Chapter 20 The Politics of Protest

The Rise of the Youth Movement The youth movement originated with the ‘baby boomers’ By % of the population was under the age of 34. Universities had increased enrollment in the 1960s due to the larger number of youth and the economic boom. It was on college campuses that students gathered to share ideas and protest.

The Free Speech Movement The Free Speech Movement began at UC Berkeley when the university restricted students’ rights to distribute literature and recruit volunteers for political causes. The cops moved in and arrested 700 protesting students.

Hippies Some youth chose to reject society norms by creating counterculture communities focused on art, music, drugs, and communal living. Their goal was a utopia full of love, tolerance, & cooperation. Many were just there for the sex and the drugs. One of the largest communes was in the Haight-Ashbury District of… San Francisco – big surprise.

The Impact of Counterculture Men grew beards (as all real manly men can) and long hair in defiance of their dad’s clean-cut faces and buzz-cut hairstyles. Musicians adapted the lyrical rhythm of folk music to the beat of rock ‘n’ roll to create a new, grittier sound. Most of these young folks eventually grew up and joined the ‘real world’.

The Impact of Counterculture Rock festivals such as Woodstock became popular places for the new bands such as The Who, Janice Joplin, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, and the Flying Burrito Brothers.

The Impact of Counterculture Also, the Beatles perform their last concert in 1969 before breaking up for good. Thanks, Yoko. John, your friends suck!

The Feminist Movement Feminism is the belief that women and men should be equal politically, economically, and socially. Women were often paid less than men for doing the same job. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was supposed to outlaw paying men more than women.

The Feminist Movement Feminists were successful in getting congress to pass Title IX prohibiting federally funded schools from discriminating against women. In 1973 the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade that put restrictions on state laws regarding abortions.

Latinos Organize Mexican-Americans and other Latinos were treated as outsiders by whites. They suffered under segregation in many southern states. In Mendez v. Westminster a group of parents successfully sued to end segregation in California schools. In Hernandez v. Texas the Supreme Court ruled that Texas could no longer ban Latinos from serving on juries.

Latinos Organize In the 1960s Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta organized Hispanic farm workers into a union (United Farm Workers), but farm owners refused to negotiate with the organization. To Push for better wages, Chavez organized a boycott of grapes, one of California’s largest crops. The boycott ended in 1970 when growers agreed to increased wages.

Latinos Organize Hispanic youth began taking up the cause of civil rights and in 1968 more than 1000 students and teachers in LA walked out of their classrooms to protest racism. In 1969 the organization La Raza Unida was formed to promote Latino causes and promote Latino candidates for public office. La Raza was part of a wider civil rights movement known as “Brown Power.”

Latinos Organize Many white people opposed bilingual education for Spanish-speaking students; they feared it would prevent Latinos from assimilating. However, the Bilingual Education Act passed which directed school districts to teach classes in an immigrant’s own language while they were learning English.