Social Science Final Project- How have the events and issues of the 60s impacted your personal life?

by crys0824 (student)

International Baccalaureate Group 4 Projects

Unit 9 Final Project

Unit 9 final Project

Krystal McGee

Kaplan University

Social Science 310-05

Jennifer Worley

22 Jun 2010

How have the events and issues of the 60s impacted your personal life?
I was born in 1960 and although I was young and did not understand a lot of what was going on during those days I gained knowledge and understanding of the times through my parents and basically took on their point of view of the world until I was old enough to understand things for myself. The sixties for me was a time in which the living was easy, food was cheap the stores had penny candy and you could actually go places and leave your door unlocked because no one would dare come into your home besides your neighbors would watch out for you. Despite all the turmoil that was occurring in the 60's I must admit I have never felt the peace of mind and safety I once felt in those days long gone, one reason could have been that I was just too young to understand all that was going on around me. I was brought up in a Christian home where my father was a minister with a strong love for God. Although he had been through his share of racial discrimination he instilled in us love for all people regardless of color. He gave us an everyday example of how we were to be treated as well as how we were to treat others. I remember watching the images of violence on the television as young black people marched for their rights in the streets, I remember walking down the streets and being called "Niger" by a car filled with white passengers, I even remember that certain part of town that I was not suppose to be in because I would get beat up by the white people. So while I didn't really understand why people could not know you and yet hate you or why black people were considered inferior to white people I took it all in and dealt with it the best way I could. If I were to say that I didn't develop a dislike for whites I would be lying but regardless of my dislike my actions were still built on what my father taught me "treat others the way you want to be treated." During my sophomore year in high school all public schools were desegregated and students were bused across town to attend school. This created a nightmare for the predominately black school in which I attended because the Sunday before the change was to take affect was the first showing of the movie "Roots". I think the timing of this movie and busing couldn't have been worse. For the first time many black people saw how their ancestors were chained and beaten by their white masters, and they would be made to go to school with them the very next day. It was horrible, many of the white students were beat up as fights broke out all over the school. The same thing was happening on the other side of town to the black students that were bused to white schools. As the weeks passed things got better and people learned how to deal with each other and learned how to accept each other's differences. Through the events which led to the Civil Rights Act people realized that all people should have the same opportunities to learn and grow. People realized that it would be through diversity that we would have the best opportunity to learn more about each other so we will be able to better understand each other. Our prior history of hatred stemmed from a lack of knowledge of who we are and where we come from.

This is a preview of the whole essay

My oldest brother was drafted for the Vietnam War. He had been gone for about two days when early one Saturday morning he came knocking on the door explaining to us that he couldn't go to war because of a heart condition. I never saw my mother and father happier when my brother stood on the steps of our house that Saturday morning. I was also happy to see my brother knowing that he did not have to go to war. Although I did not fully understand the whole concept of war I knew he was home now. As time went on and I got older I never really understood why my parents were so happy about my brother not going to war. Wasn't it the patriotic thing to do? How can you love this country and not want to fight for it? Why would my parents not want to support the war like all other parents? After talking with my parents about this later in life I learned that they like many other blacks did not feel like this was our country. Blacks were just barley given the right to vote, the right to work in a decent working environment for decent wages, or just to be treated like men and women, why in the world would blacks want to die for a country that treats animals better than them? Looking back over the history and times I began to understand how they must have felt about the draft. The draft was hitting most poor and black families the hardest. As I look back over my life and think how the previous mentioned situations affected me I believe the Social psychologist theory best fits. Social psychologist study interpersonal behavior, the ways in which social interaction shape an individual's belief, perceptions, motivations, attitudes, and behaviors(Harrison & Dye, 2008). I gathered a lot of my attitudes and feelings toward whites and people in general from the way in which I was previously treated, my knowledge of the results of the Vietnam war, racial discrimination I experienced, and the desegregation of schools all shaped my very being. There was a strong feeling of powerlessness that many blacks experienced during the 50's and 60's and some of those feelings rubbed off on those of us around it. Powerlessness is defined as the inability to control the events that shape one's life(Harrison & Dye, 2008). Many blacks were unable to obtain the economic resources they needed to stand strong alone, their efforts constantly blocked by those with the upper hand created a feeling of hopelessness and low self esteem in many from my past.

Considering your chosen career path and major discipline, how have the events and issues of the 60s impacted these?

My degree is in Business Administration and I plan to work as a Human Resource Manager. The field requires a 4 year degree along with proven work experience. The HRM is responsible for planning, directing, and coordinating policies and regulations concerning employee benefits and compensation and labor laws, and they should be knowledgeable in employee selection, recruitment, training, compensation, and labor relations. Women in the sixties were not expected to work outside the home, and if they did the traditional role was secretary, teacher, waitress, and retail. Male dominance was reflected in the hiring practices as men held the top positions of every major field from industry, finance, academia, military, politics, and government. In 1930 about 2 percent of all American lawyers and judges were women in 1989, about 22 percent. In 1930 there were almost no women engineers in the United States. In 1989 the proportion of women engineers was only 7.5 percent(www.wic.org, 1994). As of 2009 women have overtaken men in professional roles and they represent half of all US workers and they are the primary breadwinners in almost two thirds of American households up from 1967 where women were only one third of the work force(www.forbe.com, 2020). What was the major factor that contributed to women working outside of the household? The birth control pill. This pill allowed women the freedom to make up their mind when they wanted to start a family. The pill gave them the ability to continue their education after high school and become established in their career before having children. This opened up the flood gate for women getting the required education to be competitive in fields that men normally dominated. Women working in America and all over the world have the women's liberation movement and the invention of the birth control pill to thank for the many opportunities they now possess.

From a global perspective, how have the events and issues of the 60s changed international relations?
Considering the passing of the Women's Liberation Movement of the 60's globalization and free trade have opened the doors to many businesses in the international market and it's affect on women are both negative and positive. Factors such as class, nationality, race, ability, religion, ethnicity, sexuality, age and education determine whether some woman will benefit by globalization. Some women will significantly benefit from current global trends through better employment opportunities and autonomy, access to new technologies and increased purchasing power, however cuts in social services, increased privatization and a flexible labor force are all characteristics of globalization. These cuts where the government have pulled back from spending in areas of health care and education forces women to make up for these shortfalls. Globalization has changed the way America as well as other countries work together. Many smaller countries benefit from our increased exports and imports which in turn strengthens our tides and trust. Through globalization and technology development the future of all countries are in a much better position.

Reference:

Association for Women in Development (AWID), “Re-inventing Globalization,” at the Human Rights Internet (HRI) website, www.hri.ca/women/news/index/awid.shtml, Retrieved 22 Jun 2010 from www.womensrightsworld.com

Hannah Selgison, Beyond the bedroom: What the Birth Control Pill Really Did For Women, 5-12-2010, Retrieved on 22 Jun 2010 from www.forbes.com

Harrison, B. & Dye, T. (2008) Power and society: an introduction to the social sciences. Mason, OH: Thomson Wadsworth.