The Great Society- Which movement would I support?

I’d like to think that I would have been a part of all these movements. I base that conclusion on two fundamental beliefs: we should all be united on issues of human rights and when the rights of some are infringed upon the rights of all are endangered. I think that supporting one movement while not supporting another would be hypocritical at best. But I also think that this depends greatly on the context. Frankly, civil rights leaders and supporters were subject to constant harassment and often they stood up for what they believed in at a great personal cost. However, the only way to create progress and change is to understand that you will never understand but continue to stand for the rights of all people. Only through empathy and conversation can we grow.

Personally, I most closely relate to the Asian American movement and the Women’s movement as I would fall under these demographics. All these movements overall wanted increased government protection and awareness of injustices. The Asian American movement demanded decreased discrimination and Asian studies programs. In the 19th century Americans had been so hostile towards Asians that the US essentially banned them and even put Japanese Americans in interment camps during WWII. However, during the cold war the United States needed to stuck up to its Asians allies in order to prevent them from falling to communism so they launched a propaganda campaign highlighting Asian success stories. They also opened the border to highly educated successful Asian immigrants which contributed to the myth that Asians are some kind of model minority. The Yellow power movement fought to end some of the negative stereotypes towards Asians but it also contributed to the model minority myth which is still used to hold other minorities down and also is a disadvantage to any Asian Americans who might be struggling in school.

I think the most tragic thing about the movements during the Great Society was the inevitable backlash. As usual America is far more willing to celebrate its successes than acknowledge its failures and in the period following these reforms there were many. I really think that Newton was very correct when he stated that for each action there is an equal and opposite reaction. It seems as if for every step forward we take in this country towards progress we also take several steps back in the opposite direction which is why many of these movements ultimately failed to some extent. The saddest example of this was the Native American or Red Power movement. They were able to gain restitution and some aid however it launched a huge adoption campaign where white families were encouraged to adopt native children usually without the consent of the parents. This was similar to the boarding schools which had become outlawed a few years earlier. This was essentially cultural genocide as children were unwillingly taken from their homes and placed in often abusive foster homes.