1963
The Awakening of America

Alarms From Every Corner

By 1963, young Americans began to protest the many problems faced by our people and our country. Blacks continued to march peacefully for their basic American rights, but a new movement demanded an immediate end to racism. Women were viewed as homebound and decorative. Slowly they banded together for equal opportunities and pay, a movement that would gain strength later in the decade. The environmental movement also built up steam during the decade, as ecologists warned of the ravages caused by pesticides, auto emissions, and industrial waste on insects, birds, plants, animals, and ultimately humans.

Hootenannies Energize Protest Folk revival songfests erupted across the nation, led by songwriter Bob Dylan who set the musical style and tone for early Sixties protests. The folk revival was also popularized by Joan Baez and Peter, Paul and Mary, whose “freedom songs” wove themes of equality, anti-war protest, love, and patriotism into songs both lyrical and stinging.

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