Television with Civil Rights

Imagine a time period without television or social media to influence how Americans view race and social injustice. I believe the Civil Rights Movement would have been a predominantly big factor, but I believe it would not have translated to the ideal American family. Think of a traditional home or family having the white privilege mentality when it comes to forming an opinion about the culture. If there were not television sets showing families the horrible outcomes of these situations, then the Civil Rights Movement would have been at a standstill. During the end of the 1950's, nearly 90 percent of Americans had a TV (Foner, 947). It would not have generated the strength in numbers and could have quite frankly lost members. They would have felt like their cause was no use. White men and white families would forever prosper, leaving minorities at a disposal. Also, most women took care of the children and mainly stayed in the household as opposed to the men who were out working. This would have caused less attention surrounding the movement.

I think the 'conscience of America' would be lost and not know how to handle racial situations when issues flared up. If you had enough money, you purchased a television. It is almost as essential as the refrigerator is nowadays. News would not travel as fast and would reduce the major changes the Civil Rights Movement has made over the past years. Word of mouth would have been present, but i definitely believe most people would have ignored the truth or turned the other way when approached with such news or stories. The fact that people could sit in their home, at their most vulnerable state and watch history unfold right in their face has the ultimate jurisdiction. The news and media influence our persona and the way we think, which leads to humans needing to see it before they can actually believe it. If the TV Programs put out content that depicts negative reactions towards the movement, most likely the people will see those actions and be horrified.

I believe some of the strategies these activists would have introduced would be more campaigns. Using the political platforms as a way to assert your topic and progression of the Civil Rights Movement, forms of campaigning would have been my ideal way of going about things. Especially without the use of television, campaign members could spread the word of their message in favor of the Civil Rights Movement. Another way of informing the public in my opinion would be an Act or Play. Big theatrical plays could have been used to lure in crowds and show them the ugly side of slavery and all the disgusting actions brought forth by white slave owners. I think this could have been a great way to open the eyes of the public and to show all white Americans what truly went on during harsh times. I also think religion and their tendencies would play a factor. Close to 1957, big budget hollywood movies and films recognized and celebrated major films for depicting wholesome Christian ideals that stayed away from mentioning the Civil Rights Movement or anything to do with it (Foner, 953). Most of the films always had white traditional actors and actresses and featured very few African Americans actors if at all.

I really do think if white people were not shown the things they were shown in this time period, then things would have not gotten much better. Racism will never go away. It will always be something that Americans deal with because there are too many mixed people in this country. I believe that it should not matter what skin color, race, religion, sexual orientation, or political standpoint you are or have, but rather it should depend on the type of person you are. Every human being is a person and it should not matter if you are male or female or African American or Caucasian, a person is still a person.

Cite this page