Civil Rights Concepts, Coalitions, and Social Justice ideas

Intersectionality

The idea that people can experience overlapping forms of oppression, such as racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, ableism, or xenophobia. It is significant because it shows why civil rights movements must consider multiple identities at once.

Individualist Conceptualization of Rights

A view of rights that focuses on individuals and personal freedoms. This is common in U.S. law. It is significant because it can protect individuals, but it may ignore group-based harm or systemic inequality.

Collective Conceptualization of Rights

A view of rights that focuses on groups, communities, or nations. Examples include Native sovereignty, labor rights, and community-based environmental justice. It is significant because it challenges the idea that rights only belong to individuals.

Rainbow Coalition

A multiracial alliance of activist groups, including the Black Panthers, Young Lords, and Young Patriots. It united poor and working-class communities across racial lines. It is significant because it showed the power of coalition-building.

Young Lords

A Puerto Rican activist group that fought racism, poverty, police brutality, and poor healthcare. They organized in cities like New York and Chicago. They are significant because they connected Latino rights with broader anti-racist and anti-poverty activism.

New Jim Crow

The idea that mass incarceration functions like a modern racial caste system. The term is associated with Michelle Alexander. It is significant because it connects prisons, policing, and drug laws to the history of racial control after slavery and segregation.

Tyranny of the Table

The idea that being “included at the table” does not always mean having real power. Marginalized people may be invited into institutions but still expected to follow rules made by dominant groups. It is significant because it critiques token representation.

Tyranny of the Trial

The idea that court cases can narrow broad social justice issues into individual legal claims. Trials may win certain rights but fail to address deeper systems of inequality. It is significant because it shows the limits of relying only on courts for change.

My Lai Massacre

A 1968 massacre during the Vietnam War where U.S. soldiers killed hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese civilians. The event became public in 1969 and shocked many Americans. It is significant because it increased antiwar feeling and exposed the brutality of the war.