THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
The 1960s are known to be an era of change regarding civil rights in America. No city represented the movement better than Atlanta, located in the deep south, while having many native prominent leaders. Accordingly, the Bird includes many pieces tied to the topic, including "Madison Ave. Progress" and "Textbooks and Bull."
James Earl Ray, suspect in assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
MADISON AVE. PROGRESS
Marlene Charyn
Written here is an update on the Ray trial, which examined the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. It is reported that the city of Memphis, Tennessee, had hired a new public relations firm to take over and rebuild its representation. The firm, Harshe-Rotman & Druck, Inc., was tasked with “handling world press for the Ray trial.” (Page 2) It is reported that the firm will be reconstructing the body of Martin Luther King, Jr. and will be “breathing life into it.” (Page 2)
“Madison Ave. Progress” is an interesting piece to be included in the Bird as it contains a small update in the Ray trial. This is significant because it shows how important the trial for the assassination of Martin Luther King is to the people of the southeast and specifically Atlanta. This is no surprise as MLK was the most prominent leader in the Civil Rights Movement, and came from and worked in Atlanta.
TEXTBOOKS AND BULL
bob goodman
This piece is a continuation of an analysis of social science textbooks in America. The author claims that there has been progress made with the representation of the Civil Rights movement and the struggles that black people face in America. However, there is still some unfair bias, where publishers “show a strong preference for biracial and nonviolent solutions and a distaste for exclusively black or violent ones.” (Page 13)
This conservative perception demonstrates the views of many white Americans at the time. They had become more tolerant and understanding of Black Americans and the Civil Rights Movement, however, they still held a belief that successful methods had to be nonviolent and include white participants. This shows how white Americans were still ignorant of the severity of the issues that Black Americans faced, and the necessity for more radical responses. It also shows the undercover racism going on where civil rights campaigns were only seen as legitimate if they had the support of white people.