The early 1960's in America was fraught with fear looming over from the onset of the cold war. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was sworn into office as the 35th President in January of 1961. Within a few months of taking office, he helped orchestrate the Bay of Pigs Invasion , which had a negative result. In 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis unfolded, and the fear of communism in the United States was stronger than ever. 1963 signaled the beginnings of unrest in Laos and Vietnam, due to a perceived communist threat. Kennedy was preparing to face the crisis mounting in Southeast Asia when he was assassinated on November 22nd, 1963. The assassination of JFK was a pivotal moment not just for American history, but also for American popular culture. The term counterculture has been defined as a culture with values and mores that run counter to, or against those, of established society. There has always been a counterculture to oppose the dominant culture in America, but this group tended to be in the minority of the population until the mid to late 1960's. The assassination of JFK, which was all the more shocking due to the fact that it was the first televised assassination in American history, changed the fabric of the United States. Young people were not merely beginning to question the authority of their parents; they were questioning their rights as citizens, and to have a mistrust of their government. The 1960's countercultural revolution in the US was not only brought on by political events. The birth of rock and roll in the late 1950's had changed the face of popular music forever, and many new musicians were emerging with a new look, and a new sound. Arguably, the most important band to emerge in the 1960's were not American, but British musicians. Ladies and gentlemen... The Beatles! The Beatles The Beatles were part of the "British Invasion" of bands during the early to mid 1960's, who were becoming extremely popular with American youth. When they first appeared, they sported a clean-cut look, with short hair and suits. As their popularity grew into an international phenomenon, they began to change their appearance, and began to experiment with drugs. Both British, and American youth cultures were transformed by "Beatlemania", as it was called. As the band changed, young people changed with them. Not everyone was a fan of the strong opinions of John Lennon, one of The Beatles two front men. During an interview in 1966, John Lennon remarked that The Beatles had become " more popular than Jesus ". This caused outrage in the Southern United States, and in Birmingham, Alabama, young people were urged by religious and social leaders to burn Beatles records. Consequently, this was the same part of the country where the civil rights movement was also taking place. Bob Dylan Another notable musician, and also an American, Bob Dylan also helped shape the countercultural structure of the 1960's. Dylan, who is still recording music today, started o.

1. The early 1960's in America was fraught with fear looming over
from the onset of the cold war. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was
sworn into office as the 35th President in January of 1961.
Within a few months of taking office, he helped orchestrate the
Bay of Pigs Invasion
, which had a negative result. In 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis
unfolded, and the fear of communism in the United States was
stronger than ever. 1963 signaled the beginnings of unrest in
Laos and Vietnam, due to a perceived communist threat.
Kennedy was preparing to face the crisis mounting in Southeast
Asia when he was assassinated on November 22nd, 1963. The
assassination of JFK
was a pivotal moment not just for American history, but also
for American popular culture.
The term
counterculture
has been defined as a culture with values and mores that run
counter to, or against those, of established society. There has
always been a counterculture to oppose the dominant culture in
America, but this group tended to be in the minority of the
population until the mid to late 1960's. The assassination of
JFK, which was all the more shocking due to the fact that it was
the first televised assassination in American history, changed
the fabric of the United States. Young people were not merely
beginning to question the authority of their parents; they were
questioning their rights as citizens, and to have a mistrust of
their government.
The 1960's countercultural revolution in the US was not only
brought on by political events. The birth of rock and roll in the
late 1950's had changed the face of popular music forever, and
many new musicians were emerging with a new look, and a new
sound. Arguably, the most important band to emerge in the
1960's were not American, but British musicians. Ladies and

2. gentlemen...
The Beatles!
The Beatles
The Beatles were part of the "British Invasion" of bands during
the early to mid 1960's, who were becoming extremely popular
with American youth. When they first appeared, they sported a
clean-cut look, with short hair and suits. As their popularity
grew into an international phenomenon, they began to change
their appearance, and began to experiment with drugs. Both
British, and American youth cultures were transformed by
"Beatlemania", as it was called. As the band changed, young
people changed with them. Not everyone was a fan of the strong
opinions of John Lennon, one of The Beatles two front men.
During an interview in 1966, John Lennon remarked that The
Beatles had become "
more popular than Jesus
". This caused outrage in the Southern United States, and in
Birmingham, Alabama, young people were urged by religious
and social leaders to burn Beatles records. Consequently, this
was the same part of the country where the civil rights
movement was also taking place.
Bob Dylan
Another notable musician, and also an American, Bob Dylan
also helped shape the countercultural structure of the 1960's.
Dylan, who is still recording music today, started out in the
early 1960's as a folk musician. His songs resonated with young
people, and helped to start the "hippie" movement, which
essentially was comprised of young American adults trying to
escape from the dominant culture supported by their parents.
Dylan met the Beatles in 1965, and was a very strong influence
on them both politically, and musically.
Woodstock
Woodstock

3. is perhaps one of the most famous counter-cultural moments of
the 1960's. Band manager Michael Lang and songwriter turned
record company executive Artie Kornfeld came up with the idea
for the festival when they began to raise money to build a
recording studio in Woodstock, New York. This little town was
a sanctuary for musicians including Bob Dylan, and Van
Morrison. Ironically, Bob Dylan did not play at Woodstock.
Woodstock took place in Bethel, New York, and not Woodstock,
as was originally planned. Young people from across America
flocked to the festival in August of 1969, to protest the Vietnam
war, racial inequality, and to "turn on, tune in, and drop out".
Jimi Hendrix
headlined the festival, and as he was the last musician to play,
many people had left the festival already due to short supplies
of food and water. Those who were there to witness his
rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" have since described
his performance of the national anthem as one of the defining
moments of the 1960's. When listening closely to the feedback
of his guitar, one can almost hear the helicopters and guns
blazing through the Vietnamese jungle. Hendrix never admitted
that his version of the Star Spangled Banner was a Vietnam
protest song, but it is widely accepted in popular cultural lore
that the message behind it was the anthem for the emotions of
American youth at that time.
The Civil Rights Movement
During the era of the Truman Administration (1945-1953), not
enough had been done with regard to improving civil rights for
minorities. President Truman actually did accomplish some
steps toward civil rights, through making orders that prohibited
discrimination in the federal government, and ended segregation
in the armed forces. Further progress was made during
Eisenhower's presidency, (1953-1961), when Supreme Court
decisions and organized protests by African-Americans fought
against Jim Crow laws. Eisenhower accepted full accountability

4. for ensuring that the decisions of the federal courts were
followed. Congress, on the other hand, moved at a snail's pace
to advance the legal standing of blacks and other minorities.
Brown vs. The Board of Education.
In 1950, the National Association for the Advancement for
Colored People (NAACP) disputed the 1896 Supreme Court
decision
Plessy vs. Ferguson,
which had established the "separate but equal" doctrine. Several
legal cases on public-school segregation were making their way
through the federal courts at that time, and the first to make it
to the Supreme Court was
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas
.
In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that "separate but equal"
schools for blacks and whites were unconstitutional. President
Eisenhower called for the desegregation of schools in
Washington, D.C., and the procedure went over well in some of
the states that had segregated school systems. In other parts of
the country, however, opposition to desegregation was
shockingly powerful.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
Another important social event that took place during the civil
rights movement was
the Montgomery bus boycott.
In December 1955, while riding a bus in Montgomery,
Alabama, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white
person, as was required by law. Parks was fined, and arrested.
Under the guidance of
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr
.
, the African-American community in Montgomery reacted to
Parks' arrest with a boycott of the Montgomery bus system. This

5. prohibition of the city bus system went on until November
1956, when the Supreme Court ruled that segregation in public
transportation was unconstitutional. These actions in
Montgomery helped Dr. King become the recognized head of
the civil rights movement, and gave credibility to his peaceful
approach to racial equality. He would later be assassinated in
Memphis, Tennessee, in April of 1968.
The Civil Rights Act of 1960 gave federal judges the authority
to assign intermediaries to guarantee that blacks were permitted
to register and vote. The Birmingham, Alabama civil rights
protests of 1963 were rife with violence, and were televised.
Americans were beginning to see the products of racial
inequality in their living rooms for the first time, and it began
to change the dominant cultural beliefs of the time.
African Americans Become Stars
During the 1960's, African American actors were finally
beginning to take center stage on television, and in Hollywood.
Bill Cosby was a rising star in 1965, when he became the costar
of the hit TV show,
"I Spy"
. Many naysayers said at the time that Cosby would never make
it as a star. Cosby went on to be one of the most successful
actors, comedians, and producers for television in American
popular history. He is also an activist for the black community,
and is a source of pride and respect for American popular
culture.
Another actor who should be mentioned in terms of the civil
rights movement and popular culture is Nichelle Nichols, star of
the original series of "Star Trek". Nichols was the first black
woman to star in a TV series. Star Trek was groundbreaking for
its interracial cast of lead characters. Nichols also caused
controversy when she shared the first interracial kiss on
television with William Shatner's character, Captain Kirk.

6. Nichols received a lot of public scrutiny for her role on the
show, and at one point, she wanted to quit, but was encouraged
to stay on by a fan. That fan was Dr. Martin Luther King.
Sidney Poitier
was a famous Hollywood actor during the 1960's, and was the
first black man to win an Oscar for his role in 1963's "Lillies of
the Field". 1967's critically acclaimed film,
"Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"
starred Poitier as a young black man who was marrying a white
woman, and shows the troubles they both faced when
introducing each other to their families.
Through some of these examples of civil rights issues, as well
as the introduction of black actors and actresses into viable
stars of Hollywood and television, it is evident that these forms
of media played important roles in forwarding the civil rights
movement.
ASSIGNMENT:
In your research of television programs from the 1950's and
1960's, you will also be required to write an essay about how
African Americans were portrayed in shows that were broadcast
during this era.
Describe how television helped to shape the image of Black
America during the 1950's and 1960's. Discuss racial
stereotyping.
Research Roots from the 1970's. How was Roots different from
these earlier television shows (Good Times, Sanford & Son,
etc.) in terms of the depiction of African American popular
culture? Give examples.
This paper should be 2 pages IN APA STYLE. Ensure that there
are in-text citations and a reference page in APA style.