How TV Shaped the Civil Rights Movements Impact

The Role of Television in the Civil Rights Movement Name Institutional Affiliation Course name Instructor’s name Assignment due date The Role of Television in the Civil Rights Movement The media has played a significant role of setting the agenda and depicting players in social issues in the history of the United States. One of the most impactful moment of the media was its role in the Civil Rights Movement and how it defined the successes and failures of the strategies used by various actors. In particular, television played a central role in communicating key issues raised during the Civil Rights Movement and influenced its impact on national politics in the country (Wasow, 2020). Television grew in popularity in the United States in the 1950s and served as the key mass media through which debates on political issues reached the American people. Consequently, it had a major impact on the information people received from the media during the civil rights protests across the country. Through television, prominent leaders of the movement gained platforms through which they could appeal to the public and strategize on how to achieve political change (Brown & Mourão, 2021). The growth of mass media in the 1950s and 60s through increased access to television influenced the progression of key political debates among them being the Civil Rights Movement. A key role of television during the protests was to provide viewers with a first-hand account of racial injustices. Television provided a new form of mass media where the audience could bear witness to the methods used by the police against the protesters. For instance, television was instrumental in demonstrating the racial injustices occurring during the Birmingham Campaign of 1963. The media showed police officers using fire hoses on protestors and the extent of violence caused by their methods (McKersie, 2021). During the campaign, the police used violent methods to disperse protestors, including children, involved in nonviolent protests. The actions of the police and the determination of the protestors despite racial injustices facilitated debate on the issues leading to the Civil Rights Movement. The media, particularly television, played a central role in showing protests across the United States