Assignment 2

Social movements can either be effective in changing ideas and beliefs in a given society or they can break apart and fail. There are many things that factor into whether or not a movement will be successful. Arguably one of those factors is the iconic figure of the movement. For example Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the iconic figures for the civil rights movement. Because of his race, education, background, etc. he was able to inspire minority groups to fight and rally for their civil rights. “King became a Baptist, the most popular religious affiliation for Black Americans, and identified himself with the historical continuum of the African-American freedom struggles (Carson, p3).” By having people like King leading the civil rights movement one has to ask whether or not his attributes had anything to do with the success of the movement. Would it have matter if King was white, if he had come from a poor family, if he wasn’t educated? Would the movement still have been successful? Do certain attributes in a leader alienate others from following and is it even possible for some one to lead a successful movement regardless of his color and background?

If I was to create an iconic figure to lead the civil rights movement it would have to be some one of a mixed race, probably an Afro-Hispanic woman. By having her being Afro-Hispanic it would probably attract more minorities. During the civil rights movement the majority of participants were African American, although there were other ethnic minority participants they weren’t substantial. With today’s growing Hispanic and African American population in the United States an effective civil rights movement leader of African American and Hispanic descent would attract a very large population. This large population unified would able to create change in government, politics, in the work force, and across many other sectors.

Even more, by having an iconic woman figure it would help attract not just minority woman but also woman of all ethnicities. One such example was seen during the 2008 presidential election when John McCain elected Sarah Palin to run for vice president. Palin was able to draw many women to support her and McCain. Before accepting to run for vice president many critics believed that McCain had no chance to compete against Barack Obama. After Sarah Palin joined the campaign many critics and the media glorified how she had revived McCain’s chances to win the Election.

Other attributes that would help generate more support for my ideal iconic figure would be for her to be liberal, Christian, and be between 35-45 years old. She would have to be liberal because the civil rights movement was about change and embracing a new philosophy. She would also have to religious because the majority of the people in the United States believe in Christ in some way or another. Last but not least she would have to be between the ages of 35-45. At this age she is still young enough to relate to younger adults and she would be old enough to make wise and intelligent decisions that would affect how the movement progresses. Overall, I believe the attributes mentioned above would greatly help my ideal iconic figure to lead a successful civil rights movement.

Some of the pitfalls of having such iconic figure leading the civil rights movement would be the alienation of certain groups. Some Caucasians, Asians, or other ethnicities might not support my iconic figure because she is not of their ethnic background. Men of all backgrounds might also turn away simply because she is a woman and by supporting her would be like accepting loss of power in a men dominated society. Her age and religion might also turn away some people; they may think that she is too young and that she may not be wise enough to lead a movement. Also, by her being Christian she might lose out on the support from those who are Muslims or those who don’t believe in religion.

As can be seen, having the perfect iconic figure to lead a movement can become a difficult task. It is amazing to think of how many movements would have had different results if they were lead by different people. For example, if Claudette Colvin would have spearheaded the Montgomery Bus Boycott instead of Rosa Parks things might not have been the same. In my opinion Claudette Calvin may not have gathered enough support to lead the boycott. She did not have the support of the middle class. In an interview Ms. Colvin mentioned, “they didn’t want me because I didn’t represent the middle class (Hendrickson, p2)." If Ms. Colvin was the one to lead the boycott it may have been seen as the problem of the poor. Colvin was also seen as too unstable. Never the less, Rosa Parks seemed to represent a larger population, which helped her spear the boycott. Unfortunately Ms. Colvin may not have been able to gather the support needed to lead the way to create change.



Carson, Clayborne. The Unfinished dialogue of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X

Hendrickson, Paul. The Ladies Before Rosa:Let Us Now Praise Unfamous Women