Download Jesse Williams and the New-Age Civil Rights Movement

Number 15  Summer 2016
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Jesse Williams and the New-Age Civil Rights Movement
BARAKA CORLEY
The original Civil Rights Movement encompassed
social movements in the United States whose goals
were to end racial segregation and discrimination
against African Americans. Methods used in the Civil
Rights Movement to further the cause were boycotts,
civil disobedience, passive resistance, and marches,
to name a few. The methodology used in the fight
for freedom and justice sometimes served as points
of contention between participants who would
emerge as prominent figures within the movement.
What cannot be argued is the importance of
recognizable figures from varying walks of life, who
used their platforms to bring attention to the very
important issues being raised by the Civil Rights
Movement.
Many of these influential figures had found success in
varying sectors of society. Dr. Martin L. King Jr. and
Malcolm X were ministers; Muhammad Ali, Jim
Brown, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were iconic sports
figures; and Mary McLeod Bethune and Shirley
Chisolm were educators, the latter becoming the first
woman to run for President of the United States.
There were many other prominent leaders who
emerged from grassroots efforts to lead a collective
effort for social justice and freedom.
Nearly 60 years later, there have been some positive
changes as a result of the efforts put forth by the
Civil Rights Movement, yet there are still instances of
police brutality, mass incarceration, discrimination,
and social injustice for people of color. With a new
generation, 60 years removed from a violent,
turbulent time for African Americans in American
history, many associate the fight for civil rights with
the few black and white pictures they viewed and
learned about (and almost immediately forgot) in
history class.
But recent atrocities and instances of social injustice
against African Americans have surfaced and forced
a new generation to stand up and speak out. As was
the case with the movement in the 50s, different
participants are beginning to emerge as prominent
and influential figures for social justice and freedom
in the contemporary civil rights movement.
Recently, actor/activist, Jesse Williams, used his BET
Award platform to reintroduce the need for selfreflection, introspection, and the responsibility to
continue the demand for justice and freedom by
people of color for people of color. Williams stated,
“There has been no war that we have not fought and
died on the front lines of. There has been no job we
haven’t done. There is no tax they haven’t levied
against us – and we’ve paid all of them. But freedom
is somehow always conditional here. ‘You’re free,’
they keep telling us. But she [Sandra Bland] would
have been alive if she hadn’t acted so… free.”
Williams referenced, in his speech, victims of police
brutality such as Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland, Rekia
Boyd and Eric Garner, imploring that people of
color hold public servants accountable for their
actions. Jesse Williams’ speech immediately went
viral and became popular on multiple social media
outlets. Social media and technology are two of the
more powerful tools used to provide the people
with a voice. Interestingly enough, Jesse Williams
has recently executive produced the documentary,
Stay Woke: The Black Lives Matter Movement, also
referred to by many as the new-age civil rights
movement. In using his BET award platform,
combined with social media, Jesse Williams was able
to bring attention to the very important issues being
raised by the Black Lives Matter Movement for
freedom and justice in America.
REFERENCES
Lasher, M. (2016, June 27). Read the full transcript of Jesse Williams’ powerful speech on race at the BET awards. Time.
Retrieved from http://time.com/4383516/jesse-williams-bet-speech-transcript/
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