One of the most impactful methods of nonviolent activism at UW-Madison can be found in scholarships, the Chancellor Scholarship and Powers-Knapp Scholarship, now known as the Mercile Lee Scholars Program. This program, named after Mercile Lee, a lifelong advocate for Civil Rights and racial equality, aims “to attract, support and develop the abilities and potential of academically talented and outstanding individuals from underrepresented groups.”
Universities
University Failure and Student Response – Linking Today to the 1960s
Earlier this month, a horrific, hate-filled video of a UW-Madison student spouting racist slurs, threats, and a desire to own enslaved people began circulating around the UW-Madison community. It didn’t take long for the video and responses to it to go viral online, resulting in a petition for the expulsion of the students involved with the video amassing tens of thousands of signatures.
Sit-Ins to Stand Up
The 1960s in the U.S. are often characterized by the Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam War, the Cold War and, of course, the Civil Rights Movement. The early ‘60s were a time when Jim Crow laws were still around and people all across the nation were protesting in various ways.
The Truly American Environmentalist Movement
The modern Environmentalist movement has seen a flurry of activity following the “Code Red” announcement of the UN report on climate change in August. Hosting protests and calls to action now 365 days a year, Environmentalism has grown in means and in might since its conception as but a single day of national awareness: Earth Day 1970.
Vietnam War Protests at UW-Madison
The Vietnam War, fought between 1955-1975, drew attention across the U.S. It was one of the most highly protested wars in history, especially at UW-Madison. A notable protest at UW occurred in April of 1965 with faculty teaching over 1,500 students about the conflict outside of an academic building.
Imperial Invasion
The Reagan administration’s foreign policy was imperialist in nature and in cause. The anti-communist agenda of the American government in the last half of the 20th century allowed the executive to fall back on its colonialist roots under the guise of worldly protection.