The sixties Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The sixties - Essay Example Reflecting on the 1960’s, one’s thoughts are immediately diverted to the large-scale war and civil rights protests. All this was occurring while men first landed on the moon. It was a time of a great awakening among the collected consciousness of the world. This discussion will review some of the major events of the ‘60’s era demonstrating why this period was a distinctly profound society altering era. The focus is on the civil rights movement and the counterculture including the popular art and new religious incursions into the existing culture which were challenging conventional thought. Following the ‘60’s, the idea of what was ‘normal’ or ‘acceptable’ in society was greatly altered in a relatively short period of time and like no other time in at least 100 years. The Civil Rights Movement was an important chapter in American history which led to the establishment of human rights around the world and The Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) which â€Å"prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin† (US Equal Employment Opportunity, 1997). Subsequently an Executive Order (11246) originating from the Lyndon Johnson administration in 1965 mandated affirmative action for all federally funded programs. These governmental efforts to effectively outlaw institutionalized racism was a reaction necessitated by the enormous outpouring of public pressure of all races and gender during the 1950’s and 60’s. Society as a whole as well as many groups and individuals have benefited from these programs including women, those who suffer disabilities and the working class, but the principal emphasis of the movement and legislation was focused on racial discrimination. Civil Rights legislation gav e credence to the great imbalance of social equality that blacks were experiencing and to the rights and the respect that they were seeking through the movement. The spotlight on the civil rights movement