Do We Need Another Civil Rights Movement?

In the article, “We Don’t Need another Civil Rights Movement,” posted by Lester K. Spence on theroots.com, the subtitle states the exact thoughts of Spence, saying “We have become so distrustful of the political process that we think marches and cultural transformations will solve our problems.

Further into this article, Spence states that “there is no relationship between black cultural traits and educational outcomes. Having a child out of wedlock, for example, has little bearing on educational outcomes if the parent has a high income.” Spence believes that we focus on culture far too much I'm not saying that culture is unimportant, but we focus on it far more than the data suggest we should.

In the article “Why blacks need another civil rights movement,” Murray A. Fortner is questioned by Judy Howard Ellis; And according to Fortner, a civil rights movement is a need.

Contrary to the ideas of Spence in the article I referred to earlier, Fortner says, “Earning money has nothing to do with how socially responsible one happens to be. It is not what you do from 8 to 5. It is what you do from 5 to 8.” He also states that that there is a number of African Americans that are focus too much on their status and individual achievement.

It seems to me that there are two extremely different viewpoints with facts that don’t quite match up. One thinks we need another civil rights movement and believes that the determining factor to success lies within what happens in ones’ home life and that money has no effect; likewise, the other thinks that we don’t need another civil rights movement and believes that what happens at home doesn’t matter if there is a high income.

I think Spence focuses more on the effects of one’s life on their general success and he is saying is that if there is a high income, cultural matters don’t make as much of an impact, but in a low income situation, cultural things matter a lot more. Fortner, though, is more focused on the effects on one’s social responsibility and is saying that one’s social responsibility comes from their cultural background and how they were raised.

I think ideas on what you think is needed for civil rights is truly up to your opinion and where you come from and what you have been exposed to. I think that the need for a civil rights movement can be looked at in multiple ways, and can be “fought” for different reasons. Possibly, there is a need for a movement to improve social responsibility, and possibly, there is a need for a movement to improve success rates. Also, I am sure there are many more ways to look at this, I just don’t know if a full civil rights movement is needed. I think there might be a need for further examination on the situation.