Conflict Theory And Civil Rights Movement

The fight for equal rights is a prevalent today as it was in the time of the Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Rights Movement is an incredible example of how to implement positive change one of their most effective methods was marching, such as the march from Selma. The marchers had to overcome a physical barrier, waiting hostility across the bridge, but this bridge was also symbolic. Crossing over the bridge meant freedom to vote had been won. Now, other groups such as Black Lives Matter, are embarking on their own journey to combat the same issues faced years ago, racism and discrimination. These movements can be related to a particular perspective on the academic level and have opened my eyes personally to the injustices imposed upon people …show more content…
The Civil Rights Movement noticed clear discrimination and injustices being done to them by people in higher authority. In their case, members of government were deterring their right as United States’ citizens to vote by enforcing Jim Crowe laws, which were discriminatory laws put in place strictly to bar African Americans from being able to vote or register to vote, particularly in the Southern part of the United States. As in Marx’s original theory where the proletariat are denied resources available to the bourgeois, who use their power to control social institutions, like government, as explained in “The Three Main Sociological Perspectives” as published in Understanding Social Problems. African Americans were being denied the right to vote, a tactic by Caucasians, who were blocking the right through racist laws. This situation directly fits Marx’s formula, because even though the Civil Rights Movement did not react in violence or confrontation, conflict still occurred. Black Lives Matter fits into the conflict theory as well. An interesting thing to note is one of the three founders of Black Lives Matter, Alicia Garza is influenced by Malcom X, who was classified as a conflict theorist, and she too describes herself as one embracing the conflict theory. Black Lives Matter is protesting African Americans being denied the right to being treated equally especially in situations involving the police. American Americans feel profiled for their race and are being treated with unjust and sometimes deadly brutality by law enforcement. The conflict theory is being engaged in both movements, the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Lives Matter