Traditional Collective Activism vs Modern Digital Activism
The origins of the civil movements can be traced back in the early years when Europeans settled in North America when whites oppressed and enslaved black people. However, the solid root of the civil rights movement is founded in the 1950s and 1960s among the African American citizens (Shawki, 2016). Africa Americans increasingly became restive as they fought against discrimination in the workforce as well as in the military services. It started as the black revolution among the African-American citizens who were struggled to end unequal materialism, militarism, poverty and racism propagated by the white society (Hall, 2005). On the other side, modern digital activism roots its origin in the era of the widespread use of the internet globally. According to Sivitanides & Shah (2011) the global digital revolution has led to the borne of social media which in turn has enhanced modern digital activism. Despite the two methods of raising social grievances being practiced at different times in different environments, the two aspects seem to have similarities and differences in the terms of their target goals, techniques, and end results. This is a Student Sample ORDER YOUR PAPER NOW
Similarities
The American history has been flooded by various groups of citizens participating in the civil rights movement to fight for their rights as provided in the American constitution. This was majorly propagated by the African Americans who were discriminated because of their skin color. The primary goal of this early movements was to seek social justice which was only available for the white community. The methods used in the early civil movements was basically violent and nonviolent among other techniques.
For example, civil rights movements’ leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr mobilized the Africa American Community to fight for their rights through peaceful demonstrations. Martin Luther King was the key icon of the civil rights movement who adopted the nonviolent techniques of Mahatma Gandhi (Morse, 2011). However, some blacks especially in Mississippi disputed the philosophy of nonviolence and instead engaged in violence movements to defend their lives as well as their property (Austin, 2000). This was propagated by the brutal killings of the blacks by the Mississippi authorities. In addition to these two methods civil rights movements were also enhanced through media by television and newspapers. In the two scenarios, the goal of the activist was attained. The efforts of the Martin Luther King lead to the improvement of the African Americans legal rights. Similarly, the violent actions of the people of Mississippi resulted in the stoppage of brutal killings of black people by the whites (Austin, 2000).
On the other side, modern digital activism seems to have the similar aspects as that of the traditional activism. The two activist methods were primarily initiated to end social injustice in the society. The adoption of digital activism is well illustrated in the recent past revolutions in the Arab world. The revolution started in Tunisia when a young business fruit vendor man was frustrated by the local authorities and ended up setting himself on fire. The message got spread through the social media sites, and people started peaceful demonstrations in the streets which later turned into violence and deaths of the demonstrators. Additionally, these actions encouraged other citizens in Arab nations who were undergoing through similar dictatorial and oppressive regimes to fight for their rights. For example, the similar incidences were reported in Libya, Egypt and currently it is well evident in Syria. The end results of the digital activists have a transformation of political set ups to the governments that are cautious on the suffering of the citizens.
Differences
Even though both the traditional collective activism and modern digital activism are bound by some similarities, there still exists some differences. First, traditional activism seems to address the issue of the particular section of the society which had been denied legal rights whereas modern activism seems to advocate the grievances of the majority and the populace in the society. For example, the civil movements in the United States were majorly focusing on ending the inequality between the blacks and the whites. On the other side, modern activism is focusing on ending the oppressions practiced by the governments on its citizens as it has been the case in the Arab Spring movement. Second, traditional activism arrangement was made through conferences and the information spread through televisions and newspapers while for modern activism the mobilization of the protestors has been through social media by the use tools such as smartphones, tablets, and computers. Finally, the two have attained totally different end results. For example, for the traditional activism, the results have been the establishment of the justice society whereas on the modern activism the results have been the overthrowing and replacement of the incumbent governments. This is a Student Sample ORDER YOUR PAPER NOW
Conclusion
In the event of the unjust society, the oppressed parties will devise the means of ending the injustice. This is well elaborated in the traditional collective activism as well as in the modern digital activism. To curb the menace, the governments as authorities should aim at establishing a fair and just society whereby the rights of each are respected as well as protected.
References
Austin, C. J. (2000). Ordinary People Living Extraordinary Lives: The Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi, Hattiesburg, The Center for Oral History. Mississippi: University of Southern Mississippi.
Hall, J. D. (2005). The Long Civil Rights Movement and the Political Uses of the Past. The Journal of American History, 1233-1263.
Morse, L. (2011, February 4). How were effective methods used by members of the civil rights movement between 1961 – 1968? Retrieved from ttps://prezi.com/: ttps://prezi.com/wrnq7vmawpho/how-effective-were-methods-used-by-members-of-the-civil-rights-movement-between-1961-1968/
Shawki, A. (2016). International Socialist Review Issue: Roots of the Civil Rights Movement. Retrieved from http://www.isreview.org: http://www.isreview.org/issues/45/civilrights.shtml
Sivitanides, M., & Shah, V. (2011). The Era of Digital Activism. Wilmington North Carolina: Education Special Interest Group of the AITP.