This summer I attended the maymester in St. Augustine, Florida, where we focused on the Civil Rights Movements in the context of this often forgotten city during the movement. Through my studies of the events of the area, it was clear that the student population of the city, whether high school or college students, were on the frontlines of the battlefield, starting sit-ins, marches, anything that could bring attention to their cause.At the beginning of the movement in St. Augustine, many of the local college students from Florida Memorial College and even some surrounding high schools in the area were the spark to the movement, with a mass quantity of them raising their voices for equality. However, they saw their student population drastically cut when the historically black school of Florida Memorial College felt the pressure from the white supremacist leaders of the community and decided to relocate to Miami. Many others had also joined the Black Panthers and the black power movement, making them outsiders to the nonviolent methods being taught by Martin Luther King, Jr. and his followers. Our class concluded that the racial injustice toward the African American community continued even after they saw legislative equality due to the passionate activism that left the area, being replaced with confusion and complacency by the older members. This civil rights movement is just now being integrated into the history of this city 50 years later, with the youth being highlighted as the real change-starters.
The importance of student-led activism is clearly still evident today in regards to the protests in Ferguson, MO following the death of Michael Brown. This month is the start of what they are calling “Ferguson October”, a time dedicated to activism and movements in this city. On Sunday night there was a meeting held at a local church, with Dr. Cornel West as the keynote speaker along with other religious and civil leaders speaking. Many people present at this massive meeting felt like the speakers chosen were not doing justice to the movement as they had not been in Ferguson the whole time. People began to demand that the young people who had been there through it all stand up and speak, as claiming that the older people cannot connect with the gravity of their young reality. Without the voices of the young people in this city, there would be no justice for the death of Michael Brown and the other acts of police brutality that is plaguing the nation. This is a new fight for civil rights, and the youth are leading the way.
St. Augustine Movement : civilrightslibrary.com
Ferguson article: http://www.politicususa.com/2014/10/13/ferguson-october-young-protesters-reject-message-delivered-older-religious-leaders.html
I think the concept of student led activism has always been prominent in any movement, but I think it is more prominent with today's youth more so than in the past. Students have rallied around many movements in the past few years like Occupy Wallstreet and the student protesters in Hong Kong. I also believe some organizations have been created by the student protesters in Ferguson, MO.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be interesting to compare the amount of student lead activism during the time of the Civil Rights Movement to the Movements that have been prominent within the last 10 years or even 5 years to get a gage of what role social media plays in activism today.
I agree with Marissa that that would provide an interesting case study of sorts. Another significant example could be found in the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin case when a movement swept the country, and certainly Memphis, of students, especially African American students, wearing hoodies with the hoods up and carrying skittles as a form of social protest to make the implied statement of "well, are you going to shoot me too?"
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