The struggle for equal rights in the United States evolved into a modern confrontation over the meaning of individual freedom, equality and justice in the nation. How did the nation react to the protest against unequal treatment of African-Americans? Did the marches, sit-ins and rallies stir a moral reaction that provoked political change? Was the power of images (photos and television coverage) a strategic choice among African-American political activists? This presentation will discuss both the strategic and moral implications of images during a charged and politically evolutionary time.
Kevin Anderson is associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University. He is the author of Agitations: Ideologies and Strategies in African American Politics and co-author (with Michael Smith and Chapman Rackaway) of State Voting Laws in America. He teaches courses in American and African-American political thought, classical and contemporary political thought, and American government.