Television News Takes a Stand In The Civil Rights Movement

Chapter 11 of Roger Streitmatter’s, Mightier Than The Sword, focuses on the Civil Rights Movement and TV news’ outstanding impact on social change. I really enjoyed this chapter and reading about how television news came into play. Civil Rights are extremely important because everyone wants their rights as a human. Nobody wants to live unfair and cruel lives. News coverage took a stand when nobody else would. The news helped get society to fight against segregation. TV news is extremely important because it has the power to change the wrongs in society.  

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Martin_Luther_King_Jr_NYWTS_4.jpg

Martin Luther King Jr

New York World-Telegram and the Sun staff photographer: Albertin, Walter, photographer

After slavery had been abolished in the United States, Southerners decided they needed to find ways to keep black Americans in their place. They made poll taxes, grandfather clauses, unfair literacy tests, and continued to deny African Americans their right to vote. They couldn’t even use public facilities or receive a decent education. Their status was “separate but equal.” They were obviously still being degraded, so clearly they were not “equal.” Yes, they had more freedom than before, but their separation from white Americans was unfair. This is when television news stepped in and brought awareness to people all over the country. TV news showed American society the harsh realities of black oppression in the South. TV news then began pushing the Civil Right Movement onto the national agenda. Newspapers, like the New York Times and the Boston Globe, also helped push the movement, but TV news’ impact was much bigger. The news showed blacks being cursed and spit at, attacked by police dogs, and being aggressively sprayed with fire hoses all for exercising the rights given to them by the constitution. The cruel and unfair way blacks were being treated that they saw in the news, ingrained in the minds of the nation. People started joining the fight for the Civil Rights Movement.

Check out this brief video for a quick history on the Civil Rights Movement:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URxwe6LPvkM

History of the Civil Rights Movement 

by WatchMojo 

Reporter Dan Rather of CBS went to Mississippi to cover a news story for the movement. When he was looking for a Motel to stay in, he remembers the window reading “NO DOGS, NIGGERS OR REPORTERS ALLOWED.” Segregation was at its peak in the South. Name calling was not their only offense. Many reporters were injured  while covering the movement. Richard Valeriani, a NBC reporter, was reporting in Alabama and was struck from the back with the wooden handle of an ax. This caused a severe head wound landing him in the hospital for a few days. A state trooper saw the whole thing and didn’t even arrest the guy who hit him. In 1957, African American leaders in Little Rock decided to enroll 9 black students in a white public school. They did this to test the segregated school policy. One of the black students, Elizabeth Eckford, showed up at school alone one day because she was unaware that they were supposed to all go together. When she walked through the crowd, people screamed horrible things at her. It is sad that people could do this to a young girl. This incident was documented by the news and daily coverage on these 9 students continued throughout the year. These cameras showed the public how this group was stormed with curses and threats as they walked across the school. They treated these black students like they were toxic. It is horrible that they can treat their fellow Americans this way just because they are a different color. Their skin color doesn’t make them any less American. 

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Because of TV news and its coverage on the movement, changes towards desegregation started being made. The University of Georgia was ruled to admit African Americans for the first time. Two students attended the university and were treated horribly. They were cursed and spit at. Just because the federal court made this university allow blacks, doesn’t mean that they would be accepted. Next, the Supreme court decided to ban segregation in interstate travel. A group of racially mixed college students bought bus tickets from D.C. to New Orleans. TV news made sure to document this new story. The group dressed nicely and as they rode from Virginia to Carolina, they were rarely bothered by segregationists. Once they made their way into Alabama things quickly changed. When the train reached Montgomery station, a mob of 2,000 segregationists attacked the group with bricks, baseball bats, and lead pipes. Sadly, the mob smashed the camera, so none of the incident was documented. The abuse this group suffered was extremely severe. 

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:School_segregation_protest.jpg

School segregation protest

Protest march against the segregation of U.S. schools

by: Ske

In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. along with other civil rights leaders stepped into action. They targeted Birmingham where segregation was at its peak. TV news documented this campaign and broadcasted it across the nation. White segregationists of course acted out. They committed horrible acts against blacks, but blacks stayed strong and let the whites make fools out of themselves. The black did not give up, they fought for this movement for several months. TV news continued to document to keep the public informed. Eventually President Kennedy got involved and allowed blacks to shop at city stores and eat at city restaurants. The March on Washington had a great impact on the movement. TV news made sure to document this event. They started off the day with a half hour report on what was going on then a 2 hour recap in the afternoon and ended the day with a report during prime time. They made sure that everyone knew exactly what was going on. They didn’t want anyone forgetting about it for a second. NBC produces The American Revolution of ’63 which was a new special that focused on covering the civil right movement. This program was a big success and brought great awareness. 

Check out this video for some footage from the Civil Rights Movement

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBPeCQzHu5w

THE CIVIL RIGHTS ERA FROM BBC MOTION GALLERY

by BBCMotionGalleryNYLA

Eventually African Americans were gained their right to vote. Congress passed two pieces of legislation that were extremely important results of the movement. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commissions. It also banned restaurants, hotels, theaters, and other facilities of the public from turning away any person because of racial reasons. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 banned all barriers to Americans exercising the right to vote. Without news coverage, none of this could have happened. Television news showed the public the wrong in society and gained the publics support. TV news has the ability to do things that other news sources cannot. TV news can grab viewers and make them feel like they are part of what is going on. It gives them a visual connection on the issue. It is remarkable how powerful news coverage is on our nation. It has made significant changes on our history and will continue to make an powerful impact.  

FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS!

Check out this website about Civil Rights Movement Veterans: Civil Rights Movement Veterans

Check out some of the historic places of the Civil Rights Movement: We Shall Overcome

Check out this blog on the New Civil Rights Movement and get involved: The New Civil Rights Movement

Journalists' Fight To End Slavery

      Image: 'No Slavery Vector Illustration' 

       http://www.flickr.com/photos/33678919@N07/6466694643

As I began reading the second chapter of Rodger Streitmatter’s Mightier Than The Sword, I was instantly intrigued. The second chapter of Streitmatter’s book focuses on the movement against slavery through journalism. I can’t even remember the last time I learned about slavery in America. Before I read this chapter, when I thought of slavery, I thought of Harriet Tubman and the underground railroad. I never knew about these journalists who devoted their lives to ending slavery. Slavery is an extremely significant part of our history and if the journalistic campaign opposing slavery never happened, our world would not be the same today. Journalism brought society the awareness it needed to end slavery. 

                                                   

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By Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795) and either William Hackwood or Henry Webber; "Josiah Wedgewood...produced the emblem as a jasper-ware cameo at his pottery factory. Although the artist who designed and engraved the seal is unknown, the design for the cameo is attributed to William Hackwood or to Henry Webber, who were both modelers at the Wedgewood factory." (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part2/2h67.html PBS]) (British Abolition Movement) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Streitmatter introduces this topic by discussing journalistic martyr, Rev. Elijah P. Lovejoy. Lovejoy was a dedicated and motivated journalist. Lovejoy devoted himself to his journalistic campaign opposing slavery. He was driven by a strong desire to change the injustices of society. He did this through journalism. He created four different printing presses and each one was destroyed by pro-slavery forces. Along with his antislavery movement, he began a campaign towards freedom of expression. He dedicated himself and his work to his movements. When his fourth press was destroyed, Lovejoy was killed. An angry pro-slavery mob of people set fire to the warehouse where he stored his press. When Lovejoy tried to stop them, he was shot. His death greatly affected the abolition movement. His death changed people’s views on slavery and they began supporting the movement against slavery. His death showed people that African Americans weren’t the only people who were being denied of their rights, but all citizens of America. Thousands of people who didn’t care about this issue earlier, formed local antislavery societies once they realized their own civil liberties were at risk. Lovejoy’s death was an extremely important part of the abolition movement.

Image: 'William Lloyd Garrison in Brown Square' 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10159247@N04/4694938786

William Lloyd Garrison also used journalism to end slavery. He was the most influential abolitionist editor. Garrison created The Liberator which he used to spread his antislavery campaign. He told the harsh truth in his newspaper. He stood up against pro-slavery newspapers and tried his best to put them in their place. He made sure his voice was heard. Garrison, like Lovejoy, was devoted to this movement. He continued to fight for his beliefs and didn’t let anything stop him, not even a mob of 100 men. He went to extreme lengths to get through to the public, he even set fire to the Constitution during a Fourth of July celebration. Garrison was no longer one of the only voices against slavery by the 1850s. Established newspapers started to join in on the movement along with Garrison. Finally, all of Garrison’s and other journalists’ hard work paid off in December of 1865 when the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution abolished slavery. Slaves and African Americans expressed their greatest gratitude to Garrison for what he did for them. Garrison played a leading role in abolishing slavery. His battle against slavery changed this world. 

Image: 'I LOVE BILL................'

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Because of Garrison, African Americans were able to find their voices in journalism. The first black newspaper, Freedom’s Journal, was founded and eventually Frederick Douglass established the country’s first black abolitionist newspapers. A steady African American press was established and it became an important source of racial pride as well as a key factor in the abolition movement. 

Lovejoy and Garrison’s antislavery newspapers brought awareness to the nation. They showed America that they were not going to allow society to continue to treat their citizens wrongly. Citizens saw the importance of civil liberties and began to fight for their rights. They demonstrated the strengths of journalism and how it can lead any battle. 

Check out this video about Frederick Douglass

http://youtu.be/ALXPUYWFbGI

In the Words of Frederick Douglassby CornellPressNews

This video gives a brief overview of Douglass' impact on the abolition movement and helps the viewer gain a visual understanding of what was happening at this time. 

With that said...

I really enjoyed Streitmatter’s chapter on abolition. We owe it to these journalists who devoted all their blood, sweat, and tears to making the wrong in society, right. These journalists not only fought against slavery, but for freedom of expression and freedom of the press. These freedoms are extremely important. If these journalists never began their antislavery movements, we would most likely be looking at a different world. This chapter is solid proof of how effective journalism is on society. I chose this chapter over the other three because I find the fight against slavery incredibly interesting. I read things in this chapter that I had no clue existed. This chapter made me appreciate journalism so much more than I already do. Journalism is an extremely powerful force and with the help of society, it can accomplish great things. 


Streitmatter, Rodger. Mightier than the Sword: How the News Media Have Shaped American History. Boulder, CO: Westview, 2008. Print.

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By ПОКА ТУТ (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

No slavery! Freedom. Liberty. 

While reading this chapter about the abolition of slavery, I realized something. I realized that as human beings, we have the tendency of being stubborn. When we feel strongly about something, we don't let anything change our feelings. For instance, the pro-slavery group strongly supported slavery and no matter what negative things were said about it, they kept their opinion. This also happened with the antislavery group. This is why the fight against slavery was so long and difficult. Everyone had the views that slavery fell into one of two categories: right or wrong. When we hold strong views and close out other views, there is no room for understanding. In order to find the solution to a problem, everyone must reach an understanding or a middle ground. If we keep pointing fingers at each other, nothing is going to change. Even though slavery is absolutely horrible, it is not done for no reason. There is a reason why everyone does what they do. We are all humans. Nobody is born with hate. Our experiences as humans determine our behavior. Behind every human being is a story. Once we realize that everyone is human and that we all have feelings that are worth understanding, this world will see significant change. 

We are all human and we all have rights! 

Check out this timeline of slavery in America:
Slavery and the Making of America Timeline  




Today's Slavery... 


Today slavery still exists. Each day, young women are being sold into sex slavery. These women are being denied their rights, just as the African Americans were in the 19th century. 

http://youtu.be/c8wLmEL0XDE

Help End Child Sex Slavery & Exploitationby love146europe
I like this video because this organization gives a quick, as well as engaging background on modern day slavery. At the end of the video, they show exactly how you can become part of the fight. All you have to do is spread the word: tweet, share, mail, blog, and text! Spreading the word will help this movement. You have the ability to be someone's voice who cannot be heard! 
Check out this blog about modern day slavery: Free the Slaves BLOG 
Check out this organization Love146 and their fight to end sex slavery: Love146

Become Part of the movement to end modern day slavery: 
Abolish Slavery!

Image: 'sorry but my hands are tied' 

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