Extended Civil Rights Movement Essay

During the latter part of the 20th century, the extended civil rights movement had the objective of guaranteeing opportunities and rights for African Americans. Yet it also was heavily involved with women and feminist groups as their voices and experiences were shaped by gender, sexuality, class, and race and changed the more traditional views and perceptions that were rife before the movement.

Women in the extended civil rights movement heavily used grassroots activism through the use of sit-ins, marches, lobbying, legislation, and community engagement. Throughout the movement, there were many feminist groups, books, and laws that came to fruition such as the National Organization of Women (NOW) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) ,

The methods used consisted of activism such as during the Stonewall Riots, advocating through the media to combat stereotypes and transparency through celebrities coming out through the likes of Christine Jorgensen, legal cases such as Obergefell v Hodges, raising awareness through meetings aimed at very diverse audiences that could create change on the policy and public side including healthcare providers, general public, policymakers, employers, and educators. Marches were also very crucial through awareness and the reach they had in metropolitan areas in the United

These ideas of normalization, integration, and rehabilitation were changed by people with disabilities. With the fresh perspective offered by the disabled population, new thought processes and ideas were at the forefront of the disability rights movement. One of the first organizers of the ILM was Ed Roberts (who was a quadriplegic himself) who fought for the acceptance of disabled people in schools. This began when Roberts was in high school, as he could not graduate because he could not complete his requirement for gym due to having an Iron Lung. This started his desire to better the lives of disabled people at schools and as he went to UC Berkeley for college, he decided to sue Berkeley for not having integration or acceptance of disabled people and won his case, yet he was confined to the infirmary and as more and more disabled people decided to join Berkeley they created the Disabled Students’ Program that was very important for people who had disabilities. As the program grew, it inspired another program called the Berkeley Center for Independent Living, which was the first independent living center in America. After this, many more living centers spread across America, emphasizing the idea that people with disabilities are the most reliable and best