Social Change in Areas of Sexual or Racial discrimination
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Social Change in Areas of Sexual or Racial discrimination
According to the watts riots, the aspect of social, change in areas of sexual and racial discrimination was emphasized. The riots were organized as rebellion of the people aiming at correcting the injustices that had been visited upon the people in the country. There was a lot of racial discrimination. Most of the people had no proper education and were also impoverished.it was a daily norm to see people from other races other than white, being discriminated upon in all aspects of life. It was upon these happenings that people like Kenneth Clark, Katharine Hepburn, Harvey Milk, and Fred Korematsu to create Social Change in areas of Sexual or Racial Discrimination.Kenneth Clark is one of the individual who played are very pivotal role in ensuring social change in areas of sexual and racial discrimination. This is through the research he carried out on effects of racial identity on the self-esteem of black school children in Washington. His work was of great importance in the judicial processes that involved racial discrimination issues. For example a NAACP lawyer enlisted Clark to testify in a case that involved racial discrimination on a Negro child. In this case, clerk was giving his expert evidence about the effects of segregation on the personality development of Negro students. The works of Kenneth Clark were very important in ensuring justice for the oppressed black children. It was through his compelling evidence regarding this issue that the US Supreme Court ruled to outlaw segregation of black children in school. He endeavored to do this through the research he did using dolls where students were asked to make judgments on black and white dolls (Woo 010)
On the other hand, Harvey Milk is known for his work in championing the rights of the gay and lesbian community in America. Although the championing of gay and lesbian rights was not initially his passion, he became a good activist for this group especially after the 1960s. The method he used was to take advantage of the gay migrations that were taking place at Castro district this method worked exceptionally well as he enjoyed the majority support of the gays and lesbians in this area to continually champion for their rights. For the eleven months that Harvey served in office, he was able to pass the stringent rights ordinance for the gay and lesbian community. Milk tried to solve the problem of gay and lesbian discrimination by passing of laws to recognize and allow gay and lesbian relationships(Harvey “Biography Resource Center Online”).
Another individual that has had great influence in social change is Fred Korematsu. The problem that he aimed to solve was the discrimination of people on the basis of their race. For instance, he was ordered to report for internment on the basis that he was Japanese. He refused to do as was required of him and he was thus arrested and jailed. Despite all this, he got reprieve through the federal district court in California that threw out his charges on the grounds that he was oppressed, and that the prosecution had altered the evidence. After his release, he went out to championing the civil rights of those wrongfully interned. He used his case as an example in championing the rights of the oppressed non Americans(Hedland “Looking back”).
Lastly, Katharine Hepburn was also great champion of social change. She wanted to ensure that freedom of thought prevails in the American women. She used her role and influence in the American film to pass the message of liberation of the women. She was mainly successful in her lifetime to champion the social and medical reforms for women. Some of the things she advocated for were the elimination of; prostitution, teenage pregnancy, birth control among others. The method that worked best was doing what she knew was right, even if everyone was against her. She believed that by doing the right thing, other people will eventually join in her course(Hepburn “123HelpMe.com”).
Works cited
Harvey, Milk. “Biography Resource Center Online”. Gale Group. 1999 Web.
Katherine, Hedland. “Looking back, reaching forward”. Seattle University of Law. 2009 Web.
Katharine Hepburn.” 123HelpMe.com. 10 Dec 2012
Woo, Elaine. “Obituary: Deaths of Clark Kenneth”. Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles,
Pp.B.10. May 3, 2005 Print.
