"Mightier Than The Sword," Response to Chapter 11 Pushing the Civil Rights Movement onto the National Agenda

Martin Luther King Jr.

The Civil Rights Movement could quite possibly be the most important period of ideological change in American History.  During the 1950’s and 1960’s the Southern half of the United States was still very segregated, despite the fact that slavery had been abolished for over a century.  There were many extreme acts of racism and bigotry occurring every day towards African Americans and without the broadcasting and media sharing of the devoted journalists of the time, it may have taken a lot longer for the good hearted American citizens of the North to realize what was going on and what had to be done to put an end to the social injustices that we occurring. 

By the late 1950’s television was becoming an every day competitor of the newspapers and other forms of printed media of the time.  In the beginning of chapter 11 of “Mightier Than the Sword,” NBC Newsman of the time, Bill Monroe, was quoted explaining how much easier it is to see and recognize the passion and feeling in a person who is discussing a topic when they are addressing the public on television rather than writing about it.  Monroe explained that when you read the strong words of a journalist, you don’t feel the passion or hear the tonality of his or her voice as you do when watching someone express their opinion on television.  Television broadcasting of the injustices and atrocities that were going on in the Southern United States during the 1950's and 60's took a huge part in the progressive movement towards equality due to the rapid spreading of awareness and real racial injustices to the northern citizens and people of power who were against segregation.