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) as the world's No. 1 in singles on 8 separate occasions between 2002 and 2017. Serena Williams has the most Grand Slam titles in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles combined among active players. Her total of 23 Grand Slam singles titles marks the record for the most Grand Slam wins in the Open Era. Serena Williams is second on the all-time list behind Margaret Court (24). She has won an all-time record of 13 Grand Slam singles titles on the hard court. Williams holds the Open Era record for most titles won at the Australian Open (7) and shares the Open Era record for most titles won at the US Open with Chris Evert (6). She also holds the all-time record for the most women's singles matches won at majors with 331 matches. Serena Williams is also a five-time winner of the WTA Tour Championships in the singles division. She has also won four Olympic gold medals, one in women's singles and three in women's doubles—an all-time record shared with her sister, Venus Williams. Now, it is time to show a summary of her life and legacy.

Serena Williams was born in Saginaw, Michigan to Oracene Price and Richard Williams Jr. She is the youngest of Price’s five daughters of Yetunde, Lyndrea, Isha, and Venus. The family moved into Compton, California when she was very young. Serena Williams started to play tennis when she was three years old. Her father Robert Williams home-schooled his daughters Venus and Serena Williams. Richard Williams mentored the Williams sisters in tennis too. Serena Williams moved into West Palm Beach, Florida when she was nine. She attended the tennis academy of Rick Macci. Macci coached the William sisters. Richard Williams heard many white parents use derogatory language against the Williams sisters. It is no secret that the Williams sisters were victims of racism throughout their lives. Also, Richard Williams has been outspoken on racial justice issues. Venus and Serena Williams love their father a great deal. Serena Williams was coached by her father in 1995 away from Macci. Serena Williams uses baseline and has an excellent serve plus great groundstrokes.  She consistently projects great pace and placement with her serves; in the 2013 Australian Open, she had a peak serve speed of 128.6 mph (207.0 km/h) which is the third fastest all-time among women players (only Venus's 129 mph and Sabine Lisicki's 131 mph recorded speeds are faster). Serena Williams debuted in the professional realm as a wild-card entry in the Bank of the West Classic in Oakland, California, but was denied by the WTA due to age-eligibility restrictions of the organization.


She subsequently filed an antitrust lawsuit against the women's tour, but withdrew it at the behest of her parents. Her first professional event was in October 1995 at the Bell Challenge in Quebec, where she used a wild-card entry to circumvent age-eligibility rules. She lost in the first round of qualifying to then 18-year-old American Annie Miller, winning just two games. She didn’t play a tournament in 1996. By 1997, Serena Williams won more victories. Ranked No. 304, she upset No. 7, Mary Pierce, and No. 4, Monica Seles, recording her first career wins over top 10 players and becoming the lowest-ranked player in the Open Era to defeat two top-10 opponents in one tournament. She ultimately lost in the semifinals to No. 5, Lindsay Davenport. She finished 1997 ranked No. 99. She played in 1998. She lost to Venus Williams in 1998 too. Williams lost in the third round of the 1999 Australian Open to Sandrine Testud. A month later, Williams won her first professional singles title when she defeated Amélie Mauresmo in the final of the Open Gaz de France in Paris. With Venus also winning the IGA Superthrift Classic in Memphis, Tennessee that day, the pair became the first sisters to win professional tournaments in the same week. 1999 was the break out year for her in terms of tennis. In March of 1999, Serena Williams won her first Tier I title in defeating Steffi Graff in the final of the Evert Cup in California. Serena Williams was No. 9 rank by 1999 too. She defeated Grand Slam champions of Kim Clijsters, Conchita Martinez, and Monica Seles including Hingis (to be the second African American woman after Althea Gibson in 1958 to win a Grand Slam singles tournament). To complete her 1999 season, Williams won a doubles match in the Fed Cup final against Russia. Serena Williams ended the year ranked No. 4 in just her second full year on the main tour.

Serena Williams made even more accomplishments during the 21st century. Williams finished 2002 with a 56–5 W/L record, eight singles titles, and the No. 1 ranking. She was the first African-American to end a year with that ranking since Althea Gibson in 1958 and was the first woman to win three Grand Slam tournament titles in one year since Hingis in 1997. Her three consecutive Grand Slam titles to close 2002 also made Williams only the third player in tennis history to win the "Surface Slam", three Slam titles on three surfaces in the same calendar year, after Navratilova (1984) and Graf (1993, 1995, 1996). In the 2003 Australian Open, she defeated Venus Williams to win the tournament and becoming the sixth woman in the Open Era to complete a career Grand Slam. The Williams sisters won their sixth Grand Slam doubles title together at this event. She had injuries and came back better than ever. Serena Williams won the singles gold medal at the 2012 Olympic Games. She made more awards and victories in 2015. The week of February 15, 2016 marked Serena Williams's 157th consecutive week ranked No. 1, passing Navratilova's mark of 156 to have the second-longest run in WTA history behind Steffi Graf's 186. She experienced her pregnancy in 2017. By 2018, she came back into tennis. She continues to play hard and is an inspiration for people who desire to achieve magnificent goals or aims.

So, in conclusion, Serena Williams is the greatest woman tennis player in history and one of the greatest athletes in human history. She survived so much and achieved so much. She is a mother with a daughter and she promotes great causes from pay equity to social justice. Serena Jameka Williams always acknowledges past black tennis players who sacrificed so much for us to do what we’re doing today in terms of jobs and other aspects of living. For example, Althea Gibson won Wimbledon and played golf. Arthur Ashe was an expert on black history and inspired society too. Her Grand Slam singles titles outline her skills and strength. She is unapologetic in expressing her blackness and she has always shown that our bodies aren’t meant to be shamed or validated from a racist, patriarchal society. Our bodies have the right to be expressed and appreciated by our own souls via autonomy and dignity. The Williams sisters opened the Yetunde Price Resource Center. This is a community center in Compton, California that fights to build communities (in remembrance of their oldest sister who was a victim of a drive by shooting in 2013). From activism, fashion, sports, and other aspects of world society, she has presented the world the truth that a black woman has every right to show her gifts without apology.

Therefore, we salute Sister Serena Williams.

The History of the United States of America Part 8 (1964-1980): The First Era

The history of the United States of America is filled with movements, controversies, and style. I was born in this land as America is my land too. Therefore, I understand its culture and history. We, who are Americans, are always filled with style. This era of time is groundbreaking in American and world history. This is the most controversial era of time that I had to describe involving American history. During this time, we saw the victories of the Civil Rights Movement and the end of the Vietnam War. We witness the rise of second wave feminism and the counterculture. We saw more sexual freedom along with the continuation of the Cold War. Technological advancements reached into new heights with man being on the Moon at 1969. Not to mention that the oil crisis transpired and the Watergate scandal caused Richard Nixon (who was caught doing criminal activities) to resign from office. Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter were Presidents during the 1970’s in the midst of economic malaise, the Iranian Revolution, and the capture of U.S. hostages. In the end of this time period, a former California Governor would be elected President. His name was Ronald Reagan and the transition from the peak of the liberal movement to the age of the conservative revolution would exist. This work will have serious commentaries. This section of American history is real.

Not to mention that this time saw the Warren court expanding voting rights and rights for people in the justice system. On June 13, 1966, there was the Supreme Court decision of Miranda v. Arizona.  The Supreme Court ruled that not informing suspects held in custody on their right to counsel and silence violated protection against self incrimination, establishing what later became known as "Miranda Rights." The Warren court also expanded voting rights and made the one person and one vote concept too. Tons of debates about social issues or economic issues have their genesis from this time period. By the end of this era, many Democratic war hawks would be right wing neoconservative Republicans. The 1960’s brought more human rights for Americans. There were mistakes during the 1960’s plus excesses and that is true. Yet, the expansion of human rights and the growth of economic benefits for people certainly was a positive of the 1960’s. Progressive change isn’t easy and this work will show it. Since this period had so many issues, this part will be part one from 1964 to 1974. The second part (which will be shown in the future) will be from the time of the resignation of Nixon in 1974 to 1980 or the election of 1980. Now, we shall see historical information in full display. The era we live in now in 2019 has been shaped so much by the 1960’s including the 1970’s indeed.

LBJ's Further Policies

By July of 1964, President Lyndon Baines Johnson continued on his plans for America. A major part of his agenda was the Great Society program. It was promoted in a Spring 1964 speech at the University of Michigan. The Great Society promoted the usage of the federal government and all levels of government to end poverty, end social injustice, develop parks, build roads, improve the environment in general, and use diverse means to improve American society. Liberals loved this idea and conservatives abhorred it for philosophical reasons. The truth is that the federal government should have an active role in improving the general welfare of society in America. By July 6, 1964, LBJ signed the Proclamation 3595. It designated the week beginning on October 4, 1964, as Fire Prevention Week. It also urged, that, "State and local governments, the American National Red Cross, the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, and business, labor, and farm organizations, as well as schools, civic groups, and public-information agencies to observe Fire Prevention Week, to develop and employ effective means for disseminating fire safety information and recommendations to all citizens throughout the year, and promptly to undertake other effective community actions designed to eliminate the causes of preventable fires." He worked with Paraguay and the United Arab Republic on trade issues. He spoke to the President’s Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity to advance the Civil Rights Act of 1964 at the Rose Garden. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy was on board with using legal avenues to ensure social equality in America. LBJ also believed in collective bargaining. On July 9, 1964, President Johnson signed the Urban Mass Transpiration Act of 1964 that invests in highways and airways for automobile plus airplane travel. He continued to speak nationwide.

By the summer of 1964, he was in the 1964 Presidential campaign. His opponent was the conservative Barry Goldwater. Goldwater wanted less government intervention involving domestic affairs so much that he opposed the Civil Rights Act (as being too much of a governmental overreach while claiming not to be racist). He’s wrong because the federal government has every right to enforce the Fourteenth Amendment and protect civil rights nationwide via federal powers. The Civil Rights Act was a legal enforcement of the Fourteenth Amendment to combat racial discrimination. Barry Goldwater wanted tax cuts, right to work laws, and no social welfare programs from the federal government. Goldwater believed in less government spending on education, public housing, and urban renewal. Yet, he was a war hawk that hypocritically wanted more federal government involvement in the Vietnam War while cutting federal government funds to deal with domestic issues. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke out and wrote literature in opposition to the reactionary views of Barry Goldwater. Dr. King wrote the following words about Barry Goldwater of Arizona on July 16, 1964:

"... The Republican Party geared its appeal and program to racism, reaction, and extremism...On the urgent issue of civil rights, Senator Goldwater represents a philosophy that is morally indefensible and socially suicidal. While not himself a racist, Mr. Goldwater articulates a philosophy which gives aid and comfort to the racist. His candidacy and philosophy would serve as an umbrella under which extremists of all stripes would stand. In the light of these facts and because of my love for America, I have no alternative but to urge every Negro and white person of goodwill to vote against Mr. Goldwater and to withdraw support from any Republican candidate that does not publicly disassociate himself from Senator Goldwater and his philosophy.”

Most Americans rejected Goldwater's views. LBJ believed in school lunches. By August, he or LBJ dealt with the Gulf of Tonkin situation and he later massively expanded American involvement in the Vietnam War. The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1964 was signed into law by August 13, 1964. The Food Stamp Act of 1964 was signed on August 31, 1964, to help poor Americans. The 1964 election ends in a landslide for LBJ. LBJ won 60 percent of the popular vote, and Goldwater won Arizona and deep Southern states like Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. Democrats controlled more of the Congress, and Goldwater’s views were rejected by most Americans. Also, Goldwater’s views would influence Reagan, both Bushes, and other right-wing politicians in the future. By 1965, LBJ signed the Voting Rights Act, which was a great achievement. It was signed after the bloodshed by black and non-black civil rights activists in Alabama. On January 5, 1965, he promoted more of the Great Society programs in his State of the Union address.  President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare that helped the elderly with health insurance, Medicaid that helped the poor with health insurance, and the Water Quality Act of 1965. The Water Quality Act improved the environment. The 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act sought to aid schools in poorer communities. It invested in new schools, libraries, language laboratories, and helped Native American, inner city, and Mexican American students.

President Johnson reorganized immigration policy with his signing the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. It allowed almost 170,000 immigrants from the Western Hemisphere to come to America. Latin Americans, Central Americans, and Caribbean Americans came into America too. This ended the racist old 1920’s quota system that banned Chinese people and others from immigrating into America. The Great Society had imperfections (which dealt with bureaucratic issues and some of it being too capitalistic), but it did cut poverty rates, helped to educate millions of Americans, and improved the lives of the elderly including the poor. The National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities was formed in 1965 and developed an intellectual culture in America. By 1966, LBJ dealt with many foreign policy issues. He expanded the Vietnam War involvement with military troops in Operation Rolling Thunder as early as 1965. In 1966, he spoke about housing, Vietnam, and the American peace efforts along with women in military service. By the end of 1966, Republicans retook Congress, and Lyndon Baines Johnson had more difficulty to pass progressive domestic legislation.

By 1967, more criticism of the Vietnam War grows as Dr. King in early 1967 gave many speeches opposing the Vietnam War. By this time, Eugene McCarthy ran for President on the Democratic side against Johnson. LBJ dealt with many issues and is still stubborn to continue with the status quo as it relates to the Vietnam War. LBJ also worked on researching the American cities to see the issues that must be addressed (especially during the city rebellions that came after those locations experience poverty, lax infrastructure, racism, and deindustralization). As money for the war increased, money for domestic programs was cut. This caused inflation that would undoubtedly plague America during the 1970’s. By January 31, 1967, in a message to Congress, President Johnson reflected on past legislative action toward service members and proposed the Vietnam Conflict Servicemen and Veterans Act of 1967 "to remove the inequities in the treatment of veterans of the present conflict in Vietnam", "enlarge the opportunities for educationally disadvantaged veterans", "expand educational allowances under the G.I. Bill", "increase the amount of Servicemen's Group Life Insurance", "increase the pensions now received by 1.4 million disabled veterans, widows and dependents", and "to make certain that no veteran's pension will be reduced as a result of increases in Federal retirement benefits, such as social security." The criminal law of the Safe Streets and Crime Control Act of 1967 dealt with funding police agencies, fighting the illegal drug trade, etc. It was a precursor to Bill Clinton’s Crime Bill. RFK wanted LBJ to have a diplomatic solution to the conflict, but LBJ refused to do so at that time. He supported Head Start, and it has been a successful program for decades now.

By 1968, the Presidential campaign increased among Democrats and Republicans. LBJ refused to back down from his hawkish pro-war position early on. Robert F. Kennedy ran for President, and Eartha Kitt confronted LBJ over the Vietnam War policy. 1968 saw his Presidency unravel. LBJ decided to quit running for President in 1968, and the Democratic race continues. Democrats split apart by generational differences and ideological disputes on the Vietnam War. The Republicans re-energize and choose Richard Nixon to defeat the Democratic candidate Hubert Humphrey. On October 31, 1968, remarks were aired of President Johnson announcing a bombing halt in North Vietnam during the evening. The address was recorded the previous day in the Family Theater at the White House. By December 4, 1968, President Johnson asserted the US must provide low-cost housing for the impoverished as the solution of major social problems during a ceremony commemorating the federal financed inexpensive housing project in Austin, Texas. By January 20, 1969, LBJ ended his Presidency and Nixon takes over as President via his inauguration. The Presidency of Lyndon Baines Johnson had a mixed legacy of the great progressive policies that he executed (plus he saw the Warren court promoting great policies promoting civil rights, voting rights, the separation of church, one person plus one vote, and Fifth Amendment rights) and the terrible foreign policy actions involving Vietnam and other affairs.

The space race continues to exist. By February 1962, John Glenn is the first American to orbit the Earth. By January 1967, fire killed Apollo astronauts Roger Chaffee, Viril Grisson, and Edward White. They died by being burned to death in a docked capsule during a routine test. Many people thought that the Moon project would end. Yet, NASA continued with the plan to travel into the Moon. By July 1969 , astronaut Neil Armstrong left the spacecraft Columbia's landing vehicle and became the the first man to step on the moon. The mission was the fulfillment of John F. Kennedy's dream.

The Civil Rights Movement Grows

After the passage of the Civil Rights Act, new changes came to America in 1964 and beyond. The fight for freedom wasn't over yet. By August of 1964, Congress passed the Economic Opportunity Act. It gave federal funds for legal representation of Native Americans in both civil and criminal suits. It allowed the ACLU and the American Bar Association to represent Native Americans in cases that later would win them additional civil rights. By this time, the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party challenged the seating of the all-white racist Mississippi representatives at the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The MFDP group wanted no compromise, but an agreement came. This caused many from SNCC and the MFDP to reject the Democratic Party. Some came onward to the path of political independence and ultimately into the Black Power movement. In the convention, Fannie Lou Hamer gave the heroic, accurate speech about America condemning the policies of the state brutalizing African American men, women, and children. Fannie Lou Hamer made the point that she was a victim of abuse from racists and she desired freedom 100 percent. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10, 1964. He was the youngest person to be honored during that time. Dr. King gave the money that he had received from Oslo, Norway to the Civil Rights Movement. Coretta Scott King was with him in Oslo too.

On December 14, 1965, the Heart of Atlanta v. United States case upheld the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 1965 became a monumental year of the Civil Rights Movement in general. The early part of the 1965 year saw the Selma movement growing into new heights. On February 18, 1965, a peaceful protest march in Marion, Alabama led to Jimmie Lee Jackson being shot by Alabama state trooper James Bonard Fowler. Jackson died on February 26, and Fowler was indicted for his murder in 2007. Malcolm X by 1965 supported the Selma voting rights movement. He became more international, advocated for pan-Africanism, believed in women's equality, and he worked with many liberation movements worldwide. Malcolm X became more progressive. Later, he was assassinated in Manhattan, New York City at the Audubon Ballroom on February 21, 1965. Malcolm X had a funeral, and the world mourned. Malcolm X was one of the greatest black heroes in human history, and we are inspired by his words and his deeds.

Then, on March 7, 1965, Bloody Sunday happened. This was when civil rights workers in Selma, Alabama, begin the Selma to Montgomery march but they were forcibly stopped by a massive Alabama State trooper and police blockade as they cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Many marchers were injured by police clubs. This march, initiated and organized by James Bevel, became the visual symbol of the Selma Voting Rights Movement. John Lewis, Amelia Boynton Robinson (1911-2015), and others were assaulted by police officers. Condemnation of the actions of the crooked cops on Bloody Sunday was massive and worldwide. By March 15, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson used the phrase "We Shall Overcome" in a speech before Congress on the voting rights bill. The Selma to Montgomery March was completed ultimately. On March 25, 1965, a white volunteer Viola Liuzzo was shot and killed by Ku Klux Klan members in Alabama, one of whom was an FBI informant. The black deputy sheriff Oneal Moore was murdered in Varnado, Louisiana on June 2, 1965. July 2 1965 was when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was opened.


The Voting Rights Act was signed by President Lyndon Baines Johnson on August 6, 1965. It eliminated literacy tests, poll taxes, and other subjective voter tests that were widely responsible for the disfranchisement of African-Americans in the Southern States and provided federal oversight of voter registration in states and individual voting districts where such discriminatory tests were used. After this time, there was an acceleration of the amount of African Americans in political positions among all levels of government. From August 11-15, 1965, the Watts rebellion happened. For years in Los Angeles before 1965, many black people were victims of poverty, discrimination, racism, and police brutality. The Watts rebellion occurred after the accusations of mistreatment and police brutality by the Los Angeles Police Department towards the city's African-American community. Watts existed in South Central Los Angeles. The results of the rebellion were over 34 people were killed, 1,032 injured, 3,438 arrested, and cost over $40 million in property damage. Dr. King came to Watts to advocate nonviolence and he was booed by some in the crowd which was rare back then. Dr. King later realized that civil rights isn't enough and that you need to also address the economic conditions of the people in order for real freedom to come about. Eating at a restaurant is cool, but you also need the economic rights to be in existence of total freedom.

By September 1965, Raylawni Branch and Gwendolyn Elaine Armstrong became the first African-American students to attend the University of Southern Mississippi. Bill Cosby co-starred in I Spy, becoming the first black person to appear in a starring role on American television on September 15, 1965. For the record, I don’t agree with Bill Cosby’s adultery and his using drugs to have sex with women (which he admitted in his disposition). Cosby is an evil person. I cite this fact for a historical reference. President Johnson signed Executive Order 11246 requiring Equal Employment Opportunity by federal contractors on September 24, 1965. By January 10, 1966, NAACP local chapter President Vernon Dahmer was injured by a bomb in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He died on the next day. On January 18, 1966, Robert C. Weaver was sworn in as the first United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, becoming the first African American to hold a cabinet-level position. By January 1966, Dr. King and the SCLC went into Chicago to fight for housing rights, civil rights, educational opportunities, and economic justice among African Americans. By June 5, 1966, James Meredith started a solitary March Against Fear from Memphis, Tennessee to Jackson, Mississippi. Shortly after he started, he was shot with birdshot and injured. Civil rights leaders and organizations rallied together and continued the march leading to a large rally at the capital of Mississippi.

On June 16, Kwame Ture first used the slogan Black power in a speech. Black Power is one of the most distorted philosophies in human history. Kwame Ture meant Black Power as saying that he wanted black people to define their own identity, control their own communities, and form institutions to eliminate racism. Black Power was a call for independence politically and socially for black people. It wasn't an advocacy of segregation as Jim Crow was about the government using force to advance segregation while depriving black people of basic human rights. To proponents of Black Power, it was about independence. Many moderate NAACP leaders condemned Black Power like Roy Wilkins since he felt that it was a veiled plus slick reference to black separatism and black supremacy. Dr. King took a nuisance view while praising the positives of Black Power that embraced self-determination and the love of Blackness while rejecting separatism. While this was going on, the Chicago Open Housing Movement continued. Dr. King, Bevel, and Al Raby (from Chicago) were leaders of the movement. They made massive rallies in the summer of 1966 and demanded Mayor Richard J. Daley to end housing discrimination in the Chicago area. The Summit conference ended the campaign. Before, there was a white racist backlash so fierce in Chicago and in the suburbs like in Cicero that Dr. King was hit in the head with a rock. Thousands of white racists abhorred the Chicago movement.

By September of 1966, Nichelle Nichols was cast as a black woman officer on television's Star Trek. She briefly considered leaving the role but was encouraged by Dr. King to continue as an example for the black community. The Black Panther Party was founded by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale in Oakland, California by October of 1966. It merged Black Nationalism, socialism, and other revolutionary philosophies into one. Its goal was to end police brutality, allow socialism to exist in the black community, end imperialism, and give power to the people. It lasted for many years and became a symbol of the progressive side of the Black Power movement. On November 1966, Edward Brooke was elected to the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts. He was the first black senator since 1881.

By January 9, 1967, Julian Bond was seated in the Georgia House of Representatives by order of the U.S. Supreme Court after his election. Many racist Southerners opposed Bond, because Bond publicly opposed the Vietnam War and opposed the draft (that forced people against their wills to join the military to fight in the Vietnam War). The Vietnam War in 1967 was front and center in foreign policy debates by this time. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his courageous “Beyond Vietnam” speech in New York City’s Riverside Church on April 4, 1967. He wanted the defeat of “the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism.” In that speech, he eloquently exposed the Vietnam War as immoral and how it stripped the necessary resources from the poor in America to benefit the military industrial complex. Dr. King was heavily criticized for criticizing the Vietnam War from conservatives (including some editorial writers) to moderate African American civil rights leaders. Yet, Dr. King continued to fight for what was right, which was the ending of the unjust Vietnam War. By June 12, 1967, in Loving v. Virginia, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that laws that prohibited interracial marriage was unconstitutional. Thurgood Marshall was the first African American appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court on June 13, 1967. The Detroit rebellion happened from July 23-27, 1967. It came after a raid by the Detroit Police Department. The police wanted to put a raid on an unlicensed club that celebrated the returning Vietnam Veterans hosted by mostly African Americans. Detroit was a city filled with economic inequality, police brutality, etc. Over 43 people (33 black human beings and ten white people) were killed, 467 injured, 7,231 arrested, and 2,509 stores looted or burned during the Detroit rebellion. It was one of the deadliest and most destructive riots in United States history, lasting five days and surpassed the violence and property destruction of Detroit's 1943 race riot. The movie In the Heat of the Night was released on August 2, 1967. It starred Sidney Poitier.

On November 17, 1967, there was the Philadelphia Student School Board Demonstration. This was when 26 demands were peacefully issued by students, but the event became a police riot. The Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner movie was released on December 11, 1967. It starred Sidney Poitier again. In the trial of accused killers in the murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner, the jury convicted 7 of 18 accused men by the end of 1967. Conspirator Edgar Ray Killen was later convicted in 2005. James Earl Jones starred in the play of The Great White Hope based on the life of the heavyweight boxer Jack Johnson. The book Death at an Early Age: The Destruction of the Hearts and Minds of Negro Children in the Boston Public Schools was published in late 1967 too.

1968 was one of the most dynamic years in human history. On February 1, 1968, two Memphis sanitation workers were killed in the line of duty. They wanted to escape the rain and weren’t allowed to go into certain areas because of racist policies. These African Americans experienced low wages, lax benefits, and disrespect by employers plus by the reactionary Mayor Loeb. After this tragedy, black garbage workers executed a strike. Their wives and children supported the strikers. The movement was local at first and spread nationally. The Orangeburg Massacre occurred during a university protest in South Carolina. Black people were murdered by cops. The first day of the Memphis Sanitation strike happened on February 12, 1968. On March of 1968, while filming a prime-time television special, Petula Clark touched Harry Belafonte's arm during a duet. Chrysler Corporation, the show's sponsor, insisted the moment be deleted, but Clark stood firm, destroyed all other takes of the song, and delivered the completed program to NBC with the touch intact. The show was broadcasted on April 8, 1968. Later, there was on American television, an interracial kiss between Nichelle Nichols and William Shatner on Star Trek. Also, it is important to praise Black Love as Black Love is Beautiful and a Revolutionary Act.


Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. supported the Memphis strikers and had great support among black people and many labor activists in the city of Memphis. By April 3, 1968, Dr. King gave his famous Mountaintop speech. In that speech, he predicted the future and realized that the work for justice will continue. He knew that he would live long enough to see the Promised Land, but black people in the future would see it. On April 4, 1968, Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee by a rifle. From April 4-8 and on one in May 1968, rebellions exist in more than 150 U.S. cities in response to the assassination of Dr. King. The revolts existed in Washington, D.C., Chicago, Baltimore, Louisville, Kansas City, NYC, etc. By April 11, 1968, the Civil Rights Act of 1968 was signed. The Fair Housing Act is Title VIII of this Civil Rights Act. This law banned discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing. The law was passed following a series of contentious open housing campaigns throughout the urban North. The most significant of these campaigns were the Chicago Open Housing Movement of 1966 and organized events in Milwaukee during 1967–68. In both cities, angry white mobs attacked nonviolent protesters. By May 12, 1968, the Poor People’s Campaign marched on Washington, D.C. They formed the location of Resurrection City at Washington, D.C.. Their goals which were progressive (in billions of dollars to help the poor in housing, education, and jobs) and these legitimate demands weren’t met. Yet, their efforts contributed to investments (like Medicaid, Head Start, etc.) to fight poverty in general.

Senator Robert F. Kennedy, a Civil Rights advocate, was assassinated on June 6, 1968, after winning the California presidential primary. His appeal to minorities helped him secure the victory at the California primary. On September 17, 1968, Diahann Carroll starred in the title role in Julia, as the first African American actress to star in her own television series where she did not play a domestic worker. In October 1968, Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists to symbolize black power and unity after winning the gold and bronze medals, respectively, at the 1968 Summer Olympic Games. Both men wanted oppression to end. They are readily praised today, but they were heavily disrespected by extremists back in 1968. In Powe v. Miles, a federal court held that the portions of private colleges that are funded by public money are subject to the Civil Rights Act. By the end of 1968, Shirley Chisholm became the first African-American woman elected to Congress.

The 1969 Charleston Hospital strike was one of the most important events of the Civil Rights Movement. It involved mostly black women who wanted fair wages and dignity while working in hospitals. More than 400 mostly African American women protested against the all-white administrations of the Medical College Hospital (MCH) and Charleston County Hospital (CCH). The strike lasted for 100 days against the MCH and for 3 additional weeks for the CCH. It happened during the Spring and Summer of 1969. These workers wanted union rights, civil rights, and equality among the sexes. Before the victory, many hospitals in Charleston, South Carolina opposed the implementation of unions. Many administrators had a paternalistic, bigoted attitude against black workers. Black nurses were paid less than white nurses, there was a lack number of physicians, and black nurses  experiences racist comments from white workers. Five black nurses wanted respect in Fehruary of 1967 and they were fired. Mary Moultrie, a black nurse’s aide, worked with others to get the nurses reinstated. Mary Moultrie was one major leader who helped to organize the strikes. She was elected President of the Local 1199B. Coretta Scott King, Ralph Abernathy, and Walter Reuther of the United Auto Workers joined in demonstrations. The SCLC wanted boycotts of Charleston businesses. Protests, economic pressure, and the exposure of civil rights violations done by MCH caused the strikers to have a victory. More black political leadership existed in Charleston. Still, people are fighting against racial and economic oppression in Charleston and throughout the world. This moment of civil rights history should be known by all.

In 1969, the black freedom movement continued. From January 8-18, 1969, there were student protesters at Brandeis University. They took over Ford and Sydeman Halls, demanding creation of an Afro-American Department. This is approved by the University on April 24. This increased more colleges to have a Black Studies programs. By February 13, 1969, the National Guard with tear gas and riot sticks crushed a pro-black student demonstration at University of Wisconsin. By February 16, 1969, after three days of clashes between police and Duke University students, the school agreed to establish a Black Studies program. February 23, 1969 was the time when UNC Food Worker Strike started when workers abandoned their positions in Lenoir Hall protesting racial injustice. The National Guard called into Chicago, and Memphis placed on curfew on anniversary of MLK's assassination on April 3-4, 1969. By April 19, 1969, armed African-American students protested discrimination take over Willard Straight Hall, the student union building at Cornell University. They end the seizure the following day after the University accedes to their demands, including an Afro-American studies program. At April 25-28, 1969, activist students took over Merrill House at Colgate University. They demanded Afro-American studies programs. May 8, 1969 was the time when the City College of New York closed following a two-week-long campus takeover demanding Afro-American and Puerto-Rican studies. Rebellions happened among students break out when the school tries to reopen. By June, the second of two US federal appeals court decisions confirmed members of the public hold legal standing to participate in broadcast station license hearings, and under the Fairness Doctrine found the record of segregationist TV station WLBT beyond repair. The FCC is ordered to open proceedings for a new licensee. Rebellions happened from September 1-2, 1969 at Hartford, CT and Camden, NJ.

The date of October 29, 1969 was the time when the U.S. Supreme Court in Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education ordered immediate desegregation of public schools, signaling the end of the "all deliberate speed" doctrine established in Brown II. On December 1969, Fred Hampton (who was the chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party) was shot and murdered while asleep in bed during a police raid on his home. He was murdered along with another Black Panther member Mark Clark. Their murders were so unjust that the Chicago authorities paid money to the families of Hampton and the other Black Panther who was murdered too. United Citizens Party was formed in South Carolina when Democratic Party refuses to nominate African-American candidates. In 1969, the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African-American Research founded at Harvard University. The Revised Philadelphia Plan is instituted by the Department of Labor. The Congressional Black Caucus was formed in 1969 too.

On January 19, 1970, G. Harrold Carswell's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court was rejected following protests from the NAACP and feminists. Black Panther Marshall "Eddie" Conway was arrested in Baltimore, MD on April 23, 1970. The film Watermelon Man was released, directed by Melvin Van Peebles and starring Godfrey Cambridge. The film came out in May 27, 1970. The movie was a comedy about a bigoted white man who wakes up one morning to discover that his skin pigment has changed to black. During August of 1970, there was the Marin County courthouse incident and Hoover added Angela Davis to FBI Most Wanted list. Angela Davis was captured in New York City in October 13, 1970. Blaxploitation films released to the public by 1970 as well. Angela Davis would be vindicated by being found innocent of the charges against her on June 4, 1971.  The U.S. Supreme Court, in Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, upheld desegregation busing of students to achieve integration by April 20, 1971. The FBI officially “ends” COINTEPRO by April 27, 1971. On June 1971, the control of a segregationist TV station WLBT given to a bi-racial foundation. George Jackson was shot to death in San Quentin prison on August 21, 1971. Ernest J. Gaines's Reconstruction-era novel The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman was published in 1971. On January 25, 1972, Shirley Chisholm became the first major-party African-American candidate for President of the United States and the first woman to run for the Democratic presidential nomination. In Baton Rouge (on November 16, 1972), two Southern University students are killed by white sheriff deputies during a school protest over lack of funding from the state.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson speaks to reporters at the Operation PUSH Soul Picnic at the 142nd Street Armory in New York, March 26, 1972. Left to right are: Betty Shabazz, widow of Malcolm X; Jackson; Tom Todd, vice president of PUSH; Aretha Franklin; Miriam Makeba and Louis Stokes, rear right. PUSH stands for People United to Save Humanity. (AP Photo/Jim Wells) Photo: Jim Wells/AP.

The university's Smith-Brown Memorial Union is named as a memorial to them. The infamous Tuskegee syphilis experiment ended on November 16, 1972. This was started in 1932. It was when there was the U.S. Public Health Service's 40-year experiment on 399 black men in the late stages of syphilis has been described as an experiment that "used human beings as laboratory animals in a long and inefficient study of how long it takes syphilis to kill someone." On May 8, 1974, Nelson Rockefeller signed the Laws for New York State with draconian indeterminate sentences for drug possession, as well as sale. The FBI ended the Ghetto Informant program on July 31, 1973. In 1973, the Combahee River Collective, a Black feminist group, is established in Boston, out of New York's National Black Feminist Organization. In 1974, the Salsa Soul Sisters, Third World Wimmin Inc Collective existed. In Milliken v. Bradley (on July 25, 1974), the U.S. Supreme Court in a 5–4 decision holds that outlying districts could only be forced into a desegregation busing plan if there was a pattern of violation on their part. This decision increased the trend of white flight. By 1974, the black freedom movement entered a new era along with the same goal of liberation remaining the same.

The Counterculture and the Sexual Revolution

Massive changes defined the Counterculture and the Sexual Revolution. Ironically, it was the suppression of civil liberties after World War II that was one factor that made this movement explode in America. These movements involved hippies and other advocates who wanted more free sexual expression in public among mainstream society. To this very day, the counterculture and the sexual revolution have been debated by people from across the political spectrum about its value. This is a study of history, so you (or the viewer) can make up your own mind on these movements. Human beings have the right to agree or disagree with the sexual revolution. Yet, these movements are part of American history and its history and impact in American society must be known. If you’re talking about history in the United States, you have to mention all of it. You can’t sugarcoat it or omit something in history. You have to be completely transparent and this is the purpose of this work. Back during the 1940’s and the 1950’s, the fashion and culture was much more conservative than the 1960’s. Many people were in nuclear families with suits, dresses, and short hair among men. Radical anti-communist thought was widespread and racial discrimination plus sexism were common.  The counterculture was a rebellion against the music, culture, fashion, and social mores of the traditional 1950’s stereotypical image. The Beat movement of the 1950’s and early 1960’s desired individual freedom and personal experience. The counterculture was youth driven and existed side by side to the Civil Rights Movement and the anti-Vietnam war movement. The counterculture wanted freedom, spontaneity, and human expression. One leader of this movement was the hippies. The hippies wanted love, peace, and freedom. Their strengths were that they believed in heavily opposed to the Vietnam War, they believed in love, and they wanted peace. Their weakness (as explained by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the Massey lectures) was that many hippies wanted complete isolation from society in order for change to come. It doesn’t work like that. Change never comes by isolation in communes. Change comes by confronting injustice in society, so real revolutionary change can occur. Hippies believe in a form of nonviolent anarchism. Hippies experimented with sex, many of them utilized recreational drug use, and they expressed a distrust of authority (especially against older authority in causing the generation gap).

Political activist Jerry Rubin believed in hippie views. Also, the post-World War boom in American population grew the student university population. These students were involved in changing clothing, hair, and fashion. The counterculture wasn’t just about sex, drugs, and rock and roll. It was about a change in culture. With the Beatles and other music groups, the youth dictated heavily music culture by the 1960’s. Even Elvis rebelled against conventions. Bob Dylan sang protest songs about war and civil rights. Andy Warhol used fashion to rebel against mainstream art. Tom Wolfe and Hunter S. Thompson wrote literature during this time. Many hippies developed the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco. They were listening to music, using drugs, etc.

The music of the counterculture was diverse. The Beatles came from Britain to advance their songs. Bob Dylan used folk music and was influenced by Pete Seeger. Other folksingers, like Joan Baez and Peter, Paul and Mary, took the songs of the era to new audiences and public recognition. These folksingers were also involved in favoring civil rights. The music of the 1960's moved towards an electric, psychedelic version of rock, thanks largely to Bob Dylan's decision to play an electric guitar at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. The newly popularized electric sound of rock was then built upon and molded into psychedelic rock by artists like The 13th Floor Elevators  and British bands Pink Floyd and the Beatles. The Beach Boys's 1966 album called Pet Sounds has been called by Brian Wilson as a call for love and understanding. Jim Hendrix, Sly Stone and the Family, the Doors, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, and other musicians expressed tons of music relating to the counterculture.

Timothy Leary promoted LSD usage. He was once a Harvard professor. Today, we have new research from scholars that many people like Leary and others had links to the intelligence community. The intelligence community via MK-ULTRA and other programs experimented with drugs on people in nefarious projects. Many places like Haight-Ashbury had drug addiction and crime. Some in the counterculture rejected Judeo-Christian religious views and turned to other religions like Buddhism, Hinduism, and the New Age Movement. The New Age Movement in America grew to what it is today in part of because of the counterculture. Therefore, yoga, meditation, and Transcendental Meditation existed as it did today in part of what happened during the 1960’s. Woodstock or the music celebration in 1969 was the peak of the Counterculture movement. Many people listened to Jimi Hendrix and many celebrated by dancing and eating food. This celebration wouldn’t last. The counterculture ended by many factors. There were lax programs back then to handle drug addiction. Many people became disillusioned when musicians died like Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. Many of the hippies went into the corporate world and forsaken their previous views. In 1969, in California, a black young man was killed by the Hell Angels gang in a concert at Altamont, California. Manson's followers murdered innocent people in California too by August of 1969. The Hippie movement became more isolated and became more about communes instead of revolutionary policies against unjust wars or against injustice. It ended by its own weaknesses.

The Sexual Revolution existed too. As early as 1948, Alfred Kinsey created his report on sexuality about the diversity of human sexuality in America. The Kinsey Reports were controversial. Liberals praised the reports as accurately detailing human sexuality. Many conservatives have criticized the reports as biased, using disproportionate amount of prisoners, and the usage of a pedophile in the studies (when that pedophile should be in prison). His 1948 book was entitled, “Sexual Behavior in the Human Male” and his 1952 book was entitled, “Sexual Behavior in the Human Female.”  Kinsey told the truth that Americans are diverse in sexuality. Yet, Kinsey was wrong to involve himself in promoting once exaggerated statistics with co-workers in his experiments and research.  He was also wrong for interviewing a pedophile and not calling the authorities to lock up that person.

Walter Pomeroy was a co-author Kinsey's book and he was an ally. Back in an article written in 1977 for a (pornographic) Forum publication called Variations, Pomeroy defended the evil of insect: "Incest between adults and younger children can also prove to be a satisfying and enriching experience .... Incestuous relationships can-and do --work out well .... We find many beautiful and mutually satisfying relationships between fathers and daughters. These may be transient or ongoing, but they have no harmful effects." Pomeroy was completely wrong as incest is 100 percent evil period. Even liberals acknowledge that Kinsey wasn’t perfect. The conservative author Dr. Judith Reisman is one of the strongest critics of Alfred Kinsey today. Dr. Reisman has been criticized by liberals as liberals accuse her of promoting pseudoscience about sexuality. Of course, Dr. Reisman denies that accusation. Reisman accused Kinsey of being a pedophile while evidence is lacking on that charge (Kinsey biographer James H. Jones has denied that Alfred Kinsey was a pedophile). Also, Hugh Hefner created Playboy in 1953. He was a fan of Kinsey’s research. Hugh Hefner to the day of his death in 2017 believed that he wanted sexual freedom among men and women. The legacy of Playboy has been debated to this day. Ironically, there are conservatives and some feminists who criticize Playboy by accusing it of promoting the sexual exploitation of women and sexism. Ironically, Hugh Hefner’s Playboy magazines back then (with images of Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, etc.) were tame compared to other like-minded magazines today.

The CIA-linked Gloria Steinem went undercover to expose the degrading practices of Playboy against women workers during the 1960’s. Gloria Steinem dressed as a Playboy “bunny” in clubs to see firsthand about the mistreatment that many women workers have experienced. Later, Playboy became international and grew into new heights. Today, some people support it and others don’t. With the pill being legal in America, more birth control developed. Contraception is fully legal in America by July of 1965. We see more people having pre-martial sex and more of the public accepting it. Also, the sexual revolution made sex more relatable to people. People became less immature about sex and embraced it with the realization that sexual activities are natural. Like in many things in life, sex should have boundaries, but sex isn’t something that should be slandered about. Movies and TV before 1960 rarely showed a man and a woman in the same bed together. Films that outlined the changing culture of the sexual revolution include: The Graduate (1967), Bob and Carol, and Ted and Alice (1969), Midnight Cowboy (1969), and Carnal Knowledge (1971).

By the early 1970’s, the Sexual Revolution became mainstream in culture, music, literature (books with erotic or explicit reading content are legal now. The Supreme Court mentioned that in 1968 that adults not children can read explicit material), movies, fashion, and magazines. Later on, we witnessed how the sexual revolution changed society. Also, sex shouldn’t be used as an excuse to be naïve. Sexual education is important, condoms exist, and tons of folks do realize that sex is beautiful (along with understanding that we can use sex in the right way in helping society in general. I reject nihilism. I abhor pedophilia and all sexually active people should get tested to know their status). That is why it is important to promote moral absolutes. We are humans, but we don't have a right to do what we want whenever we want. In other words, I reject murder, adultery, pedophilia, infidelity, and any evil. Also, many evil people want to eliminate age of consent laws. Likewise, we should cherish the beauty of sex and sexuality. There is nothing wrong with sex done in the right way among consenting people.

The Women's Rights Movement

The Women’s Rights Movement existed for centuries and thousands of years. In America, the women’s rights movement after World War II grew into a higher level. Ironically, industrialization motivated not only labor rights efforts but women activism for their rights. Feminism means social equality among men and women. Today, some want feminism to be a dirty word, but feminism means simply equality among the sexes. Immediately after World War II, many women left their jobs to work at home because servicemen came home from war. Many women wanted to be homemakers, and many women didn’t. Women, who wanted to work, had the qualifications, the skills, and the determination. The problem was that the system back then (and today) has advanced sex discrimination. That is why the women’s rights movement developed to fight for justice. This fight for sexual equality changed our culture, our laws, and the world forever. The time of the 1960’s and 1970’s women’s rights activism has been called by scholars as Second Wave Feminism. First Wave Feminism started from the time of Seneca Falls, NY during the 1840’s and to 1920 (which is the time of women having the right to vote).  On 1961, President John F. Kennedy formed the President’s Commission on the Status of Women. She appointed Eleanor Roosevelt as chairwoman. The report was issued by the Commission in 1963. The report documented massive discrimination against women in the workplace, and it called for fair hiring practices, paid maternity leave, and affordable childcare.

The women’s rights movement was about changing the traditional roles of the sexes. Many of its advocates like Casey Hayden and Mary King (who were involved with SNCC) wanted to use the civil rights movement as a motivation for them to promote their cause. Many women of many colors worked together in the cause of gender equality. Many women abhorred the housewife stereotype since many women didn’t want to be housewives alone. Betty Friedan outlined the angst of many women in her historical book entitled, The Feminine Mystique. The book criticized conformity and wanted women to have more opportunities to express their own sense of happiness. It came out in the year 1963. Women in the workplace grew in population by the 1950’s and the 1960’s. Many working women were left out of top positions, and few were executives back then and now. Even Sandra Day O’Connor (who was the first woman Supreme Court Justice) had trouble with jobs early in her career when he graduated near the top of her class at Stanford plus had tons of high qualifications. So, women demanded equal treatment and equal rights in the workplace and beyond.  By June 10, 1963, Congress passed the Equal Pay Act. That law made it illegal for employers to pay a woman less than what a man would receive for the same job.

After the early 1960’s, the Civil Rights Act also included words that banned discrimination based upon sex. By 1965, in Griswold v. Connecticut, the Supreme Court struck down the one remaining state law prohibiting the use of contraceptives by married couples. Later by 1966, Berry Friedan and other women formed the National Organization for Women or NOW. N.O.W. wanted full equality for all women and “full and equal partnership of the sexes.” N.O.W. grew the women’s rights movement. N.O.W worked to fight discrimination in the workplace, education, sports, and all spheres of human life. Many successes came about like the ending of discriminatory practices in the airplane industries. In 1967, Executive Order 11375 expanded President Lyndon Johnson's affirmative action policy of 1965 to cover discrimination based on sex. As a result, federal agencies and contractors must take active measures to ensure that women, as well as minorities, enjoy the same educational and employment opportunities as white males. Later, the pill came and N.O.W. promoted the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) which would guarantee gender equality under the law by the Constitution. It was proposed during the 1920’s, but it hasn’t been passed yet. Also, N.O.W promoted the protection of reproductive rights. Back during the early 1960’s, most Americans opposed abortion. Today, it’s the opposite. By the late 1960’s, advocates for abortion protested nationwide to end laws that restricted it. N.O.W worked in court cases, political causes, and other activism.

Today, we see NOW as center-left, but some conservatives view it now as going too far, and others viewed N.O.W. as not going far enough. Numerous progressive feminists protested the Miss America pageant in 1968 as exploitative of women. Some used efforts to raise public awareness like Charlotte Bunch. Gloria Steinem is a feminist who worked undercover at the Playboy mansion to expose the humiliating employment experiences of women. In 1972, she founded Ms. Magazine to promote feminist causes. Its title wanted to protest the social custom of identifying women by their marital status instead of them as individuals. In 1968, EEOC ruled that sex-segregated help wanted ads in newspapers are illegal. This ruling was upheld in 1973 by the Supreme Court, opening the way for women to apply for higher-paying jobs hitherto open only to men. In 1969, California became the first state to adopt a "no-fault" divorce law, which allowed couples to divorce by mutual consent. By 1985, every state had adopted a similar law. Laws are also passed regarding the equal division of common property. Many conservatives opposed the feminist movement from Pat Robertson to Phyllis McAlpin Schlafly (who promoted Trump just before her death in 2016. She was a dedicated extremist).

Phyllis McAlpin Schlafly didn’t believe in women’s liberation. She wanted the nuclear family to reign supreme in family life, and she didn’t even want women to fight in the military (even when historically, women served proudly in the Armed Services heroically). She opposed the ERA as a breakdown of human nature which is ludicrous. Phyllis McAlpin Schlafly was an anti-communist extremist with ties to the conservative establishment. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act was used to fight sex discrimination. By the time of 1972, the title IX of the Higher Education Act of 1972 banned discrimination in education. It states: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance." As a result of Title IX, the enrollment of women in athletics programs and professional schools increased dramatically. Coretta Scott King was a great civil rights leader, and she worked with feminists at the National Women’s Conference. Shirley Chisholm spoke in favor of equality too. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act was passed in 1974 that made it illegal to deny credit to a woman just because of her gender. In 1974, In Corning Glass Works v. Brennan, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that employers cannot justify paying women lower wages because that is what they traditionally received under the "going market rate." The Court mentioned that a wage differential occurring "simply because men would not work at the low rates paid women" is unacceptable. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 banned employment discrimination against pregnant women. Under the Act, a woman cannot be fired or denied a job or a promotion because she is or may become pregnant, nor can she be forced to take a pregnancy leave if she is willing and able to work.

Much progress has been made. Many women have expanded legal rights. We see the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion which has been debated to this very day.

A higher percentage of women are in the workplace now than in 1960. More women are in law, medicine, the military, and in accounting. The problem is that we have so far to go. Many women suffer wage disparities since one woman makes 75 cents as compared to one dollar earned by a man.  Many women experience poverty and sexual discrimination right now. Tons of women are victims of rape, assault, domestic violence, and sexual harassment. Also, many black women are having their own movements for change since far too often, some white feminists ignore the importance of black women in society.Many white feminists back then and today have been caught doing cultural appropriation, making racist statements, and scapegoating black people for problems in the world.

We have a large number of poor single families who have been unfairly disrespected and scapegoated by sexists. So, we still have to fight to make sure that sexual equality is made real for all.

The Environmental Movement


The environmental movement has a long history. It has spanned centuries in the modern era. America’s modern environmental movement was created by the early 20th century. This movement was part of the overall human rights movement that spread across the globe. The Progressives of the 1920’s wanted policies to protect public lands, forests, and other natural resources. They were worried about the pollution from industrialization. Industrialization dealt with social stratification, but it came with a price. That price was pollution (including lax wages in many cases, and other problems). That is why the labor movement worked hard to fight injustices involving labor issues.  After World War Two, the first U.S. piece of legislation to have the federal regulation of water quality existed. It was called the Pollution Control Act being passed on June 30, 1948. It was known as the FWPCA and it went through amendments in 1956, 1965, and in 1972. It increased the government's authority in water pollution control. By this time, many people died by smog or other pollutants. In Donora, PA, 20 people died and over 600 people went to the hospital after experiencing sulfur dioxide emissions. It came from a steel and wire plant and it came in the form of smog. After this tragedy, the first U.S. conference on air pollution existed in 1950 which was sponsored by the Public Health Service.

12,000 people died in London by smog in 1950. This came from a coal plant. Paul Ehrlich found that DDT spraying contributed to the death of butterflies in New Jersey. By 1951, the Nature Conservancy was created in Washington, D.C. This is a nonprofit organization that protects ecologically vital lands and waters worldwide. They will protect more than 119 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of rivers worldwide. Heavy smog in New York City increased asthma and other lung conditions. It killed 170-260 people. More New Yorkers died again by smog in 1962 and in 1966. Environmental awareness increased by the 1950's with Jacques Cousteau's The Silent World. Cousteau researched oceanic life and the documentary film of the same title will win the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1956. Eisenhower spoke on pollution in the air at his January 1955 State of the Union address. By July 14, 1955, the Air Pollution Act was passed. It was the first legislation to address air pollution. It caused enforcement against air pollution to be at the hands of the states, not to the federal government. The Sierra Club later protested the Echo Park Dam construction, and it was gone from the Colorado River project. The year of 1960 saw carbon dioxide climb above 300 parts per million.

She was the environmental leader Rachel Carson

By June of 1962, something happened. Rachel Carson released Silent Spring. It was acclaimed as one book that accelerated the power of the environmental movement. Carson's book criticized the overuse of pesticide. It found the DDT found in human tissue tripled from 1950 to 1962. The chemical industry denounced Carson's book as having distortions. President John F. Kennedy caused the Science Advisory Committee to review the book’s claims. The Committee reported that the conclusions in Silent Spring are generally correct, and by 1972 DDT will be banned in the U.S. Back then, coal smog was one type of toxic waste. Toxic waste is a poisonous byproduct of human activity. There was acid rain when water mixed with chemicals mixed with rain. Rachel Carson was a biologist found that pesticides harmed birds and other animals. More people using cars caused regulations on car emissions by 1963. On November 1963, Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall published The Quiet Crisis, an early call to arms on environmental pollution with an introduction by President Kennedy. Udall will go on to become a pioneer for environmental legislation. The Clean Air Act was passed in December of 1963. It allocated $93 million for the study and cleanup of air and water pollution. The act gave the federal government authority to reduce interstate air pollution, regulate emission standards for stationary pollution sources, and invest in technologies that will remove sulfur from coal and oil. By October 2, 1965, the Water Quality Act passed. It grew federal standards to handle water pollution. The Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act set the first national automobile emission standards on October 20, 1965. Scientists wanted President Lyndon Baines Johnson about climate change by greenhouse CO2 emissions as early as 1965.


Endangered species legislation came about on October 15, 1966. By August 1968, Paul Ehrlich released the Population Bomb book. This book falsely claimed by the world population growth will cause a global catastrophe shortly. He believed that environmental problems are caused by overpopulation. His writing influenced debates on the issue of the population to this day. The Santa Barbara oil spill on January 28, 1969, produced more awareness of pollution in America. Ohio's Cuyahoga River burst into flames when oil and chemical floated on the surface. By December 1969, Gaylord Nelson, a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, hired 25-year-old Denis Hayes to direct a national “teach-in” about environmental issues. Hayes recruits a handful of young college graduates to come to Washington, D.C. and started planning what will become the first Earth Day. These events contributed to the Earth Day national protest. By April 22, 1970, nationwide demonstrations existed to fight for environmental justice.

Many of the same people who supported women's rights, civil rights, and anti-war activism were included in the Earth Day rallies. The ecological movement evolved from just talking about mostly conservation to other environmental protection issues. LBJ and Nixon were pro-environment in many ways. The public caused Nixon to support some environment reforms. 1970 was the year when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was created. It was a federal agency to protect the environment. The EPA targeted cancer-causing pollutants. The Clean Air Act of 1970 fought for air protection, the Clean Act existed by 1973, and the Endangered Species Act came about in 1973. Gerald Ford would create the 1974 Nuclear Regulatory Commission to make sure that nuclear materials would be regulated safely. Pollution disasters continued in the Love Canal situation and restorations like Bowers Landfill being developed as a wetland. Conservatives express concerns about property rights when dealing with environmental issues while liberals want more regulations involving ecological protections. This debate continues to this very day. What is true is that environmental protection is a crucial part of sustaining a progressive society and a healthy world.

The Vietnam War continues


The last 11 years of American involvement in the Vietnam War caused global change. After the Gulf of Tonkin incident, President Johnson decided to retaliate. LBJ allowed the first overt American bombing of North Vietnam. He gave a midnight TV appearance saying that the attack will not be part of a wider war. Soon, two Navy jets were shot down. There was the first American prisoner of war named Lt. Everett Alvarez of San Jose, California. He was taken to a prison in Hanoi called the Hanoi Hilton. Almost six hundred American airmen would be POWs. Back then, 85 percent of Americans supported President Johnson’s bombing decision. Many newspapers editorials supported the President. The Defense Secretary McNamara lobbied Congress to pass the resolution to promote the Vietnam War. He was confronted by Senator Wayne Morse of Oregon. He had been tipped off by someone in the Pentagon that the Maddox had in fact been involved in the South Vietnamese commando raids against North Vietnam and thus was not the victim of an "unprovoked" attack. McNamara responds that the U.S. Navy "...played absolutely no part in, was not associated with, was not aware of, any South Vietnamese actions, if there were any..." Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution on August 7, 1964. This gave large power to President Johnson involving war policy. The Resolution passed unanimously in the House and 98-2 in the Senate. The only Senators voting against the Resolution are Wayne Morse, and Ernest Gruening of Alaska who said: "all Vietnam is not worth the life of a single American boy." Many Buddhists protested against General Khanh’s military regime. Khanh later resigned as the sole leader and promoted a triumvirate with himself, General Minh, and General Khiem by August 21, 1964. Saigon had chaos, and mob violence grew. President Johnson continues to say that he doesn’t want extensive American involvement in the Vietnam War during his 1964 Presidential campaign. He said, “We are not about to send American boys nine or ten thousand miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves."

By September 1964, LBJ and his aides in the White House discussed the future course of action. China had troops on the Vietnamese border in response to American military action in Vietnam. By November 1, 1964, North Vietnam forces attacked Americans at Bien Hoa airbase. Five Americans were killed, two South Vietnamese people were killed, and nearly 100 people were injured. Johnson dismissed all recommendations for a retaliatory air strike against North Vietnam. LBJ was re-elected by November 3, 1964. The Democrats had large majorities in the House and in the Senate. 10,000 NVA soldiers use the Ho Chi Minh trail to send supplies to North Vietnamese troops. December 1, 1964, was when President Johnson's top aides, including Secretary of State Dean Rusk, National Security Advisor George Bundy, and Defense Secretary McNamara, recommend a policy of gradual escalation of U.S. military involvement in Vietnam. Another coup happened on December 29, 1964. This was when General Khanh worked with other leaders like Nguyen Cao Ky and Nguyen Van Thieu to oust older generals like General Minh from power. Ambassador Taylor was angry over these coups and criticized young officers at the U.S. embassy. General Khanh then criticized Taylor and the U.S. by saying that the U.S. wants to follow colonialism in its treatment of South Vietnam. By the end of 1964, a car bomb hit the Brinks Hotel where American officers lived at. 2 Americans were killed 58 were wounded. LBJ dismissed recommendations for a retaliatory air strike against North Vietnam. American military advisers were about 23,000 by the end of 1964. About 170,000 Viet Cong/NVA forces fought in South Vietnam.

1965 was the start of the military war growing into a higher level in Vietnam. General Khanh controlled all of the South Vietnamese government. Johnson aides, National Security Advisor McGeorge Bundy and Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, sent a memo to the President stating that America's limited military involvement in Vietnam is not succeeding, and that the U.S. has reached a 'fork in the road' in Vietnam and must either soon escalate or withdraw (on January 27, 1965). This was the turning point. After this, LBJ ordered attacks on North Vietnamese targets by February of 1965. He also promoted Marines to protect the military air base at Da Nang by February 22, 1965. Her advanced Operation Rolling Thunder on March 2, 1965, where American fighters in about 100 attacked targets in North Vietnamese. This continued until 1968. More Marines came about. Operation Market Time was when the South Vietnamese Navy and the U.S. Navy fought North Vietnamese targets. The U.S. embassy in Saigon was bombed. More Marines are sent. By April 17, 1965, 15,000 students protested against the U.S. bombing campaign. LBJ wanted Hanoi to negotiate, but that fails. Nguyen Cao Ky ran South Vietnam by June 18, 1965.

Both sides attacked each other. A U.S. Marine rifle company destroyed suspected Viet Cong villages near Da Nang. It caused controversy. By August of 1965, President Johnson banned draft card burning. Anti-war rallies grew in 40 cities and in London plus other international cities by October 16, 1965. As the war continued, American forces continue to fight using the Army, Marines, Air Force, and the Navy. Ky faced new problems of more resistance to his regime. 1967 was when the anti-Vietnam war movement reached into new heights of power. On January 23, 1967, Senator J. William Fulbright published The Arrogance of Power a book critical of American war policy in Vietnam advocating direct peace talks between the South Vietnamese government and the Viet Cong. By this time, Fulbright and President Johnson are no longer on speaking terms. Instead, the President uses the news media to deride Fulbright, Robert Kennedy, and a growing number of critics in Congress as "nervous Nellies" and "sunshine patriots."

About 4.5 billion dollars from Congress fund the war by March 8, 1967. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. opposed the war in New York City’s Riverside Baptist Church with a great speech on April 4, 1967. On April 15, 1967, Anti-war demonstrations occur in New York and San Francisco involving nearly 200,000.

Rev. Martin Luther King declared that the war was undermining President Johnson's Great Society social reform programs, "...the pursuit of this widened war has narrowed the promised dimensions of the domestic welfare programs, making the poor white and Negro bear the heaviest burdens both at the front and at home." 

Peace initiatives come about and fail. Protests in the Pentagon existed. At the end of 1967, Eugene McCarthy ran for President on an anti-war platform. 463,000 troops came into Vietnam by the end of 1963 with 16,000 combat deaths. The Tet Offensive in early 1968 harmed American morale. Americans had a victory, but it showed the world that the Vietnam War was a long circumstance. In 1968, more pressure came unto Johnson to promote a peaceful, negotiated settlement. The My Lai massacre happened in 1968. The Wise Men in March of 1968 wanted the President to withdraw troops from Vietnam. April 4, 1968, was when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis. It was a tragic time. RFK was assassinated at June 1968. The Democratic Party was split, and Nixon promoted the view of peace with honor. His problem was that he secretly stopped negotiations between South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and America for his plan to be promoted. LBJ accused Nixon of doing treason by preventing a negotiated settlement to the war from happening in 1968. The end of the Vietnam War was bitter. Nixon contradicted himself by having the draft ended and gradually eliminated troops, but he illegally sent troops into Cambodia, and he expanded bombings in many cases. Nixon followed the view of Vietnamization or gradually sending American troops home while building up the South Vietnamese armies to defend South Vietnam. It didn't work. Scandals ended his Presidency. Henry Kissinger organized settlements, and he won the Nobel Peace Prize. Without a large number of American troops in Vietnam by the early 1970's, North Vietnamese forces came massively into South Vietnam to win the war by April 30, 1975.

1968

1968 in the history of the United States of America changed the world. From the start to the finish of 1968, historical developments were abundant. The year of 1968 saw the Vietnam War, Cold War politics, civil rights, youth culture, the human rights movement, the Olympics, and sexual equality in center stage. By January 1968, anti-Vietnam War protests existed nationwide. In that time, the 87 year old Jeannette Rankin led 5,000 women to protest the Vietnam War at Washington, D.C. Their motto is “Sisterhood is Powerful.” The Vietnam War damaged the lives of millions of Americans and Vietnamese people. UCLA’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played Houston at the first NCAA basketball game to be nationally televised. This event would later evolve into March Madness. Laugh In debuted at January 22, 1968. North Korea captured U.S. crewmen from the USS Pueblo. They were only free after 11 months and after one crewman was killed. From early February 1968, the Tet Offensive came about. This was when North Vietnamese troops hid weapons in rice baskets and other supplies to fight U.S. soldiers and U.S. South Vietnamese troops. The North Vietnamese lost the battle, but U.S. support for the Vietnam War afterwards lost. Even reporter Walter Cronkite wanted U.S. forces to withdrawal from the war in a stalemate. Later, it would be a new era. America bombed Hue down to win the Tet Offensive too.

The Memphis sanitation strikes existed after workers Echol Cole and Robert Walker were crushed to death by a malfunctioning garbage truck. They wanted the escape the rain. Dr. King and other Memphis civil rights leaders fought for the sanitation workers. It was the last crusade of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Black people were killed by the police at Orangeburg, South Carolina at February 8, 1968. The young people were protesting segregation at a local bowling alley. Hispanic Americans students protested for better education in Los Angeles by March 1-8, 1968. They numbered at about 15,000 students. The March Prague Spring in Czechoslovakia wanted justice and the freedom of speech. The Soviet Union suppressed this movement. Many people involved in the Prague Spring were heroic socialists. The Presidential campaign grew with Robert Kennedy telling the world that he is running for President. McCarthy almost won the New Hampshire Primary at March 12, 1968. African Americans promote Black Studies at Howard University in Washington, D.C. by March 1968 too. President Lyndon Baines Johnson refuses to run for President again. By April 4, 1968, the apostle of nonviolence Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by a rifle shot on his jaw. He was only 39 years old. He fought against injunction and wanted to march in Memphis, Tennessee. Afterwards, rebellions existed in over 100 cities in America. James Earl Ray was caught and he died in prison. To this very day, members of Dr. King’s family believe that a government conspiracy not Ray was involved in the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. June of 1968 saw the end of the Poor People’s Campaign. Thousands of people were in D.C. and formed a tent city called Resurrection City. They made their demands and were forced out, but their cause made more people get aware about the issue of poverty. Ralph Abernathy and others of many colors were leaders of the Poor People’s Campaign after Dr. King’s passing. Early June 1968 was when Senator Robert F. Kennedy would be assassinated at Los Angeles, California. The first Special Olympics existed on July 20, 1968 with 200 events. Members had disabilities. Richard Nixon ran on the Republican ticket with Spiro Agnew on August 5-8, 1968.

The picture on the left was Diahann Carroll on the historic show of Julia. It existed in 1968 and the show had the first African American woman to have a primary leading role on a TV show. The image on the right showed Tommie Smith and John Carlos protesting for racial justice during the 1968 Olympics at Mexico City, Mexico. 

Later August 1968 was when the Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago. Party bosses caused Hubert Humphrey to be the Democratic Presidential candidate. The Democratic Party was divided by the Vietnam War. Protesters were assaulted by Chicago police. Many cops were on a rampage to club and gas hundreds of anti-war demonstrators. Reporter Dan Rather was assaulted by security forces on the convention floor. Also, Connecticut Congressman Ribicoff condemned Chicago Mayor Richard Daley for using Gestapo tactics. Feminists protested Miss America’s pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey for the exploitation of women. Arthur Ashe was the first black man to win a Grand Slam tennis tournament on September 9, 1968. He won the U.S. Open during that time. 60 Minutes started in 1968 too. By October 16, 1968, two black American men by the names of Tommie Smith and John Carlos won the gold and bronze medals in the 200 meter dash. They raised their gloved fists in the air when the national anthem was played to protest racism and poverty in America. The International Olympic Committee stripped them of their medals during the next day. They were sent home, but they promoted freedom afterwards. Johnson ordered a bombing halt in North Vietnam. Humphrey almost won the election, but Richard Nixon won the election on November 5, 1968. Nixon promoted the Southern Strategy, law and order, and his secret plan to end the Vietnam War (when recent documents prove that he tried to undermine LBJ’s efforts to form a peace plan. LBJ called this action treason). On that day, Shirley Chisholm of New York City became the first black woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Elvis made his comeback on December 1968 on NBC-TV. By later December 1968, Apollo 8 became the first manned spacecraft to orbit the Moon and return safely to Earth. The famous Earth rise photograph was taken during its flight. 1968 was a time of sadness, excitement, and new developments at the same time.

Other Movements for Social Change (Mexican-Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, the Disabled, and the LBGTQIA+ movement)


The human rights movement expanded significantly during the post-war period from 1940’s to the early 1970’s. Latino Americans, Asian Americans, and Native Americans established their own movements for equality and justice. They wanted influence in law and government. They also wanted respect. Those with disabilities and consumer protections grew during this period too. New Hispanic American immigrants increased after World War II as anti-immigrant policies declined and more labor opportunities developed. New immigrants desired jobs. Latino-Americans have a large Spanish speaking population. Latino and Hispanic refer to ethnicity not to race as there are Afro-Latinos, white Hispanics, and multiracial Hispanic people too. They share many cultural experiences. Mexican Americans or Chicanos have fought for their rights also. Many Mexican Americans were farmers from the bracero program. This allowed many immigrant guest worker programs to allow human beings to farm in the U.S. The 1965 Immigration law caused more Latino-Americans to come into America from more than 400,000 people in the 1960’s to 1.5 million by the 1980’s. After World War II, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans came into the east coast of the Continental United States from Florida to New York State. Many Puerto Ricans wanted better jobs and they are U.S. citizens. Dominicans and Cuban immigrants readily immigrated because of political and economic reasons. After World War II, many Latinos experienced discrimination and oppression. Many of them were veterans of World War II who served honorably against the Axis Powers. Veteran Hector Garcia fought discrimination by forming the American G.I. Forum.

Many Latinos increasingly fought for civil rights during the time of the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement. They wanted better salaries, wages, and educational opportunities. Like African Americans, they wanted voting rights and more elected political leaders to represent them. Cesar Chavez was one influential Latino activist. He organized farm workers to fight for labor rights in California. Chavez worked in farms and organized tons of people to stand up for economic rights. He traveled into many states too. Many migrant farmworkers picked fruits and vegetables without benefits and for long hours. Chavez formed a farmworkers’ union by 1962 in order to change that horrendous reality. The union was in Delano, California. By the late 1960’s, he merged his union with a separate union of Filipino-American farm workers to form the United Farm Workers or the UFW. The UFW used nonviolence and strikes to fight for change. They used a consumer boycott of table grapes. Delores Huerta was Chavez’s ally, and she worked to fight to win recognition from the growers. By 1975, California passed a law that made collective bargaining a requirement among growers and union representatives. Farmworkers fought to establish better working conditions a reality. Also, the broader Chicano movement wanted educational rights and human rights. They also wanted actual Mexican-American history to be taught in schools nationwide. The Chicano movement wanted to embrace their cultural heritage. The National Council of La Raza was created in 1968 to deal with poverty and discrimination. It wanted better opportunities for Hispanic Americans. The Mexican American Youth Organization (MAYO) was created in 1967. Jose Angel Gutierrez formed the La Raza Unida political party in Texas by 1970. They wanted housing and jobs. Many Latino political leaders rose up. By 1980, six Latino-Americans sat in Congress to represent areas from New York to Texas. State, county, and city government have more Latinos now than ever before.

Native Americans fought discrimination, poverty, and lax education too. In 1961, the National Indian Youth Council (NIYC) was created in 1961 to fight for justice. They wanted to maintain native fishing rights in the Northwest. Later, they promoted civil rights for Native Americans. In 1968, the Chippewa activists Dennis Banks and George Mitchell created the AIM (or the American Indian Movement). The AIM at first worked in urban communities. Later, they fought for the total land, legal, and self-governmental rights for Native Americans. Many Native Americans confronted the government over land and resources too. Native Americans occupied Alcatraz in 1969 in protest for human rights. They control the Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco area until 1971. By the time of 1972, AIM members Russell Means and Dennis Banks marched from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. They occupied the Bureau of Indian Affairs and renamed it Native American Embassy. The 1973 standoff at Wounded Knew caused two Native Americans to die by gunfire. The government later granted many Native Americans self-government rights, but the struggle continues. The Indian Self-Determination Act of 1975 gave Native Americans more autonomy in resources and education in reservations.

Ben Nighthorse Campbell won a U.S. Senate seat. Asian Americans fought for their rights too. The Japanese American Citizen League fought for the civil rights of Japanese Americans. Many Chinese Americans also promoted equality from Bruce Lee to other leaders. The first Asian-American to be elected to Congress was Dalip Singh from California in 1956. By 1962, Daniel K. Inouye from Hawaii was elected to the Senate, and Spark Matsunaga (from Hawaii was elected to the House. Spark was the first Asian-American woman in Congress). In 1968, Asian American students strike at the San Francisco State University to demand the establishment of ethnic studies programs. By the 1960’s and the 1970’s, many Asian Americans were in the civil rights movement, the anti-war movement, and other progressive movements. Amy Uyematsu wrote a 1969 essay entitled, “The Emergence of Yellow Power.” It wanted Asian Americans to embrace self-respect, cultural strength, and independence. Some Black Panthers were influenced by the writings of Mao Zedong and the Japanese American Richard Aoki assisted the Black Panthers with weapons training. By 1969, students at the University of California, Berkeley strike for the establishment of ethnic studies programs too. In 1974, March Fong Eu was elected as California’s secretary of state. The Lau v. Nichols decision mentioned that school districts with children who speak little English must provide them with bilingual education. Later, more Asian immigration came into America, many Japanese Americans were given reparations by 1987, and more events would grow the Asian community in general.

Ralph Nader was a consumer rights activists that inspired changed. His book entitled, "Unsafe at any Speed" in 1965 contributed to Congress passing the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966. This promoted seat belts and other equipment which has saved lives sicne its inception. OSHA supported workers’ safety. By the 1960’s, JFK researched the policies to help Americans with disabilities. LBJ signed the August 1968 Architectural Barriers Act law that allowed federal buildings to have ramps to help citizens who are handicapped. Disability rights increased with the late President George H. W. Bush signing the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. People among both parties (and human beings in general) used policies that developed the Special Olympics, educational opportunities, and other blessings to those with disabilities.

The LGBTQIA+ movement has existed for a long time. Homosexuals, lesbians, bisexuals, including intersex human beings have lived on this Earth for thousands of years. In America after World War II, from 1945 to 1969, homosexuals and others in the LGBTQIA+ community had little rights. They could be arrested for being accused of being gay. They could be arrested for being in a gay bar. They could be fired from a job for being accused of being a homosexual. Tons of them experienced rejection from family, friends, from their pastors (or rabbis, imans, priests, etc.), and from their co-workers. Some committed suicide and some were murdered. This was America back then and many of these things exist today in 2019. One of the earliest Americans who wanted to defend homosexual rights of the 20th century was Emma Goldman. After World War II, more changes happened in America. The first North American lesbian publication was Vice Versa as founded by Edith Eyde (or Lisa Ben) in Los Angeles by 1947. Harry Hay invented the Mattachine Society. In 1953 at March, the pro-homosexual Diana Foundation was formed in Houston. The Daughters of Bilitis (DOB) was founded in San Francisco by four lesbian couples (including Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon) and was the first national lesbian political and social organization in the United States (created at 1955). The Mattachine Society New York chapter was founded in the same year. German American and U.S. physician Harry Benjamin researched transgender people in 1957. He was the one who coined the word “transsexual” back in 1957 too. By 1958, the Daughters of Bilitis was formed in its New York chapter by Barbara Gittings. The LBGTQIA+ movement back then had its leaders just wanting equality including non-discrimination policies.

In 1958, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a homosexual magazine in the first time in American history. Back then, people were arrested for being gay or lesbian. Illinois was the first U.S. state to remove sodomy laws from its criminal code by 1961. Later, other nations decriminalized homosexual acts worldwide. Lorraine Hansberry was an activist for gay rights and wrote about feminism and homophobia, joining the Daughters of Bilitis and contributing two letters to their magazine, The Ladder, in 1957 under her initials "LHN." Lorraine Hansberry was a genius writer involving plays. Also, her recent, formerly secret letters and notes showed that she was attracted to women. In 1959, Hansberry commented that women who are "twice oppressed" may become "twice militant." She held out some hope for male allies of women, writing in an unpublished essay: "If by some miracle women should not ever utter a single protest against their condition there would still exist among men those who could not endure in peace until her liberation had been achieved." Lorraine Hansberry supported anti-colonialist movements in Africa and opposed the nuclear bombs dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki back in 1945 (when she was a teenager in high school). The Cooper Do-nuts Riot was a May 1959 incident in Los Angeles in which transgender human beings, lesbian women, drag queens, and gay men rioted. It was one of the first LGBT uprisings in the United States. The incident was sparked by police harassment of LGBT people at a 24-hour cafe called "Cooper Do-nuts." In 1965, conservatively dressed gays and lesbians demonstrated outside Independence Hall in Philadelphia on July 4, 1965. This was the first in a series of Annual Reminders that took place through 1969. In 1965, there was the Dewey Lunch counter sit-in in Philadelphia. Many black gay, bisexual, lesbian, and transgender people fought for their rights.

 

The Mattachine Society had a sip in at Julius Bar in NYC since NYC law banned serving alcohol to homosexuals. There were transgender people and Vanguard members protesting in the Compton Cafeteria Riot of 1966. Vanguard was founded to demonstrate for equal rights. The first lesbian to appear on the cover of the lesbian magazine The Ladder with her face showing was Lilli Vincenz in January 1966. A coalition of homosexual organizations organized demonstrations for Armed Forces Day to protest the exclusion of LGBT from the U.S. armed services. The Los Angeles group held a 15-car motorcade, which has been identified as the nation's first gay pride parade. This was all in 1966. Time came on and then the 1969 Stonewall riots happened in New York City. For years, the NYPD harassed and randomly jailed homosexuals. Later, many homosexuals including transgender people protested and fought back against the police in New York City at the Stonewall riots. This caused a new era of the gay rights movement and expanded the movement into new heights. Transgender leaders like the musician Jackie Shane, Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and others made their marks in history. Pride marches spread in 1970 and the first Gay Liberation Day by 1970 in New York City.

The Gay Liberation Front formed and in 1973, the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-II), based largely on the research and advocacy of Evelyn Hooker. By 1974, the world wouldn’t be the same. Discussions about homosexuality continue to this very day. America is much more different place than during the 1950’s or the 1960’s. Likewise, there is still the epidemic of murder, assault, homelessness, and oppression of the LBGTQIA+ community in America plus worldwide. Also, there are many white LBGTQ people who are racist (racism is evil. These racists are silent on the Ed Buck story when black men have been found dead at Ed's home. Many of these white racists exploit black people for sexual purposes) and this is rarely talked about in our time. Millennials and other young people are more in favor of homosexuality than older generations. This information relates to history and regardless of how people think about many issues, we have to show every aspect of American people. People like Edmonia Lewis, Alice Dunbar Nelson, Ma Rainey, Gladys Bentley, Janelle Monae, Barbara Smith, the bisexual Carmen Mercedes McRae, Billie Holiday (yes, Billie Holiday was bisexual), Angela Davis, and others are all members of the LBGTQIA+ community in the past and present. This year is the 50th year anniversary of the Stonewall riot in New York City. If you’re human, you have the right to live on this Earth just like anyone else. This work is about bringing out the facts, so you can analyze it and make up your own mind as you have the right to do. You don't have to believe me since you should do your own research and make up your own conclusions. Also, no human being should experience murder, harassment, abuse, slurs, or injustice because of their background. All human beings are created equal.

The rise of Richard Nixon

The legacy of Richard Nixon is complicated and controversial. He represented the reactionary counterrevolution. He was a President who made history in many respects and made horrible mistakes. He had paranoia, insecurities, jealousies, and a hatred of revolutionary progressive activism. Now, it is the time to outline the breadth of his Presidency from the beginning to the end. He used the Southern Strategy for him to win the 1968 election. The Southern Strategy was about Nixon appealing to mostly white blue collar workers to gain votes in the Midwest and the South. Many of these people were former New Deal Democrats who switched to vote for Republicans by 1968. Richard Nixon was clear that he wanted law and order, opposed many policies of the civil rights movement, he tried to attack liberalism, and he supported the repression of progressive protesters. He promised to end the Vietnam War with the phrase of ‘peace with honor.” He made many changes regarding Cold War policies as well. Nixon constantly talked about the silent majority or those in middle American (mostly white Americans) who agreed with his plans. It is no secret that Nixon hated student activists, Black Power leaders, and media figures who questioned him. Vice President Spiro Agnew was known to attack the media and student leaders too.

His Presidency started in January of 1969. His inaugural address called for national unity in the midst of political divisions. He criticized the big government programs of Johnson but believed that most Americans wanted government involvement in combating pollution. He was obsessed with getting tough on crime rhetoric. Before the 1970’s, Americans profoundly believed in the us vs them mentality in dealing with Communism worldwide. Nixon allied with Henry Kissinger to formulate a new Cold War policy. Nixon was a conservative Republican. Progressives promoted a new politics with intellectuals, people of color, women, environmentalists, and activists plus feminists in supporting social justice causes (as explained by Newfield). Conservatives grew in power in the Sunbelt in the Southwest and the South. New industries dealing with technology, space exploration, and aerospace, in general, flourished (in Miami, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, San Diego, etc.). Many former liberals became neoconservatives or conservatives. They were more concerned with decentralization and war mongering foreign policy than progressive pro-general welfare policies.

Many of these same neo-conservatives were complicit in the future disastrous Iraq War policy.
The resurgent Right was made up of conservative religious people, libertarians, former liberals, pro-Vietnam War activists, and hardcore Republicans. These human beings were increasingly Republican. Henry Kissinger is a moderate East Coast political figure.  Kissinger was educated at Harvard and was a Jewish émigré from Germany. They promoted the realpolitik philosophy. This view was that American interests must be developed in dealing with the Cold War beyond any ideological views. They wanted to use tactics to make China and the Soviet Union break against each other so American interests would dominate international affairs more thoroughly. They viewed foreign policy in complex terms instead of monolithic interpretations. Nixon and Kissinger didn’t believe in a monolithic communist conspiracy to rule the world as LBJ thought. They knew of the nuisance, different communist policies in North Korea, Yugoslavia, North Vietnam, and in other locations. That is why Nixon focused more on international affairs than domestic policy affairs during his Presidency.

Nixon, as early as 1969, wanted a different relationship with China. China back then wasn’t recognized by the United Nations. The Nationalist government of Taiwan was recognized by America more than China. Nixon wanted to reach out to China because of many nations. China is the most populous nation on Earth. Nixon felt that if they allied with U.S. markets, then U.S. markets would benefit economically with tons of consumers. Also, Nixon was known as an anti-communist radical, so many saw Nixon as having more credibility in following this new course than others. He also wanted to divide China and the Soviet Union. If China had normal relations with the Americans, then Nixon felt that the Soviet Union would be weakened. He also wanted China to pressure North Vietnam to establish a negotiated peace to end the Vietnam War. By April 1971, China publicly wanted American leaders to talk with them. Henry Kissinger worked with Premier Zhou Enlai on setting up a meeting. By February 1972, President Nixon visited China and the Great Wall. Later, Americans increasingly visited China and America normalized relations with China. That was a significant historical development.

By 1979, full diplomatic ties were formed between America and China. The Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev feared that Nixon working with China would weaken his nation. So, he wanted a meeting with Nixon. Nixon came into Moscow in May 1972. Nixon and Brezhnev formed agreements on many issues. Nixon told Congress on June 1, 1972, said that he and the Soviets agreed to fight environmental pollution and fight cancer plus heart disease. Nixon considered a joint U.S./USSR space mission. He and the Soviets signed Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty of SALT I. This froze the deployment of ICBMs or intercontinental ballistic missiles. It gave limits to ABMs or anti-ballistic missiles. It didn’t alter dangerous multiple independent reentry vehicles or MIRVs. It was a step towards détente. This was a more pragmatic approach toward Cold War political engagement. Domestically, Richard Nixon believed in new federalism or stripping powers from the federal government and sending it to the states and local communities. He stated this goal in his 1971 State of the Union address. He ironically allowed the creation of new federal government programs like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in regulating workplaces to make them safer. He supported the War on Drugs and helped to form the DEA or the Drug Enforcement Administration. He saw the creation of EPA or the Environmental Protection Agency that enforced environmental standards. He signed the 1970 Clean Air Act. He also cut welfare by him decreasing of the power of the Office of Economic Opportunity. This was a crucial part of LBJ’s Great Society and the war on poverty agenda. He enacted a Family Assistance Plan to try to give a minimum income to every American family. The FAP didn’t become law. Federal spending on social programs like Medicare, public housing, etc. grew.

Richard Nixon executed the repressive programs of the FBI against progressive activism. Such FBI suppression efforts existed long before 1969 too. During Nixon’s time, the economy experienced struggles with stagflation or inflation and recession at the same time. Attorney General John Mitchell indicted tons of people from the antiwar, women's Chicano, Black Power, and Native American movements. Nixon in May of 1969 ordered the illegal monitoring of various reporters and 13 members of his own National Security Council. Nixon pressured the FCC and news companies to downplay the anti-war movements' protests. This was caused in part by the burden of the Vietnam War from LBJ’s time. It grew under Nixon’s Presidency. More spending on Vietnam grew inflation. More inflation means that prices on goods and services will increase which stagnates the economy.

Also, economic problems existed because of more competition for the economy by West Germany, Western Europe in general, and Japan (which flourished in part by the Marshall Plan and American investments). Their economics grew industries like steel and automobiles. Foreign competition increased the burden on the U.S. economy. Some Americans lost jobs. Also, the price of oil increased. During the 1973 Arabic war against Israel, Arabic members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) issued a boycott or embargo on Israel’s allies including America. They did this since America supported Israel in the Yom Kippur war. Oil prices increased by 400 percent. Gas lines existed by 1974. Nixon responded to stagflation by having a 90-day freeze on all wages and prices. It worked for a short time, and economic growth existed. Long-term, price control couldn’t stabilize the economy, and the economy became worse by the mid-1970’s. Domestically, busing was a big issue in the Nixon presidency. Busing was about making integration real by using busing to send students to various schools in making them heterogeneous ethnically.

Supporters of busing believe that it promotes integration. Opponents of busing say that it violated parents’ rights, states’ rights, and community schooling. Some people who opposed busing were racists also. Nixon promoted conservative judges in the court system. Both Clement Haynsworth and G. Harrold Carswell failed to be in the Supreme Court since they supported segregation years prior. Nixon opposed court-ordered busing. He reached out to southern whites and urban blue collar workers. The federal court ordered school busing in 1971. Nixon wanted a freeze on it. He also believed in black capitalism and the Philadelphia Plan (which was about affirmative action with timetables to give federal contractors and labor unions to give consideration to women and minorities in employment and education). Black capitalism (or Nixon wanted investments in black corporations to help black people) was opposed by the Black Panthers since it benefits mostly the upper middle and wealthy of the black community. Also, the Black Panthers were socialistic.

Newly released tapes show that Richard Nixon didn't care about black people. He allocated few funds to black businesses. Nixon cut other federal programs that were helping people of color. He refused to support the extension of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and he lobbied Congress to try to defeat the fair housing enforcement program.  Richard Nixon opposed making Dr. King's birthday a national holiday. That is why civil rights leaders opposed Nixon for his evil record on civil rights. Nixon’s Southern Strategy caused him to have a significant victory in the 1972 election. His Democratic opponent was George McGovern. McGovern was a sincere liberal who opposed the Vietnam War and wanted social justice. By 1972, the Democratic Party moved into the left, and this was one of the few times when an unapologetic liberal ran for President. Nixon had immense popularity, and McGovern lost the election. Wallace ran for President and ended it when a gunman shot him. He was later paralyzed for the remainder of his life. Nixon tried to portray himself as moderate, and he condemned McGovern as an extremist when McGovern wasn’t. Spiro Agnew continued to be Nixon’s Vice President. Nearly every electoral vote came for Nixon, and 60.7 percent of the popular vote also went for Nixon while 37.5 percent of the popular vote came for McGovern. Richard Nixon was the first Republican President to sweep the South. Nixon ended mandatory wage, price, and rent ceiling regulations. This caused a hike in inflation since the price controls were stopped. With the Kent State disaster, the illegal bombing of Cambodia, the Pentagon Papers were released, and the other revelations, Nixon decided to be stubborn and maintain his views.

The Watergate Scandal (and the end of the Nixon Presidency)

In the midst of his victory, storm clouds came his way. It was Watergate. Even in 1972, Watergate was discussed, but it wasn't the primary political discussion at first. Things would change. June 1972 was the time when right-wing extremists had a botched burglary at the Democratic Party headquarters (called Watergate in D.C.). The Watergate burglars were in trial by 1973. One burglar was named James McCord. He said that Nixon administration officials were involved in the break-in. James McCord was part of the Committee to Re-Elect the President as a security chief. This group was known as CREEP, and it was headed by former attorney general John Mitchell. CREEP used intelligence monitoring of Democratic candidate drinking and sexual habits to try to discredit them. CREEP (one member of this group was G. Gordon Liddy) used false literature and other lies in trying to defeat Democratic opponents. The Senate investigated this charge. Hearings existed. Many witnesses said that President Nixon and his top aides were involved in the cover-up. Nixon denied any wrongdoing. As time went on, investigators found links between the burglars and top Nixon administration officials. Young Washington Post journalists named Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein helped to expose Watergate for the public. A source called “Deep Throat” gave them sources on the events. Deep Throat was later found to be an FBI official.

Woodward and Bernstein reported that the men who tried to burglarize the Watergate hotel had total links to the Nixon reelection committee. Nixon proclaimed his innocence multiple times. Nixon said the famous “I am not a crook” in November 1973. Most Americans viewed Nixon as not honest about the Watergate scandal. Congress had to act. By the fall of 1973, Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned in the face of a corruption scandal. Agnew was caught accepting bribes and evading income taxes. He was a hypocrite. Nixon named Gerald Ford as the new Vice President as following the 25th Amendment. Nixon secretly taped his White House conversations. Some believed that those tapes would show his role in covering up the break-in. June 1973 was when former White House counsel John Dean would tell investigators that Nixon authorized a cover-up. Nixon refused to release the tapes citing executive privilege. This was in July 1973. By October of 1973, Nixon wanted to reveal summaries of the recordings.

Justice Department special prosecutor Archibald Cox refused to do this, so Nixon fired him. He fired other people that was known as the Saturday Night Massacre. People protested that decisions and newspapers called for Nixon to resign. Calls for impeachment grew loudly. Many people from the Nixon team were indicted by March 1974 for conspiracy in the Watergate break-in. Nixon was named as an unindicted co-conspirator. The Supreme Court in July 1974 (via the United States v. Nixon) unanimously voted that Nixon must release White House recordings as required by the new special prosecutor.  Chief Justice Warren Burger explicitly rejected Nixon’s claim of executive privilege. The House Judiciary Committee recommended impeachment. By August of 1974, transcripts of tapes show that Nixon ordered a cover-up of the Watergate break-in. The House Judiciary Committee approved the action to impeach Nixon for the crimes of obstructing justice in the cover-up of the Watergate break-in, misuse of power, refusing to comply with House subpoenas. Many Republicans wanted Nixon to be impeached too.

By August 9, 1974, Richard Nixon became the first U.S. President to resign since he faced impeachment.  Nixon’s crimes weren’t just about Watergate. It was about him using dirty tricks to secure his election, forming an enemies list in allowing the federal government to harass his opponents, and using wiretaps against reporters plus others who disagreed with his administration. Watergate shocked the confidence of the American people in governmental institutions. It showed the world that no President is above the law. Trust in government went down. Nixon never saw prison. 25 Nixon administration officials would go prison including Ehrlichman, Haldeman, and Mitchell. Nixon who lectured others on "law and order" was one of the most lawless and corrupt Presidents of American history. The aftermath of Watergate made Congress pass many laws to promote government transparency and ethics like the Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments in 1974, the Freedom of Information Act in 1974, the Government in Sunshine Act of 1976, and the Ethics in Government Act in 1978. Watergate showed that we need checks and balances in any government. The nation weathered and survived the political storms, and later Gerald Ford would be President. Gerald Ford’s time as President was brief but critical in American history.

By Timothy

Part 2 of this era of 1964-1980 will outline Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, the rise of the conservative movement, economic issues, the Camp David Accords,  and the Election of 1980. Don't get it twisted, since many progressive heroes fought against apartheid, the prison industrial complex, racism, and other evils during this time period as well.