The Activist Generation

Our interview candidate, Ms. C

For Ms. C, a high school history teacher in Northern New Jersey, her forty two year teaching career has echoed her view of how life should be lived. To her, life should be lived in giving back to the community and in service to others. But where does this ideal come from? It doesn't come from religion or good parenting. Rather, it comes from her time in college which was in the 1960s, a time that was marked by protesting, and other acts of passionate service for the community.

1960's fashion

 In order to understand the implications of the 1960’s, it is important to revisit what this era was like. One aspect would be the fashion which was first influenced by the prior decade, the 1950’s, but soon lead to more freedom and expression through clothing. Specifically,
women were able to progress out of the “housewife” dress and become more expressive with shorter skirts, brighter colors and designs. Expression was
forthcoming especially within music. Popular artists such as The Supremes and Jimi Hendrix made headlines as well as British artists (The Beatles,
The Who, The Kinks, and  the majestic David Bowie to name a few). Interestingly enough, a movement called “message music” was also popular. These songs had messages of empowerment and messaged against war and advocated for peace. Bob Dylan was one artist known for his contribution to this movement as this genre of music became anthems for rallies, protests, concerts and sit-ins.

Civil Rights

 Although there was a start to freedom of expression in fashion, art, culture and music, there was also a fierce protest against infringement of rights for various races and women. Some important legislation, among others, that changed these infringements was the Civil
Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act.  The Civil Rights Act made way for races to be treated equally and fairly in places of school, work and public services (such as restrooms).

Voting Rights/ Womens' Rights

Women were included within this equality as well to be treated equally legally. The Voting Rights Act disabled discriminatory actions towards voting rights which helped to alleviate some discrimination towards African-Americans and other cultures. The power of activism was one of the many reasons for the social changes and legislations created.


The Vietnam War was also a huge avenue for activism. More than 500,000 troops were sent into battle by the Lydon B. Johnson Administration,because of this college rates increased significantly since those in college were not sent into war. The United States presence in the war was due to the need to prevent the spread of communism in order to contain communism (communists allied with North Vietnam). These events along with others in the 1960’s were major causes to the rise of protests and service. Ms. C was impacted by this decade’s ability for action.

Vietnam War

In the modern age of newspaper, radio, phones, music and television, what's cool has always shaped the lives of high school and college students. Coming from a very cloistered childhood, Ms. C found it hard to relate to other kids and teenagers. It wasn't until she attended college in the 60s, the decade that was most influential in her life, that she started being able to relate to others through interaction and learning. In the 60s the cool thing to do was protest, which says a lot about the era that she grew up in. To her, protesting US involvement in Vietnam and protesting racial segregation was not just a hobby but a way of life. The generation she belonged to believed that you had to give back to society which meant that all of her friends became teachers or social workers or entered into a field or occupation in which giving back to society, in some way or another, became the overall job description.


After 42 years of teaching, Ms. C sees no end in sight. Every year she teaches she is already thinking of next year's curriculum and how it is being affected by the events of today. When asked if she had thought about retiring she said that, to her, the only thing she wants to do is teach. So retiring would mean giving up the biggest part of the past four decades in her life. She did say, however, that retiring wouldn't be too bad because she has two beautiful young granddaughters that she would love to spoil and retiring from teaching would give her more time to do
that.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the students posting.  As such, this writing reflects their perspective alone; historical errors or discrepancies are also their own.  The director of this blog does not necessarily agree with the views and/or opinions expressed.  Names have been shortened or changed to protect individual privacy where necessary. 

Baseball Scores on the Wall

For our oral presentation, we had the privilege of interviewing and conversing with Ms. B. One thing that made this interview more of a fun experience and less of an assignment was the conversation between the three of us: It seemed more like a documentary that we were filming. Dorothy is a New Yorker from the city, just like us. She grew up in Brooklyn, which is literally next door to Queens; the borough that we both grew up in. She gave us personal accounts of a few crucial moments in American history, such as the Great Depression and Prohibition. Ms. B also explained to us how her husband played a crucial role in the division of the Bell Telephone Company as well as the emergence of AT&T as a major company. She also provided us with a thorough glimpse of what New York City life was like in the early and mid-1900’s. Following her descriptions and occasional narrations of moments in her life, we were able to picture the street vendors selling french fries, the above ground subway line that ran from downtown Brooklyn to Jamaica, Queens (which still runs today). When she told us about the weekly baseball scores chalked up on a building after innings as well as the forbidden movie theatre known as “The Itch,” all we could do was imagine. 

Although these things were interesting to imagine and learn about, they also made us appreciate the things that we have today: iPhones, and Netflix were not so popular back then! Nonetheless, her childhood and adolescence was slightly synonymous with ours. She witnessed the Great Depression. We are currently witnessing a recession. She grew up during World War II and the Cold War; we grew up during the Wars in Iraq. Despite our differences, there were things that we could relate to in Ms. B’s life. Overall, it was a touching experience.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the students posting. As such, this writing reflects their perspective alone; historical errors or discrepancies are also their own. The director of this blog does not necessarily agree with the views and/or opinions expressed below. Names have been shortened or changed to protect individual privacy where necessary.