The '60s, Part I

The first part of The '60s focuses on the civil rights movement of African Americans. We are introduced to the Herlihys, the family in which the movie is focused. This family is not African American, so the discrimination and the civil rights movement depicted in the series is portrayed in the life of Emmet and his father Reverend Willie Taylor, although here are some parts in which the Herlihys family is involved in the portrayal of African Americans. For example, when Katie gets in trouble when she dances next to a dark-skinned man. The movie shows a part when African Americans go out into the streets to encourage other African Americans to vote. They are confronted by a mob of Caucasians who want to stop them. It all ends with some violence and the African Americans keep their ground. One of the Herlihys boys was present in that part. Actual footage of that period is shown. African American get arrested or are beat up by police officers. This part of the movie reminded me of the movie Milk(2008) and the gay rights movement depicted in said film. Watching this movie made me realize how glad I am that people stand up for their civil rights when they are violated. In The '60s African Americans when through a lot of trouble to acquire the rights they have nowadays. Even so, they are still discriminated against by a great number of people who still believe that they are superior to them. Footage of speeches of Martin Luther King Jr. are also shown in the mini series. This helps a lot in understanding what were the people's claims to the United States and what they wanted. Another historical figure present in the '60s is that of Malcolm X. When I was in 7th grade we had to see the movie of Malcolm X, so I remember a little from what we studied. If I'm not mistaken what he preached was that African Americans had to go back to Africa to achieve their freedom and happiness, whereas Martin Luther King Jr. demanded equal civil rights for everyone.