Epilogue: How It Happened and Why It Mattered

Looking back on the history of race riots, the dramatic shift from white rebelling against blacks to blacks rebelling against whites could not have happened without the turmoil of the 60s.  While African Americans were mobilizing to ensure racial equality, counter-culture was grabbing the attention of the nation’s youth, UC Berkeley students were fighting for free speech on campus, and the Vietnam War brought about anger and frustration in the American people.  The consensus society of the 1950s was breaking apart, and the social infrastructure that had been a part of the American life for generations was breaking apart drastically.  African Americans were promised civil rights by the Kennedy administration in 1960, but when the government failed to get rid of the blatant racism that existed throughout the country, African Americans decided to take the law into their own hands.  With the radical change that was reshaping America at the time, the 60s provided the perfect opportunity for blacks to turn the tides against whites and make an aggressive stance towards civil rights.

left: Trayvon Martin right: George Zimmerman

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Although the climax of race riots is long since over, the influence of the race riots of the 1960s can still be seen today.  Now, the American public is more wary of racial equality issues, and condemns any attempts to treat people of different race unequally.  Specifically, the race riots of the 60s made people more wary of police brutality directed towards people of different race.  In recent events, the nation has been paying attention to the Martin vs. Zimmerman case, in which George Zimmerman, acting as a self-appointed community watchman, is accused of  unjustly shooting and killing Trayvon Martin, a seventeen year-old black teenager.  One reason why this case has been getting everyone’s attention is because Zimmerman might have identified the teenager as a threat solely on the fact that he is black.  This is probably the worst infraction any person can be accused of, since it immediately triggered an outcry from people of all ethnicities around America.  Mark Zimmerman has been painted a villain, and Americans everywhere have been mourning the untimely death of Trayvon Martin.  Ever since the chaos of the 1960s race riots, Americans have become more aware of how people of different race are treated, especially by police and local officials.