The issue of civil rights was too much for the establishment to handle. One of the chapters of history that's least studied by historians is the 300 to 500 riots in the U.S. between 1965 and 1970.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I don't think the riots derailed the civil rights movement.
I think riots happen when communities are under pressure for long periods of time. That's not a mistake.
The relationship between violence and nonviolence in this country is interesting. The fact of the matter is, you know, people do respond to riots. The 1968 Housing Act was in large response to riots that broke out after Dr. Martin Luther King was killed. They cited these as an actual inspiration.
In 1962, the smallest things were upsetting to authority. It wasn't the Civil Rights Movement. It wasn't the Anti-war Movement. It was something else, but it was a harbinger of what was to come.
Many civil rights came about, not when they were passed into law, but because the federal government did what it should and saw them enforced.
During the 60's, I was, in fact, very concerned about the civil rights movement.
Covering the civil-rights movement was a mind- and eye-opener for me. Houston was a segregated society, as was Texas as a whole - some of it by law, a lot of it by fear and tradition. But there was no violence where I lived, and if there was hate, it was either concealed from me or I just didn't recognize it.
Civil rights are more important today than they ever have been in our country. There is so much divisiveness today.
The uproar of the late '60s - the antiwar movement, black riots, angry women. It was a wonderful time.
I was told there would be riots in the streets, but there were no riots.
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