Continuous Struggle
...ngeles Times, Jim Newton wrote, “In deciding the case of Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954, the Supreme Court, led by its newly installed chief justice, Earl Warren, concluded that ‘in the field of public education, the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place’ ” (2). This famous decision is taught in many classrooms around the nation as one of the most notorious Supreme Court decisions in history. Conveying the importance of this case, Newton stated, “the rejection of ‘separate but equal’ marked the beginning of a redefinition of American Race relations and inspired leaders of the civil rights movement” (2). It outlawed segregation and put all of America on a level of equality, which led to minority voices to be heard for years to come. This decision was the foundation for the civil rights movements of the 1960's and 1970's for such groups as, African-Americans, women, and gays. In the 1960's, African American civil rights movements were led by many important figures such as: Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, and many others. In The Journal of American History, J. Morgan Kousser wrote, “The Ironies of Affirmative Action, the cultural sociologist John D. Skrentny here unveils the bureaucratic processes with the national government that rapidly turned what began as civil rights for African Americans into ‘minority rights for women’ ” (1). Because these influential figures stood up for what they believed was right, women and homosexuals could now model their actions off the civil rights movements. Anna Quindlen, in a New York Times article, wrote, “the March for Equality in New York half a century later [1970s] that helped mark the beginning of the second wave of feminism” (1). The African-American movements and the women’s march were similar in importance to the Stonewall riots of 1969 for the gay minorities. An author for the Los Angeles Times stated, “Most historians mark the so called Stonewall riots of 1969 as the first flaring of gay militancy. When gay men took to the Streets after police raided the Stonewall Inn Bar in New York’s Greenwich Village, they showed other gays that they need not be invisible or silent” (Ricci 2). Gays took this message seriously, and since then they have been fighting hard for minority rights and mainstream acceptance. Working alongside African-Americans and women throughout the 1960's and 1970's, gays gradually started to gain acceptance among society. During the 1980's though, the issue of the AIDS epidemic being spread by gays became rampant. Gays stood up for themselves, influenced by the message from Greenwich, and opened America’s eyes to the suffering being caused by an epidemic brought on by several reasons. In the early 1990's, society began to realize that AIDS was an American reality, not just a part of the homosexual lifestyle. Author John Berresford wrote, “In a curious way, AIDS itself may be helping us [homosexuals] find social acceptance. It has opened us to a human suffering” (660). America’s acceptance of the AIDS crisis was also an acceptance of gays’ presence among society. This presence of gays among society is conveyed by television and entertainment across America. The media and television are influencing society continuously by numerous ways and means. Everyone sees the subject of homosexuality in America through the news and other programs on television, but the reality of homosexuals in the mainstream is portrayed in many television shows and sitcoms. Authors James Ricci and Patricia Ward Biederman wrote, “Similarly, gay characters began appearing on television shows as long ago as the 1970s. MTV’s decade-old reality show ‘The Real World,’ and other programs prepared the way for the gay characters and gay-themed programs broadcasted today” (Ricci 4). Because more homosexuals are involved in the mainstream on television, they are becoming more accepted in the mainstream of reality. Homosexuals are becoming more accepted over the years because this tolerance has helped gay minorities realize their moral support to reveal their sexuality. Ricci and Biederman also wrote, “The act of coming out has probably been the single most important determinant in the change in public opinion polls. People learn that this is not some kind of abstract, foreign, exotic creature. This is somebody who lives down the street” (3). In today’s everyday life, this person down the street could also easily be a family member, best friend, or even some sort of acquaintance. This is a truth of reality for many people, which lead...