British American

and

Culture

A Culture of Activism

The 1960s Counterculture Young people rejected the norms of the 1950s. They were against the war in Vietnam, the nuclear threat of the Cold War, and fought for the rights of minority groups. They saw the American Dream as a materialist nightmare. They protested for social justice. Their writing, art and music of the 60s reflected this.

This period witnessed serious civil unrest, as the protest movement took to the streets, and occupied university campuses. Young people became political.

The Black Power Movement

Black Power is a name for various ideologies aimed at achieving self-determination for people of African/Black descent. The movement was prominent in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

John Carlos raised his fist in a black power salute at the 1968 Olympics.

Protest Songs and Vietnam

The war in Vietnam hung heavy over the whole of the 1960s. The peace movement found its voice in music. The protest song was a way of expressing how people felt about the atrocities of war.

Country Joe McDonald – “Feel Like I'm Fixing To Die” at Woodstock 1969.

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament CND is an organisation that fights for unilateral nuclear disarmament by the UK. CND was formed in 1957 and since that time has periodically been at the forefront of the peace movement in the UK. It is said to be the largest of Europe’s biggest single-issue peace movements.

Designed in 1958, the CND logo is one of the most famous logos in

the world. It represents the ‘semaphore’ signs for ‘N’ and ‘D’.

It has since become a global symbol for peace.

The Politics of -isms The 1970s can be noted as a period in history

that saw the rise of the –ism, with such areas of thought such as environmentalism and feminism becoming important issues that people wrote about, discussed, and campaigned for.

An Earth-centric political movement developed sometimes wrongly called ‘New Age’ through grassroots movements.

Greenpeace was founded in 1971.

Earth First! First emerged in

1979.

Animal Rights Activism People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is an American animal rights organisation. Founded in 1980, its slogan is "animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, use for entertainment or abuse in any way."

The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) is an international, underground direct action leaderless campaign for the ‘liberation’ of animals. The ALF was first formed in England in 1976.

Anti-Globalisation The anti-globalisation movement came to

prominence in the 1990s. In a period when the the capitalist economic system was booming and employment was high many people were angry with the idea of inequality and poverty in third-world countries.

They were against the exploitation of people for profit, and that while the rich got richer the poor got poorer, despite the 90s being a period of economic boom.

This movement would continue into the 2000s, as people became political, with the anti-war movement and the Occupy movement of today.

Reclaim The Streets

Reclaim the Streets often stage non-violent direct action street reclaiming events such as the 'invasion' of a major road, highway to stage a party. The events are usually spectacular and colourful, with sand pits for children to play in, free food and music.

Reclaim the Streets or RTS was started by the environmental campaign group ‘Earth First!’ In

Brixton, London in 1991 as an anti-car protest.

The Battle of Seattle An anti-capitalist protest against the WTO in 1999. Significant for raising global awareness of the issues of a movement that had before just been thought of as a bunch of left-wing and anarchist trouble-makers.

The riots brought people who wanted real change to come together. But it also saw the rise of the ‘robo-cop’ and a bleak future if capitalism was left unchecked.

Street Art Visual art, in public spaces (the streets). Though the term usually refers to unsanctioned art, as opposed to government sponsored initiatives. The term can include traditional graffiti, sculpture, stencil graffiti, sticker art, street poster art, video projection, etc...

Street Art often asks ‘what is art?’ by putting it in a non-art context. It often tries to speak to with ordinary people, and has a social message it wants to express. Often that message is a political or social one.

Banksy The pseudonymous of the

now world famous English, graffiti stencil artist, political activist, film director, and painter. His work has gone global. Started in the early 80s.

He claims to have been influenced by 3D from the Bristol based Trip-Hop band Massive Attack. Though many say his style is like anarcho-punk band Crass in the 70s and 80s.

The Anti-Iraq War Movement Beginning in 2002, and continuing after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, large-scale protests against the Iraq War were held in many cities worldwide. These demonstrations against the war were mainly organized by anti-war organizations made up of people from all walks of life. From the anarchists and the political left, to human rights groups, faith groups and thousands of ordinary people who had never taken to the streets before.

London 15th Feb. 2003 part of the largest protest in human history

And the Rebel Went Viral! The World Wide Web has provide us all with a

space to express ourselves. Millions across the world use the written word to scream out at the injustices they see in the world. Through blogs, social networks like Facebook and Twitter, on YouTube, and a hundreds of millions of other outlets.

The rebel is now an anonymous online presence. It’s you or me, the quiet one sat next to you in class. We are all rebels now.

We are anonymous… We are legion… We do not forgive… We do not forget… Expect us!