Civil Rights: A New Generation

Coinciding with the celebration of Black History Month and commemoration of Coretta Scott King’s life, a February 1, 2006 news article on MSNBC addressed the following concern:

“As the (civil rights) movement’s iconic leaders fade into history, much of the focus is on honoring the past rather than pushing for equality today.”

Considering an appropriate rhetorical construction of the civil rights movement is especially significant today. As a generation of civil rights pioneers passes away, there is a growing concern that the civil rights movement will be buried with them. In a previous post, I suggested that the civil rights movement has “evolved into a more complex phenomenon that transcends beyond a black-and-white mentality.” Indeed, the individuals who continue to cognitively construct civil rights as a black-and-white-only struggle are stuck in the past and neglecting the true diversity inherent to our current American society.

The concern that “many people find comfort in the notion that racial discrimination is a matter of the past” should be taken seriously (MSNBC, 2006). We must continue to push for inclusiveness and civil rights for all Americans. However, I urge you to not only celebrate the past achievements of the civil rights movement and continue to advocate for this noble cause, I ask you to consider the future of the movement. What do we want the civil rights movement to be/have accomplished by 2010? 2020? What is our shared vision? For we must embrace our shared history and actively move toward the future…