National Events and Happenings
1964 was a turbulent and changing time in American History. The Civil Rights Movement was in full swing, being led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Beatles toured America for the first time. Lyndon B. Johnson was the 36th President of the United States, taking over the office following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in late November, 1963. Race riots begin to erupt all around the country. Tensions between the races in America were continually on the rise and about to boil over. This conflict was felt all over the country, and in a place like the Bronx, so close to New York City, the struggle was doubled.
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law by President Johnson on July 2nd of that eventful year. This legislation made all forms of discrimination finally illegal. It ended segregation in schools, made all public accommodations equal and free to all races and ethnicities, and ended all restrictions on voter rights. Sadly, the law was not upheld right away by the U.S. people, but as the years passed, the government more strictly enforced the laws and fully upheld its new equalities.
|
Regional Events and Happenings
The Bronx specifically saw a lot of change during the early 1960s. The populations of African Americans and Puerto Ricans were on the rise. Financial struggles were seen across the board. In acts of desperation, some landlords and tenants committed arson during the late 1960s and early 1970s in order to receive insurance money and take advantage of the policies put in place for burned-out tenants who were given priority in public housing and given money to furnish their new residences.
In addition, urban sprawl was overtaking the borough. An expressway across the Bronx and Long Island going into Manhattan was underway, causing heavy traffic and more diversity in the neighborhood.
More diversity tensions caused violence. Riots erupted in Harlem in 1964 after the July 18th shooting of a fifteen year-old boy by a white officer. The Harlem riot consisted of an estimated 8,000 residents who broke windows, set fires, and looted businesses believing that the shooting was an act of police brutality. The Harlem riot spread and its effects continued for six days “resulting in the death of one resident, over one hundred injuries, and more than 450 arrests.” Shortly after the Harlem riot the Rochester riot started and lasted three days until peace was restored July 26th.
During this time, the Bronx took huge steps forward in reaching racial equality. A year following 1964, Herman Bodillo was elected as president of the borough, becoming the first Puerto Rican to serve in this post. A couple years before in 1960, Ivan Warner became the first African American to serve in the U.S. Senate from the Bronx. He then went on to serve on the Bronx Supreme Court. These men represented the evolution of equality for all races in the Bronx during this time.
The characters in Doubt live in a place that is rapidly changing and facing new milestones every day. For young children living in the Bronx at this time, they were subject to the changing world around them; but for the authorities in a Catholic school like Sister Aloysius, Sister James and Father Flynn, these changes contradicted the norms they were used to. How does each of these characters react to change differently?
In addition, urban sprawl was overtaking the borough. An expressway across the Bronx and Long Island going into Manhattan was underway, causing heavy traffic and more diversity in the neighborhood.
More diversity tensions caused violence. Riots erupted in Harlem in 1964 after the July 18th shooting of a fifteen year-old boy by a white officer. The Harlem riot consisted of an estimated 8,000 residents who broke windows, set fires, and looted businesses believing that the shooting was an act of police brutality. The Harlem riot spread and its effects continued for six days “resulting in the death of one resident, over one hundred injuries, and more than 450 arrests.” Shortly after the Harlem riot the Rochester riot started and lasted three days until peace was restored July 26th.
During this time, the Bronx took huge steps forward in reaching racial equality. A year following 1964, Herman Bodillo was elected as president of the borough, becoming the first Puerto Rican to serve in this post. A couple years before in 1960, Ivan Warner became the first African American to serve in the U.S. Senate from the Bronx. He then went on to serve on the Bronx Supreme Court. These men represented the evolution of equality for all races in the Bronx during this time.
The characters in Doubt live in a place that is rapidly changing and facing new milestones every day. For young children living in the Bronx at this time, they were subject to the changing world around them; but for the authorities in a Catholic school like Sister Aloysius, Sister James and Father Flynn, these changes contradicted the norms they were used to. How does each of these characters react to change differently?