A look at protests over the the decades

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- People all over the country are standing up to racial injustices by taking to the streets to protest.

Many are following in the footsteps of a generation now old enough to be their grandparents. A generation that marched for voting rights, civil rights, and equal rights.

Protests over the years have been motivated by one thing — change. From generation to generation, protesting still holds true to its title.

From Louisville, Mississippi to Selma, Alabama. Memphis, Tennessee. Chicago and Washington, D.C. This has always been the voice of change. And that change all starts with…

“Action,” said Arthur Harris, a political activist. “Like so many people talk about change and you have to do this and you have to do that, but when you actually see people standing up and actually getting out there and doing it and just pushing themselves forward and being consistent and determined, you know that’s what it’s all about. Real change starts with action.”

Dr. Marty Wiseman taught political science for years at Mississippi State University and he has watched history unfold.

“One thing that you can compare it to is the protests in the 60s. You had back then a confluence of ant-war protests and the culmination of the civil rights movement, so you had a lot of people making their statements in the streets.”

Harris is one of the newest generations of protesters.

“Us having all of these protests and rallies we are drawing awareness and pulling out the problems and we are letting people know that ‘hey, it’s that time now’,” said Harris. “And we are tired of having our mouths closed, you know it’s definitely that time.”

Wiseman said there is one big change from the 60’s to now. Information is instant, and some protests take place solely on social media.

“The internet, Facebook, Snapchat, and all of the different means of communication and the 24-hour news channels that are constantly searching for content.”

In the 1960s the U.S. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act and The Voting Rights Act, both connected to the protests held in the nation at that time.