Cynthia Harter
EDAC 631
History of U.S. Adult and Community Education in the 1960s
Cynthia Harter | Commented On Donovan Mann |
Introduction
I chose to examine adult education during the 1960s. This decade marked a turning point in adult and community education, and for American society in general. Federal legislation for adult education was first passed in 1964 (U.S. Department of Education, 2013). There was a great deal of landmark legislation passed for social justice issues as well. I think understanding the history of this decade is essential to understanding many of the issues prevailing today.
The 1960s were a time of social upheaval. This decade was the peak of the Civil Rights Movement. The first civil rights legislation since Reconstruction, the Civil Rights Act of 1957, had passed but was largely ineffective and unenforced; segregation and other discriminatory practices were still the norm in Southern states (Eisenhower Presidential Library). Black Americans and their allies continued with nonviolent protests against discrimination; the decade started with the sit-in at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in 1960 (Jim Crow Museum).
Woolworth Sit-In
Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous I Have a Dream speech on August 28, 1963, when 250,000 people flooded the Capitol to demand laws be passed that would ensure equal rights for Black people (Jim Crow Museum).
MLK, Jr. - I Have a Dream
Black protestors bravely faced violence and even death at the hands of people fueled with racist hatred. In the face of all the violence, some people disagreed that nonviolent action was the best course; the Black Panther party was formed in 1966, inspired by the lectures of Malcolm X (Bill of Rights Institute).
Malcolm X
President John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, Jr. were all assassinated during this decade (Jim Crow Museum).
The Kennedy Family Mourns
Significant civil rights legislation was eventually passed; the Civil Rights Act of 1964 signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson made segregation in public spaces and job discrimination based on race illegal (Jim Crow Museum). Landmark Supreme Court cases also shaped national laws; Loving v. Virginia ended the ban on interracial marriage (Jim Crow Museum). However, all of the legislation and laws were challenged, often violently, by racist individuals and leaders.
Brutality Against Protestors
This decade was also largely shaped by the Vietnam War, one of the most controversial conflicts in United States history. President John F. Kennedy began sending U.S. military personnel and equipment to support the South Vietnamese against the Vietcong in 1961 (PBS); by 1969, the Selective Service began drafting American men to aid in the conflict (Selective Service System). Over two million men were drafted over the course of the conflict (Michigan in the World); over 50,000 Americans lost their lives, with estimates of Vietnamese deaths in the millions (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, 1995).
Vietnam War
There were many protests against the Vietnam War; the first substantial protest took place in October 1963, led primarily by students and academics (American Experience).
Protest Against Vietnam War
Long after the U.S. withdrew from the war, Americans would feel the consequences; the economy would be crippled, soldiers who survived were plagued with PTSD and health conditions related to the use of deadly chemicals, and overall trust and support in the federal government would never recover (Digital History, 2021).
Civil Rights and the Vietnam War contributed to other social movements, such as the counterculture or hippie movement. The counterculture movement was a rejection of commercialism and violence (Civil Rights Digital History Project). During anti-war protests so-called hippies would burn their draft cards (Civil Rights Digital History Project).
Protesters Burning Draft Cards
Music and art was a vital component of the counterculture movement. Most notably, the Woodstock Music and Arts festival took place in 1969; this festival, from the fashion, drug use, psychedelic music, and anti-war messages, epitomized the counterculture movement (Civil Rights Digital History Project).
Festival Attendees at the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival
(Click link to view video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjzZh6-h9fM
The early 1960s also marked the end of Baby Boomer generation births, which spanned from 1946 to 1964 (Pew Research Center, 2008). Many of the Boomers were involved in the counterculture movement, and many others served in the Vietnam War (Rafferty). Due to the economic growth and change after World War II, Gross national product (GNP) doubled in the years from 1940-1960 (Rafferty). By the 1960s, many of the Boomers were young adults, and their changing attitudes, and activism, on issues such as war, drug use, and racial issues contributed to the unprecedented social upheaval in the 1960s.
The booming economy found in this era, coupled with legislation designed to make home ownership more accessible, led to an increase in home ownership. Growth was most pronounced in suburban areas, where the proportion of the U.S. population increased from approximately 19.5% in 1940 to 30.7% in 1960 (American Yawp, 2022). Primarily white families benefited from these opportunities; many of the laws had loopholes that allowed sellers to exclude Black families, leading to “white flight” from the cities to suburbia (Gross, 2017). Racial discrimination in housing was not banned federally until 1968, with the passing of the Fair Housing Act (Massey & Tannen, 2018).
Artist Representation of Suburban Life
Suburban living was seen as the epitome of the American Dream. However, those dreams were limited not only for minorities but for all women as well. Women in this era were primarily expected to be housewives, or perhaps teachers. Women were unable to have a credit card in their name or serve on a jury (McLaughlin, 2014). President John F. Kennedy’s Commission on the Status of Women in 1964 revealed that women earned 59 cents for every dollar a man would make (McLaughlin, 2014); women were unlikely to hold esteemed professional positions. Ivy League schools did not start accepting women until the late 1960s (McLaughlin, 2014).
Second wave feminism began in the 1960s, focusing on reproductive rights and equal opportunities. Organizations like the National Organization for Women (NOW) led the charge, pushing for important legislation to codify equal rights regardless of sex (Morris, 2022). Discrimination based on sex was not included in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 initially; title VII, which banned job discrimination, was added only in an attempt to prevent the bill from being passed (National Archives and Records Administration). However, it was indeed passed and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson; it took many years for it to be properly enforced (National Archives and Records Administration).
Feminist Protest
The fight for LGBTQ+ rights also started to ramp up in the 1960s, although there would not be major traction until the 1970s and 1980s (History.com Editors, 2023). Some important legislation was passed, however, including the end of some anti-sodomy laws in various states (History.com Editors, 2023). Serving alcohol to homosexuals was illegal in New York City, as it was thought that their gatherings would become disorderly (History.com Editors, 2023). Taking cues from the success of nonviolent protests in the Civil Rights movement, activist staged various protests, including “sip-ins”, where protesters would visit bars and taverns that refused to sell to LGBTQ+ individuals, declare they were gay and demand to be served (History.com Editors, 2023). The decade culminated in the Stonewall Inn Riots, when rebellion against police raids on a gay bar broke out and led to protests for six days (Library of Congress), catapulting the gay rights movement into full swing (History.com Editors, 2023).
Stonewall Riots
The 1960s also saw a push for equal opportunity in education for people with disabilities (LEAP, 2024). A push to make buildings more accessible for people with disabilities by the American Standards Association led to 49 states enacting legislation on accessibility standards by 1974 (LEAP, 2024). Families and other advocates sought to end the era of institutionalization for people with intellectual disabilities, and community-based, independent living opportunities arose (LEAP, 2024).
Highlights and Influential Factors
Post World War II, improving adult educational experiences became a national priority and seen as essential for U.S. national security. President Kennedy saw how education was a vital part of the Soviet Union’s society, and he wanted a program to “involve Americans more actively in the cause of global democracy, peace, development, and freedom” (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum). This resulted in the establishment of the Peace Corps in 1961. President Lyndon B. Johnson declared a “War on Poverty” as one of his major policy initiatives, aiming to “not only to relieve the symptom of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it” (Executive Office of the President & Council of Economic Advisers, 2014, p. 221). A string of legislation would follow, with the goals of “maintaining high employment, accelerating economic growth, fighting discrimination, improving regional economies, rehabilitating urban and rural communities, improving labor markets, expanding educational opportunities, enlarging job opportunities for youth, improving the Nation’s health, promoting adult education and training, and assisting the aged and disabled” (Executive Office of the President & Council of Economic Advisers, 2014, p. 221).
Legislation was passed in the 1960s that began to set the stage for the federal government’s involvement in adult and community education. The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 included provisions for adult basic education (ABE) and set the stage for addressing adult illiteracy (U.S. Department of Education, 2013). The Adult Education Section was established as part of the U.S. Office of Education in the 1950s, and by the 1960s long-term goals had been established, including raising awareness on the importance of lifelong learning, identifying national trends and problems affecting adult education, increasing recognition of adult education as an integral part of regular educational programs, and better coordinating the purposes and policies among adult education groups and other related agencies (U.S. Department of Education, 2013).
The Adult Education Section developed research programs on issues such as “education of the aging, literacy, adult basic education, community development, education for public affairs, leisure time education, and human relations education” (U.S. Department of Education, 2013), essentially creating the academic field of adult education (Hansman & Rose, 2017). The Adult Education Act of 1966 put significant federal backing behind adult education programs. It was designed to “encourage and expand basic educational programs for adults to enable them to overcome English language limitations, to improve their basic education in preparation for occupational training and profitable employment, and to become more productive and responsible citizens” (Rose, 1992).
College and universities became increasingly important, for national security, greater economic growth, and social mobility, especially as Baby Boomers came of age (Mintz, 2022). Initiatives like the Higher Education Act of 1965 provided more funding, outreach, and support for low-income students, and helped lead to a 100% increase in undergraduate enrollment over the decade (Mintz, 2022). The size of public higher education institutions grew substantially, many previously private universities were converted to public, and teacher’s colleges were expanded to have more comprehensive offerings (Mintz, 2022).
Community colleges in particular saw rapid growth, more than any other formal higher education institutions; community colleges were established at a rate of approximately one per week during this decade (Drury, 2003). People from minority groups, outcast from traditional institutions, sought to create their own community educational opportunities, often utilizing grassroots efforts. One example is the Roxbury Community College of Boston, founded by the Boston Black United Front activist group (Roxbury Community College Archives and Special Collections). Members of the community pooled their resources to start the process (Roxbury Community College Archives and Special Collections). The Roxbury Community College Board attempted collaboration with an all-white organization, the Massachusetts Board of Regional Community Colleges, during the establishment of their college; however, there were many clashes as the Roxbury Board wanted to maintain community control of the college (Roxbury Community College Archives and Special Collections). The primary disagreement was over where to locate the college; the Roxbury Board saw it as essential to locate the college within the community it served, i.e. in a neighborhood where Black people lived. Despite various conflicts, the Roxbury community won and the college was established there in 1968 (Roxbury Community College Archives and Special Collections).
Students led many of the protests and social justice movements mentioned previously. Students challenged restrictions on women in athletics, dress codes, segregation policies, and pushed for more curricula with a social justice framework (Mintz, 2022). The concept of affirmative action in education began in the 1960s (Mintz, 2022); for example, many Ivy League and other prestigious universities did not begin to admit women and racial/cultural minorities until the 1960s, 70s, and even 80s (Lakritz, 2023).
Higher education, particularly prestigious universities, collaborated with government entities on research issues; in defense, medicine, and other sciences (Mintz, 2022). The focus on research, and the funding available for researchers, led to changes in the business model of many universities (Mintz, 2022). Despite a great deal of support for higher education coming from the government during this period, other prominent political figures demonized higher education as indoctrinating youth and perpetuating elitism (Mintz, 2022).
Technological advances also influenced adult and community education; the overhead projector was introduced by 3M in the 1960s and quickly became a standard and highly utilized device in classrooms (Akanegbu, 2023). Film strips and audio tape recorders were also becoming more standard; however, budgets for technology in the classroom would not become a top priority until much later (Eckers, 2020).
Community education was a relatively new concept in the 1960s (Kowalski & Fallon, 1986). First forms of organized community education in this era were fueled by the counterculture movement and discontentment with social, economic, and political institutions. Food co-ops, communes, worker collectives, alternative newspapers, free universities, and free schools arose, where community members collaborated on educational goals (Lindenfeld, 2001). These initiatives sought to empower individuals and fuel curiosity (Lindenfeld, 2001).
Summary
The 1960s were a pivotal time, socially, economically, educationally, and politically. Marginalized groups utilized this time to fight for social justice and civil rights, often to violent backlash. Adult and community education was a vital component of the civil rights movement, as organizers and activists sought to educate their communities, and the public at large, about how best to advocate for equal rights under the law. Students and educators at colleges and universities were often the leaders of activism.
Many of the issues of the 1960s, such as racism, sexism, homophobia, and ableism, are still issues today. Although we have come a long way since the 1960s, some of the political and social movements of our current time can be traced back to the 1960s. For example, the second wave feminist movement of the 1960s and 1970s led to landmark judgments such as Roe v. Wade in 1973, which protected a woman’s right to have an abortion; however, this has been recently overturned. Women still are a minority in positions of power, and on average make only 82 cents for every dollar a man makes, with women of color making significantly less (U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2022).
While there have been improvements towards equality for all, it is clear that there is still much more progress to be made. Violence against minority groups is still a dire problem in the U.S.; hate crimes against people identifying as LGBTQ+ have been occurring in record numbers (Luneau, 2023). Black people are significantly more likely to be shot and killed by police than those from other groups (Bunn, 2022). The Boomer generation that came of age in the 1960s and 1970s are one of the most influential demographics today, so it is not surprising that the issues that affected them as children and young adults are not resolved. It is vital to understand the roots of social justice issues, and to understand that these issues are still relevant and part of our recent history.
Adult and Community Education in many ways took off in the 1960s, with federal legislation and financial backing beginning in this era. The study and practice of adult and community education academically also has its roots in this time period, due to the knowledge that adult and community education can lift communities, particularly those who are marginalized and disadvantaged. Research shows that education on diversity leads to positive changes in attitudes and values about diversity issues, and that there are other important benefits, such as improved critical thinking, higher overall achievement levels for both majority and minority group members, and increased interest in improving the lives of people in one’s community (Kite & Clark, 2022). I believe helping people become less prejudiced and more community minded is an essential goal of adult and community education. Community engagement and organization were vital for achieving landmark improvements towards equality in the 1960s; this exemplifies the importance of adult and community education. Adult and community education with a social justice framework can uplift individuals and communities and help people have better, more fulfilling lives.
Areas | Summary |
Social Background | Civil Rights Movement -Black Civil Rights -LGBTQ+ Rights -Second Wave Feminism -Vietnam War -Counterculture Movement -Disability Advocacy Uneven economic and educational opportunities |
Highlights and Influential Factors | Legislation for social justice issues and governmental support of adult and community education Expansion of colleges and universities, including academia furthering social justice issues Technological advancements Community education and grassroots organizations |
Implications | Adult and community education with a social justice framework has positive implications across many measures. |
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