Transcript Counterculture

Political Upheaval and the
Counterculture
Black Power, Flower Power,
Protest, Assassination and
Music in the 1960s & ’70s
I. Changes in the United States
during the later 1960s
 Societal changes occur as part of civil
rights movement, reaction to Vietnam,
focus on economic disparity, and
political turmoil
 Trust in government and traditional
leadership begins to erode in late
1960s
II. Changes in Civil Rights movement:
Changes in Focus
 Civil rights movement focused on problems
in the South in early 1960s
 Majority of African-Americans (70%) lived in
urban cities, many in North and West
– Often faced racism in these areas: unable
to live in white neighborhoods, difficulty
finding employment, higher poverty levels
– Frustrations rise with lack of focus on
these issues
Race Riots
– Watts Riots (August 1965 in
Los Angeles)
 Accusations of police
brutality start riot that will
last 5 days
 14,000 members of
National Guard deployed
 34 people died, 900
injuries, $45 million
damages to property
Additional race riots
 Riots take place in
Philadelphia and New
York previous to Watts
and will also occur in
Washington DC,
Baltimore, Detroit
 Detroit riot in 1967 was
worst in scope with 43
deaths and $250 million
in damages
Black
 Origin of Black Power
– Failures of inner-city efforts
and Chicago Movement by
Power MLK led many AfricanAmericans to search for
new approach
– Stokely Carmichael, leader
of SNCC, puts forward idea
of “black power”
 Mobilization and pride in
black community, Afrocentric beliefs, physical
self-defense, possible
use of violence
Malcolm X
– Born Malcolm Little in
Omaha, he drifted into
crime and sent to prison
– Joins Nation of Islam or “Black Muslims”,
which preached black nationalism and
separation from white community
– Changes name to Malcolm X for symbolic
reasons
– Becomes charismatic speaker for Nation of
Islam and self-defense
– Breaks away from Nation of Islam and goes
on pilgrimage to Mecca
– Changes message after returns and
criticizes Nation of Islam
– Assassinated while giving a speech in New
York in February 1965
Black Panther Party
– Advocated black
power, black
nationalism, and
economic selfsufficiency
– “Ten-Point
Program” calls for
increased services
among and for
African-Americans
– Called for arming for
self-defense and
confrontation with
white society
– Investigated by US
government and
begins decline after
conflicts over focus
on Black Panthers
and trials involving
leadership
Black nationalism in public view
– Kwanzaa created
in 1966 by black
nationalist Ron
Karenga
– 1968 Olympics in
Mexico City:
Tommie Smith &
John Carlos
Other Civil Rights groups
 New civil rights groups with nationalist
elements emerged among other minority
population
– Hispanics: La Raza and Brown Berets
– Native Americans: American Indian
Movement and Indians of all Nations
(occupation of Alcatraz)
– Chinese: Red Guard and I Wor Kuen
– Gay Liberation Front forms after Stonewall
riots in June 1969 in New York City
III. Turmoil of 1968
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Johnson leaves presidential race
North Vietnamese launch Tet Offensive on
January 30, 1968
Even though militarily unsuccessful,
American media and public shift beliefs on
ability to “win” Vietnam War
Credibility gap: American’s perceived
inability to trust what LBJ said about the
war
 Little known liberal
Senator Eugene
McCarthy gets 40% of
New Hampshire
primary vote
 Senator Robert
Kennedy quickly
enters race as possible
frontrunner
 LBJ’s approval rating
drops dramatically and
does not run for
reelection
Season of Violence
 Martin Luther King,
Jr. assassinated on
April 4 in Memphis
 Robert Kennedy
assassinated on
June 5 in Los
Angeles after
winning California
Democratic Primary
1968 Democratic Convention
 Assassination of Robert
Kennedy leaves Democrats
with no frontrunner
 Convention chooses Hubert
Humphrey (LBJ’s VP) as
nominee after three days of
debate over war and other
issues
 Anti-war protests
outside convention
escalate into riot in
downtown Chicago
that was televised
throughout the country
– Chicago Eight-eight leaders of
protest put on trial for
conspiracy
 Mocked authority of court
and most found guilty of
lower crimes, with
sentences overturned by
Appeals Court
1968 Presidential Election
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Candidacy of Democrat Hubert
Humphrey marred by violence at
convention and connection to
LBJ’s Vietnam policies
Republicans nominate Richard
Nixon, who promised to restore
order and planned to end war in
Vietnam
Governor George Wallace runs
as an independent segregationist
Nixon wins election by more than
100 electoral votes but only 43%
to 42%
IV. Counterculture
 Free Speech Movement at Berkeley sparks
additional challenges to authority
 Reaction against governmental policies,
especially the Vietnam War
 Reaction against perceived conformity of
1950s
 Striving for utopian lifestyle outside of
standard societal practices
Anti-Vietnam Protest
Buddhist Monk-Saigon 1963
Kent State-1970
Expression of the Counterculture
 Hippie culture emerges in
later 1960s and
publicized in San
Francisco
 Attempted formation of
communes – group living
arrangements
– Most famous likely
Haight-Ashbury district
in San Francisco
 Fashion: longer hair, long
dresses, fringed garments,
older clothing, military
surplus, tie-dyed clothing
 Music: Rock ‘n’ roll
music combined with
lyrics often embodying
social issues, protests,
and drug culture
 Dance: focused on
dancing without
partner, but in a group
(stressed individuality
within the group)
 Drug culture: use of
psychedelic drugs,
often LSD and
marijuana
Hippies: “Imagine no possessions; I wonder if
you can—no need for greed or hunger, a
brotherhood of man. Imagine all the people sharing
all the world.”
– Woodstock: over
one half million
people in upstate
New York gather
for three day
music festival
– 31 Total Bands, including:
– Joan Baez; Blood, Sweat and Tears; Creedence
Clearwater Revival; Crosby, Stills, Nash &
Young; Joe Cocker; Arlo Guthrie; Grateful Dead;
Jimi Hendrix; Janis Joplin; Jefferson Airplane;
Ravi Shankar; Sly and the Family Stone;
Santana; The Who
– Altamont: large festival in California
famously marred by violence
Decline of the Counterculture
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Hippie communities deteriorated with
crime and drug addiction issues
Societal issues began shifting in early
1970s
Early hippies aged out of the movement
after growing older
Legacy remains, although never
thoroughly dominant part of society