Analysis of Civil Rights Movement Using Map

Civil Rights Movement Through William Moyer's Map Civil rights movement in the United States has a long history that dates back to the 18th Century due to issues associated with slavery and other problems in the country. Despite the existence of this movement for a long period of time, it gained considerable attention in the 19th Century largely because of racial discrimination and equality issues that became prevalent across the country.

Some of the other issues that fueled the re-emergence and development of the movement include voting rights, hate crimes, and racial profiling. In essence, the major factor that contributed to the emergence and growth of the civil rights movement is the struggle African-Americans experienced in attempts to achieve significant equality through ending racial discrimination. However, the development of the civil rights movement from the early 1950s over the next five decades can be explained on the premise of the Moyer's Movement Action Plan (MAP) model.

Civil Rights Movement in the Context of Movement Action Plan Model As previously mentioned, civil rights movement has a long history that has been characterized by numerous efforts by African-Americans to achieve greater equality through fighting and ending racial prejudice. The Movement Action Plan (MAP) is a strategic model developed by Moyer for the creation of successful and effective non-violent social movements. In order for the social movements to be successful, the model comprises eight distinctive stages that are crucial for the development and growth of social movements.

As a result, the model is a tool that can help in creating better understanding of a social movement's progression such as the development of civil rights movement (Andrew par, 1). Based on this model, civil rights movement in the early 1950s was in the first two stages of successful development of a social model. The first step in the Movement Action Plan is known normal times or business as usual since very few individuals care about the issue whereas the second stage is the failure of established systems and processes.

During the first stage, the objective of the formation of a social movement is to create awareness through which people will begin thinking about the issue to be addressed while spreading the word. The second stage is where small groups start becoming more aware of the need for change through a better understanding of the failure of existing systems and channels. In the early 1950s, civil rights movement was in the initial stages of the struggle, which was characterized by development of narratives regarding racial discrimination against African-Americans.

The leaders of the movement started spreading the word regarding racial prejudice facing this population in 1954. For instance, the plight of African-Americans during this period became evident in the ruling in Brown v. Board of Education case. The case not only highlighted the prevalent racial discrimination but also showed the treatment of African-Americans by white people. This acted as the breeding ground for the movement as small groups of the affected population started to become aware of their plight and spread the word.

The progression of civil rights movement into the second phase of the Movement Action Plan (MAP) occurred in late 1950s and early 1960s following a series of public protests by African-Americans. Public protests were necessary actions to develop public awareness and influence public opinion towards the desired change. Moreover, public protests provided a framework for the movement's progression to the next stages i.e. ripening conditions and organizing and takeoff.

These stages took place between early 1960s and 1970s and involved the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, and white backlash in the aftermath of the Vietnam War (Hall, p.1234). Moreover, social activists like Martin Luther King Jr. provided the impetus for ripening organization and takeoff of the civil rights movement through their campaigns, especially in 1963.

However, the Vietnam War served as a period in which the civil rights movement progressed to stage five, which is characterized by less attention from the media. This is primarily because the Vietnam War divided this social movement and diverted attention. The period between 1970 and 1980 was characterized by the progression of the movement to the sixth stage i.e. winning over the majority. Despite the setbacks brought by the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement started achieving significant achievements over the majority between 1970s and 1980.

One of the major wins over the majority in this period was the 1978 ruling in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, which focused on offering significant opportunities for minority while infringing the rights of the majority. During the period between 1980s and the millennium,.