Question

Every few weeks or months, after a man armed with a high-powered weapon walks into a school or a church or a nightclub and opens fire, the national response plays out in a rote, almost performative way. The outcry lasts only a few days before guns fade back into the background noise of American politics. But nearly three weeks after a gunman walked into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., and killed 17 people with an AR-15, the conversation has not faded, because the students of Stoneman Douglas have taken up the cause of gun control. Already, they have lobbied state lawmakers in Tallahassee, spoken with President Trump and persuaded many companies to cut ties with the National Rifle Association. And on Saturday, they met with students fighting gun violence in Chicago. Several of those students, and their critics, have noted the incongruity of teenagers getting involved in politics. But history is full of movements led by students — albeit usually in college, not high school. Some were successful and others brutally crushed, but even the latter still resonate. (Most of these campaigns have been liberal-leaning: Though conservative college students have made their presence known, their actions have rarely coalesced into broader movements.) 1. Greensboro sit-ins, 1960 2. University uprisings, 1968 3. Press Apartheid divestment, 1970s-80s 4. Tiananmen Square, 1989 5. Velvet Revolution, 1989 6. Iran, 1999 7. Black Lives Matter, 2013-present

2. Explain whether or not we can still feel the impact of the students' activism on the various issues presented in the timeline and articles.

Answer 1

We do feel the impact of the students' activism on the various issues presented in the timeline and articles. For Example :

1.Greensboro sit-ins, 1960

This was a non violent protest which was a stand for Right of Equality for the Native Americans. When the Native Americans were not served at a particular restaurant which was reserved only for Whites. The native Americans wanted to be treated with dignity.

2. University uprisings,1968

This was a protest against the land planned to be undertaken for Gym construction of columbia university. The Land identified was in West Harlem. The proposal was that 100% of the land had to be acquired from the Community from Harlem and only 12% access was provisioned to community.

Parallels between the activism of 1968 and that of today’s Black Lives Matter movement 2013. He notes the same audacity in both movements—and many of the same tactics—in their “ability to take the small things like a gymnasium or these very local matters like the death of Trayvon Martin or Philando Castile or Sandra Bland—these very local things—and turn them into an indictment on systems,” he says. “Students back in the ‘60s and young people today who have taken to the streets have that unique ability to tie the local matters to larger systems.”

3. Press Apartheid divestment, 1970s-80s

This happened in South Africa which ended the white supremacy and provided South Africa Independence under leadership of Nelsom Mandela.Right to vote was provided to Non Caucasians.

4. Tiananmen Square, 1989

Tiananmen Square was a pro democratic protest by the Chinese Students against the Communist Govt of China. The protest was crushed using the Army and about 80,000 students were killed. Even though the Chinese govt. has censored this event. Still there is a fascination of young Chinese Youth towards the Democratic concept.

5. Velvet Revolution, 1989

The 1989 event sparked a series of demonstrations from 17 November to late December and turned into an anti-communist demonstration. On 20 November, the number of protesters assembled in Prague grew from 200,000 the previous day to an estimated 500,000. The entire top leadership of the Communist Party, including General Secretary Miloš Jakeš, resigned on 24 November. On 27 November, a two-hour general strike involving all citizens of Czechoslovakia was held.

In response to the collapse of other Warsaw Pact governments and the increasing street protests, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia announced on 28 November that it would relinquish power and end the one-party state.