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This flier obviously is not very aesthetically pleasing but contains all the information that was needed to spread their message. The BLM boycotts on the other hand were organized by the online campaign known as #NotOneDime. This is an internet post from the campaign; While this flier is much more visibly appealing and likely to gather attention, it is much less informative than the Civil Rights flier from more than 50 years ago. This flier was specifically created to be dispersed online instead of in person. The difference in messaging strategy and technology is representative of the differences between the two movements. Where the Bus Boycott spread information through handouts and word of mouth, BLM shared information to millions through Twitter hashtags and Facebook posts. The difference between the effectiveness of both strategies is interesting to consider. The Montgomery Boycotts was focussed in just one city, yet they made a profound impact. On the other side, social media allows supporters of the BLM boycotts to participate all over the world. Social movements throughout history that have tried to change the political structure of society are usually met with resistance by government. The Civil Rights and Black Lives Matter movements are no exception. One of the most turbulent times for the BLM movement was the Ferguson Unrest. There were large protests after the shooting of 18-year-old African-American Michael Brown, at the hands of a white police officer. Things got violent after protesters were met by riot squads and militarized police who established curfews on them. The U.S. Department of Justice later determined that the Ferguson Police Department had engaged in misconduct for discriminating against African-Americans and applying racial stereotypes. The excessive force used by police gained national media attention. The events in Ferguson lead to President Obama requesting federal funding for 50,000 body-worn cameras for police officers. In addition the White House has moved to reform the way local police can get heavy-military-style weapons and equipment. The Civil Rights Movement protests were met with police violence every step of the way. One of the most influential cases is in Birmingham 1963, when a march was organized for the youth. Kids marched downtown signing “We Shall Overcome.” The kids were arrested and sent to jail until the jails overcrowded. The next day more children showed up to march and were met by firefighters turning high-pressure hoses on the young non-violent protesters. Journalists captured footage of these events which would go on and shock the nation. The attention lead President Kennedy to propose and eventually pass a civil rights bill which made sure blacks were included in all public facilities. These two events have a lot in common in the way they were met with violence by authorities but eventually achieved some level of political reform. A key player in both of these scenarios was the role of the media. The coverage of the two events greatly raised public awareness of the racial problems within the Criminal System. The awareness of the issue lead to both Presidents at the time to speak on the issue and offer political reforms. The difference in origin of the two events are symbolic of the differences between the two movements. BLM protests tend to be more reactionary than those of the Civil Rights Movement. Organizations within the Civil Rights Movement organized marches that were ongoing with the expectation of conflict which would gain national attention. The Black Lives Matter protests on the other hand usually happen as a reaction to some racial injustice. For this reason, BLM protests are much more unpredictable with many experts saying that many cities have the right social conditions for large scale protests. A key instrument of change for of the Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights Movement was the role the media played. In both previous examples, it was only after the media covered the protests and raised public awareness and opinion on the issue that the President actually passed any policy. Both movements had similar message but had very different ways of gaining national attention. The difference in technology plays the largest role in the difference in how these organization gained attention. The Black Lives Matter Movement was born on social media and has used it as a tool in every facet in its organizations. Because of social media, BLM does not need to rely on traditional news outlets to spread and control their message. Through the use of Twitter and Facebook, BLM is able to spread information to hundreds of millions of people around the world. The internet also makes it easier for activist to share articles from their perspective to the general public. In addition to using social media to share news information, it is also used to organize local and national supporters for events. The Civil Rights Movement obviously did not have access to such revolutionary tools. Instead, they had to rely on traditional news sources such newspapers, television and radio. Since they could not generate the news coverage for themselves, the Civil Rights Movement had to rely on different strategies to gain attention. For example marches, speeches and sit-ins were very effective at gaining national coverage. Despite the two movements having different strategies to gain media attention, both have relied on it heavily to achieve their goals. The goals of the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Lives Matter Movement are both aimed to achieve political change. To discuss the success of these two movements it is necessary to examine their influence on the political sphere. One of the first major wins for the Civil Rights Movement came after multiple lawsuits in 1954, when the Supreme Court ,led by Chief Justice Earl Warren declared the “separate but equal” doctrine unconstitutional and required the desegregation of schools across America. It was a win for the movement but fear of potential violence slowed down progress. It wasn’t until 1957 that school segregation was challenged on a national level, when nine black students were met by violent protesters attempting to enter a traditionally white high school. President Eisenhower was forced to send in 1,000 paratroopers to escort the black students in the school. This scene was captured by journalists and news anchors who brought the racial issue into the national awareness for some of the first times. While the Civil Rights Movement was fighting against blatant racism through segregation laws, the Black Lives Matter fights are much more subtle. BLM wants to completely restructure political systems such as Law Enforcement and the Prison Industry. These are very complicated systems that can not be easily changed by repealing one individual law or one supreme court decision. The BLM movement is more concerned with changing the framework for how politicians discuss and treat race than it is with changing individual laws. The young movement is already having an impact as John Eligon of the New York Times points out that “Local affiliates of the Black Lives Matter organization have disrupted numerous Democratic presidential campaign events, pushing the candidates to support policies to end mass incarceration and police brutality.” BLM has been able to make race relations one of the most important issues for presidential candidates. Over the course of the Civil Rights Movement there were many political achievements. Perhaps the largest achievement was the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which officially prohibited discrimination based on race. This was a historic piece of policy that many believed would never get passed. This act was followed by the Voting Rights Act which prohibited literacy tests from being used to prevent voters from registering and casting a ballot. Literacy tests were widely used to keep African-Americans excluded from the political process by limiting their ability to vote. On a larger scale, one of the key achievements of the Civil Rights movement was to bring the issue of racial discrimination to the forefront of the public’s eye. It could be argued that without the support of the national public and public opinion, policy change would not have been possible. Bringing national attention on racial discrimination and influencing public opinion could be considered the biggest achievement of the Black Lives Matters movement. The movement has achieved some policy change but they aim to affect much more. Their current focus as mentioned before is on reforming the Law Enforcement system. BLM has called for ending “broken window” policing, which aggressively polices minor crimes in an attempt to stop larger ones. In addition, BLM has called for ending for-profit policing practices, ending the police use of militarized weapons, having the racial makeup of police departments reflect the communities they serve, and many more (BBC). While they have not yet achieved these reforms, their political actions have influenced politicians on a federal and state level to realize and champion their cause. BLM believes they have the ability to achieve these policy changes in the near future.