In 1970 Bayard Rustin gathered many civil rights leaders and black public officials in support of an appeal to Washington. This appeal pushed for the U.S. government to supply Israel with fighter jets for protective purposes. Their appeal, in the form of a full-page ad in the New York Times, was sponsored by the A. Philip Randolph Institute of which...
The night of March 8, 1971 is one that will never be forgotten in sports history. This was the night of an international sports spectacle. This was the night that Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier attempted to settle the controversy over the world heavyweight boxing championship at Madison Square Garden. Never before had a boxing match meant so much, cost so much, viewed so much, or edged out the My Lai...
The 1970s were characterized as an era of protest, activism, and change in America. Anti-war protests against the war in Vietnam and the involvement of the United States in Indochina were popular. As the women's liberation movement continued, the disparity between the needs and agendas of black feminists and white feminists became more evident. In the "Black Women's Liberation" pamphlet, two articles,...
Muhammad Ali was the first Muslim boxer to win a heavyweight title, and his fame earned him the opportunity to create a comic book plot for American readers. Ali chose to write a scenario in which he and Superman, who was unable to use his powers, boxed against each other as mortals. In fighting Superman, Ali is clearly reflecting the internal racial war that was going on during 1970’s America. He...
In 1979, the American populace was in a state of apathy and hopelessness, feeling stuck in a rut with no positive change in sight. Under President Jimmy Carter, many people felt that because their problems could not be solved, it was best to accept things the way they were. Carter’s foreign policies are still debated today. During his time, he unintentionally created tensions by endorsing the European...
The shift between the Golden Age and the Silver Age of comic books in the wake of Fredric Wertham’s Seduction of the Innocent in 1954 was like night and day. The increasingly heinous horror, crime, and even superhero comics were softened by the self-regulated Comics Code Authority to stay in the mainstream, which ultimately was the genesis of the Silver Age. The Silver Age was a period in which...
For Marvel Comics, the 1970’s brought on the revival of the horror genre with Roy Thomas working under Stan Lee and later serving as Lee’s immediate successor as Marvel’s editor-in-chief. Thomas is well known for writing X-Men and Avengers for Marvel Comics in the early 1960’s, but he also contributed greatly to the horror stories that flourished a decade later.[1] Marvel and DC comics sales...