An analysis of the leftist and conservative arguments regarding the legacies of the 1960s.
This paper discusses how America today would undoubtedly be more racist, sexist and environmentally damaged had it not been for the efforts of Sixties radicals and radical groups. It reviews the collection of essays “Reassessing the Sixties: Debating the Political and Cultural Legacy” which encompasses differing points of view about what the Sixties Movement has left us with, where the Sixties Movement went wrong ,and where the Sixties Movement made, if any, beneficial advancements in America. It shows how these authors emphasize the importance of the civil rights movement, environmentalism and feminism and analyzes some of the essays portray the most convincing arguments about the legacies of the 60s.
“Integration was started with the intention of fighting racism and giving blacks a fair shot at opportunity in America, but it was inherently problematic from the get go. To throw blacks and whites together practically overnight, especially in the racist South, where a majority of whites hated blacks and believed blacks to be truly inferior, automatically placed blacks in a stressful and dangerous situation. Allen tells of her experiences as a black student in a newly integrated, formerly all-white high school, giving the crucially important point of view that was largely ignored by good-intentioned white northerners wishing for a non-apartheid American south.”