Blog Post 2

Stewart, Smith and Denton analyze the characteristics of a social movement in many different ways. To be considered a social movement, there needs to be a sense of organization in the movement. There is some unity in the movement, joining together to make a movement. Also, social movements must be aware of its surroundings. The organization does not include people from groups such as the government. Another aspect included to be a social movement is that their must be a variety of people or regions included. Social movements are not there to go against one's value. They are there to prove their point in a harmless and unoffensive way. Social movements know their limit and are not violent in any way. They are there to get attention using passive actions to persuade. Together, Stewart, Smith and Denton agree that a social movement is to persuade the public that a change is in need.

One of the most common social movements is the Civil Rights Movement. I believe this is the easiest movement to consider a social movement because of the all nonviolent actions that the organizations took. The colored people in the south fought through so many actions that were uncalled for to get the rights that they should have earned from the start. The protests of sits-ins were very popular. The colored people sat where they deserved to be and the whites at times poured food on them. But to prove their point, the colored people remained calm to stand up for their rights. The groups that were organized whether it was the SNLC, CORE or SNCC all stayed strong through many discourses that happened in this movement.