Chapter 18 Collective Action Social Movements and Social

Chapter 18 Collective Action, Social Movements, and Social Change Lecture Power. Point © W. W. Norton & Company, 2008

Collective Action o o o 2 Collective action – group behavior that diverges from social norms Crowd collective action - when members of a group are face to face. Mass collective action - close physical proximity is not necessary, such as a letter writing campaign. You May Ask Yourself Copyright © 2008 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

What causes collective action? o o 3 convergence theory - collective action happens when people with similar ideas and tendencies gather in the same place. does not explain inconsistency of group action— why it sometimes happens and sometimes does not, even under similar circumstances. You May Ask Yourself Copyright © 2008 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

What causes collective action? o o contagion theory - collective action arises because of people’s tendency to conform to behavior of others. anonymity of crowds may play a role n n o o 4 no one will single us out for sanctions May feel more different not following crowd downplays individual agency (people are not sheep) does not explain the inconsistency of group action. You May Ask Yourself Copyright © 2008 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

What causes collective action? o o 5 Emergent norm theory - emphasizes influence of leaders in starting a behavior. Leaders may not have existed before – they emerge in a situation Does not explain why some people emerge as leaders Does not explain why some actions emerge as norms within a group and others don’t. You May Ask Yourself Copyright © 2008 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Collective Action and Identity o o o 6 Identity = definition of who we are Often determined by group membership static identity – does not change and determines at least one group to which you belong (race, religion). dynamic identity - fluid and determined by a group to which you belong (job, athletic team, political group) Group associations provide context forming emotional relationships Identities in different groups may conflict You May Ask Yourself Copyright © 2008 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Social Movements o o collective behavior that is purposeful, organized, and institutionalized but not ritualized. 4 types: n n 7 Alterative - seek limited change, single issue, focused on one group (MADD, Let Duluth Vote) Redemptive – seek radical change in behavior, focused on individuals (rehab programs, shelters) Reformative – seeks limited change across entire society (single issue, grassroots organizations, PAC’s) Revolutionary – seeks reorganization of entire society (Civil Rights movement) You May Ask Yourself Copyright © 2008 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Table 18. 1 | Types of Social Movements

What causes social movements? o o classical model: structural strain structural weaknesses in society that has psychological effect on individuals. n n o o o 9 Exploitation, oppression, or discrimination Extreme poverty or suffering Eventually passes some critical threshold where individuals feel they must act Does not explain which strains result in social movements, or under what conditions Tends to “pathologize” participants – sees societal strain as psychological problem, focus on individuals

What causes social movements? o o Resource-mobilization theory – movements require organization and resources Structural strain is not enough in itself. Political and economic contexts are key. Movements emerge and succeed only when resources are available Problem: many successful movements have been led by relatively powerless groups n Involvement of elite (who have resources) often leads to demise of movement

What causes social movements? o political process model - social movements are heavily influenced by three sets of conditions— n Expanding political opportunities n Indigenous organizational strength n shared cognitions among movement’s proponents o Example: Civil Rights Movement n Blacks could vote, registered in large numbers n Churches and student organizations offered support n Leaders helped raise consciousness 11 You May Ask Yourself Copyright © 2008 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Social Movements o 12 Social movements generally evolve through three stages n Emergence —social problem is first identified n Coalescence — resources are mobilized and concrete action is taken to address the problem n Routinization — a formal structure develops to promote the cause n Emergence and coalescence took a long time in the past – how might internet and social networking speed this up today?

Social Movement Organizations o o o 13 SMO = group developed to recruit new members and coordinate participation in a particular social movement. professional movement organization = type of SMO that has full-time leadership and a large membership base that plays a minor role in the organization. participatory movement organization = type of SMO that directly involves rank-and-file members in decisions and activities to support the organization’s cause. You May Ask Yourself Copyright © 2008 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Social Movements o 14 Two types of participatory movement organizations n Mass protest organizations advocate for social change through protest and demonstration. n Grassroots organizations tend to work through existing political structures to promote social change. You May Ask Yourself Copyright © 2008 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Social Change o Not all social change is produced by social movements —economic and political factors may cause change o Social changes are not valued in the same way by all people, and they do not affect all people in the same way. 15 You May Ask Yourself Copyright © 2008 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Premodern, Modern, and Postmodern Societies ¨ 16 Premodern: concentric circles of social affiliation, little division of labor, less or undeveloped technology, traditional social norms. You May Ask Yourself Copyright © 2008 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Premodern, Modern, and Postmodern Societies o o 17 Modern: rationality, bureaucratization, and objectivity, overlapping group affiliations. due to scientific knowledge, new technologies and political structures, notion of progress.

Premodern, Modern, and Postmodern Societies ¨ 18 Postmodern: questions some notions of progress and history, rejects single narrative, embraces multiculturalism. Individual may have multiple, conflicting identities

Causes of Social Change ¨ ¨ ¨ 19 technological innovation (car, TV, internet) new information and ideas ( conflict between social actors (Berlin wall, Soviet Union) You May Ask Yourself Copyright © 2008 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Case Study: Civil Rights Movement o o o Type of movement: revolutionary Structural strain: oppression of Blacks, especially segregation in southern states. Resource mobilization: mainly mass participation and “buy-in. ” Emergence of leaders helped organize. Indigenous organizations, outside supporters (e. g. , students from northern states) Mostly participatory, mass protest at first. Later became more routinized and professional.

Case Study: Civil Rights Movement o Emergence: May 17, 1954 n The Supreme Court rules on the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans. , unanimously agreeing that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional. The ruling paves the way for large-scale desegregation. The decision overturns the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling that sanctioned "separate but equal" segregation of the races, ruling that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. " It is a victory for NAACP attorney Thurgood Marshall, who will later return to the Supreme Court as the nation's first black justice. Source: http: //www. infoplease. com/spot/civilrightstimeline 1. html

Case Study: Civil Rights Movement o Emergence: August 1955 o Fourteen-year-old Chicagoan Emmett Till is visiting family in Mississippi when he is kidnapped, brutally beaten, shot, and dumped in the Tallahatchie River for allegedly whistling at a white woman. Two white men, J. W. Milam and Roy Bryant, are arrested for the murder and acquitted by an all-white jury. They later boast about committing the murder in a Look magazine interview. The case becomes a cause célèbre of the civil rights movement.

Case Study: Civil Rights Movement o Emergence: Dec. 1, 1955 n (Montgomery, Ala. ) NAACP member Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat at the front of the "colored section" of a bus to a white passenger, defying a southern custom of the time. In response to her arrest the Montgomery black community launches a bus boycott, which will last for more than a year, until the buses are desegregated Dec. 21, 1956. As newly elected president of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. , is instrumental in leading the boycott.

Case Study: Civil Rights Movement o Coalescence: Jan. –Feb. 1957 n Martin Luther King, Charles K. Steele, and Fred L. Shuttlesworth establish the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, of which King is made the first president. The SCLC becomes a major force in organizing the civil rights movement and bases its principles on nonviolence and civil disobedience. According to King, it is essential that the civil rights movement not sink to the level of the racists and hatemongers who oppose them: "We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline, " he urges.

Case Study: Civil Rights Movement o Coalescence: Feb. 1, 1960 n (Greensboro, N. C. ) Four black students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College begin a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter. Although they are refused service, they are allowed to stay at the counter. The event triggers many similar nonviolent protests throughout the South. Six months later the original four protesters are served lunch at the same Woolworth's counter. Student sit-ins would be effective throughout the Deep South in integrating parks, swimming pools, theaters, libraries, and other public facilities.

Case Study: Civil Rights Movement o Coalescence: April 1960 n (Raleigh, N. C. ) The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) is founded at Shaw University, providing young blacks with a place in the civil rights movement. The SNCC later grows into a more radical organization, especially under the leadership of Stokely Carmichael (1966– 1967).

Case Study: Civil Rights Movement o Coalescence: May 4, 1961 n Over the spring and summer, student volunteers begin taking bus trips through the South to test out new laws that prohibit segregation in interstate travel facilities, which includes bus and railway stations. Several of the groups of "freedom riders, " as they are called, are attacked by angry mobs along the way. The program, sponsored by The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), involves more than 1, 000 volunteers, black and white.

Case Study: Civil Rights Movement o Coalescence: May 1963 n During civil rights protests in Birmingham, Ala. , Commissioner of Public Safety Eugene "Bull" Connor uses fire hoses and police dogs on black demonstrators. These images of brutality, which are televised and published widely, are instrumental in gaining sympathy for the civil rights movement around the world. o June 12, 1963 n (Jackson, Miss. ) Mississippi's NAACP field secretary, 37 year-old Medgar Evers, is murdered outside his home. Byron De La Beckwith is tried twice in 1964, both trials resulting in hung juries. Thirty years later he is convicted for murdering Evers.

Case Study: Civil Rights Movement o Coalescence: Aug. 28, 1963 n (Washington, D. C. ) About 200, 000 people join the March on Washington. Congregating at the Lincoln Memorial, participants listen as Martin Luther King delivers his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. o Sept. 15, 1963 n (Birmingham, Ala. ) Four young girls (Denise Mc. Nair, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Addie Mae Collins) attending Sunday school are killed when a bomb explodes at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, a popular location for civil rights meetings. Riots erupt in Birmingham, leading to the deaths of two more black youths.

Case Study: Civil Rights Movement o Routinization: Summer, 1964 n The Council of Federated Organizations (COFO), a network of civil rights groups that includes CORE and SNCC, launches a massive effort to register black voters during what becomes known as the Freedom Summer. It also sends delegates to the Democratic National Convention to protest—and attempt to unseat—the official all-white Mississippi contingent. o July 2 n President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction, the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination of all kinds based on race, color, religion, or national origin. The law also provides the federal government with the powers to enforce desegregation.

Case Study: Civil Rights Movement o o Routinization: October, 1966 n (Oakland, Calif. ) The militant Black Panthers are founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. April 19, 1967 n Stokely Carmichael, a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), coins the phrase "black power" in a speech in Seattle. He defines it as an assertion of black pride and "the coming together of black people to fight for their liberation by any means necessary. " The term's radicalism alarms many who believe the civil rights movement's effectiveness and moral authority crucially depend on nonviolent civil disobedience.

Case Study: Civil Rights Movement o Routinization: June 12, 1967 n o In Loving v. Virginia, the Supreme Court rules that prohibiting interracial marriage is unconstitutional. Sixteen states that still banned interracial marriage at the time are forced to revise their laws. April 11, 1968 n President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968, prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing

Violent deaths during Civil Rights o o o Emmett Till, 14, 1955 Medgar Evers, 37, NAACP field secretary, 1963 Denise Mc. Nair, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, Addie Mae Collins, members of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, 1963 James E. Chaney, 21; Andrew Goodman, 21; and Michael Schwerner, 21; civil rights workers, 1964 Malcolm X, founder of the Organization of Afro. American Unity, 1965 Martin Luther King, 39, leader of Civil Rights Movement, 1968

Violent confrontations o o o 1957 - Eisenhower sends federal troops and National Guard to intervene on behalf of 9 black students attending newly integrated Little Rock High School. 1961 – Freedom Riders attacked by angry mobs. 1962 - Violence and riots surrounding enrollment of first Black student at U. of Mississippi cause President Kennedy to send 5, 000 federal troops. 1963 - Birmingham, Ala. , fire hoses and police dogs used on black demonstrators. 1963 - (Selma, AL) Blacks march to Montgomery in support of voting rights but are stopped at the Pettus Bridge by a police blockade. Fifty marchers are hospitalized after police use tear gas, whips, and clubs against them. The incident is dubbed "Bloody Sunday" by the media 1965 – Watts, CA, Race riots erupt in a black section of Los Angeles.