Selma, Alabama: The Right to Vote
Abhishek Kumar
University of South Florida Abstract
The right to vote is a constitutional right in the 21st century for anyone born in the United States; however, this was not always the case. The American Civil Rights movement that took place during the 1950s-1960s revolutionized the political industry through debunking social structures, certain institutional discrimination, and redefining what socialization meant. Examining the discrimination against the African American through a sociological perspective can help explain the structure of society during the mid-20th century. The events that happened at Selma, Alabama helped with redefinition of societal structure and were led by the peaceful…show more content… According to this theory, points of stress and conflict are addressed in society and are examined as to how these stressors and conflictions contribute to social change (Brinkerhoff, Ortega, & Weitz, 2013). When examining the different methods that the white American used to “control” the behavior of the African Americans, issues of conformity and deviant behavior inevitably rise as major factors of the social upheavals. As mentioned in the previous section, deviant behavior was a huge issue throughout the entire movie; however, the deviant behavior was only shown to the audience through the “eyes” of how the white American would view it. According to Brinkerhoff et al. (2013), deviant behavior is characterized by the context through which the situation is considered in. For example, Sherriff Jim Clark was depicted as a “bull” trying to control his turf by implementing harsh measures to adults and teenagers who acted out of line. This attitude only brought about more issues as depicted in the movie, supporting the conflict theory even more: the oppression of one group benefits the oppressors of the dominant…show more content… Although the Voting Rights Act was enacted in 1965, the racial discrimination of African Americans still exists today. Events such as the Ferguson shooting and the unlawful chokehold of Eric Garner in New York have sparked controversy in the reliability and protection that the U.S. police force actually provides. Comparisons have been made between the events that took place nearly 50 years ago to events happening today and progress does seem to have been made, but to completely eradicate the discrimination that is still present, further methods of equalization must still be