revolutionary action movement (ram) - Michael Schwartz Library

CHAPTER TWO
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
This chapter is designed to present the historical context within
which the Revolutionary Action Movement (RAM) emerged . A study of RAM
only has political significance if it is analyzed within the historical
context in which it occurred . RAM was not an isolated creation, it was a
product of the political atmosphere, a reaction to state oppression and a
response to the demands of the black movement . In approaching this study,
the student of history and political
science needs to identify the modus
operandi of studying the era that produced it .
The 60's was unique because of its high level of political activism,
particularly on the part of a large segment of the black community . Among
the masses in the black community, the 60's is remembered as the black
revolution . To study the black revolution at that time, there are several
things that must be understood . One is that the 60's did not occur in a
vacuum nor did massive resistance subside because it was the end of an era .
The revolution, because it faces a powerful oppressive system, is a
protracted or prolonged struggle .
The black revolution in America must be
viewed as a. continuous historical process that takes many twists and turns,
that has advancements and setbacks, and that employs different tactics in
different historical periods . The revolution in the 60's went through
three distinct stages :
a .
the non-violent direct action phase which fought against
segregation, 1960-1963 ;
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