Attitudes towards religion, gender roles, and inclusivity are all factors that largely shaped the hierarchal structure of each respective movement. A male, church-dominated coalition of leaders for the CRM stands as a stark difference to today's women-led, secular BLM movement.
Top-Down |
"charismatic leadership model" |
Whereas there is not one face that acts as the symbolic leader of the Black Lives Matter movement, the Civil Rights Movement was notably known for the titans who led the waves of hundreds of thousands of African-Americans onto the streets, into the dine-ins, and on the busses: Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael, and others. While the contributions of Malcom X and Carmichael were important (eg. Freedom Summer), it was King who remains the most recognizable figure of the movement. That singular leader approach would not have worked for the Black Lives Matter movement.
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In his article, "The Next Civil Rights Movement," Frederick Harris states that the CRM relied heavily on the “charismatic leadership model:” the concentration of decision-making power to a few individuals. What this top-down structure does, is that it creates a heavy reliance on consolidated leadership that can be so easily turned over due to self-interest, assassination...etc. This, as a result, makes the leadership, the organization, and in turn the whole movement weak. To increase the durability of the organization, the BLM movement veered away from this concentrated power model and instead implemented a “group-centered model of leadership, rooted in ideas of participatory democracy.”
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This contrasting participatory democracy versus top-down hierarchy in leadership strikes a remarkable similarity between itself and the dynamic in the technology dissemination of both eras. Whereas there was a one way stream of information flow from the television networks to the citizens, to which even the leaders of the CRM had limited control over, the BLM movement's platform is based heavily upon social media networks like Black Twitter that give the power to users to voice their own message. Thus, the evolution of one movement to another lies in its increasing level of democratization in who spreads their message and how they go about it.
Church
Many aspects of American culture has changed over the years: popular attitudes towards politicians, religion...etc. Over the years the attitude regarding both of these categories has shifted more on the negative side. According to figure 1 and 2, there has been a decline in the level of involvement American citizens partake in organized religion, and the degree to which they feel it is pertinent to their lives. In his article in the Pew Research Center, David Masci attributes this decrease in spirituality to the fact that Baby Boomers who raised Millennials instilled in them the ideals of self-reliance, and to follow their own "moral compass" - a concept that goes at odds with the mission of organized institutions such as Churches that relies upon "official teachings."
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"[Millenials] are more likely to have a “do-it-yourself” attitude toward religion."
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As a result of this decline in spirituality in American culture over the decades, a distinguishing marker between both movements is the strength of their connection to the black church. As many of the leaders of the CRM were also leaders of the black church, their strong spirituality gave the movement a certain "dignity and decorum," according to Barbara Reynolds in her article, as they were violently confronted with white mobs and southern police. Reynolds, a baby boomer herself, looks down upon the divisive and combative approach that the millennials have taken in dealing with the police. This might be attributed to the fact that none of the leaders of the BLM movement have a connection to the black church that is anywhere near as strong as the leaders of the CRM had.
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InclusivenessNot only was the hierarchal structure of the CRM top-down, but it was also male centered, many of the leaders being preachers from the black church. In her essay "Gendered Legacies of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Leadership," Traci West analyzes how the hierarchal structure of the black church mirrored the leadership organization in the CRM. Whereas females would constitute the majority of church membership, males would dominate in holding pastoral leadership positions of the clergy. underscores how problematic it is that the CRM prevented women who had already played powerful roles from assuming leadership positions in organized protests such as the March on Washington. An article by Jeanne Theoharis underscores how problematic it is that the CRM prevented women who had already played powerful roles, such as Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hammer, Ella Baker, from assuming leadership positions in organized protests such as the March on Washington. Contrastingly, the BLM movement was founded by three women: Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi, Patrisse Cullors. As Black Twitter is the primary platform for the BLM movement and women have a stronger presence on social media than males do, the presence of women in the BLM is much more visible than that of their male counterparts. In part because of the changes in leadership structure, affording equal and even greater roles to women, the Black Lives Matter movement has created an accepting and inclusive environment that did not always extend to every aspect of the Civil Rights Movement.
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Image Citation:
Header: https://tavaana.org/en/content/martin-luther-king-jr-fighting-equal-rights-america-0
Figure 1 and Figure 2: http://www.gallup.com/poll/166613/four-report-attending-church-last-week.aspx
Image 1: http://www.manhattantimesnews.com/community-news-01-28-15noticias-de-la-comunidad-01-28-15/
Image 2: https://medium.com/black-feminist-thought-2016/why-is-school-so-boring-3-ways-black-feminist-pedagogy-can-radically-improve-our-learning-22e22828fe1f#.yvd6bncqc
Header: https://tavaana.org/en/content/martin-luther-king-jr-fighting-equal-rights-america-0
Figure 1 and Figure 2: http://www.gallup.com/poll/166613/four-report-attending-church-last-week.aspx
Image 1: http://www.manhattantimesnews.com/community-news-01-28-15noticias-de-la-comunidad-01-28-15/
Image 2: https://medium.com/black-feminist-thought-2016/why-is-school-so-boring-3-ways-black-feminist-pedagogy-can-radically-improve-our-learning-22e22828fe1f#.yvd6bncqc