When it comes to past and present generations, the two are always compared and critically analyzed. Over the past few years, my generation has often been negatively spoken about by those raised in generations before the 80s and surprisingly some in our own generation.

This being due to past generations such as the 60s having this overly broad positive view, which creates a generational bias. That for some odd reason people cannot look over and see all that actually occurred in the 60s, much like they can for the current generations. The set biased that blinds African Americans from seeing all of the negative aspects of the 60s is the civil rights movement.

This historical movement sends a message to current and future generations that says, “During this time period all blacks moved in unison to fight, to achieve a common goal by any means necessary, including disobeying current laws seen as unlawful and other acts of protests to expose the government.”

This premise often voiced through video footage, visuals, and writings, has successfully convinced people that this is all that went on in this period. However, after speaking with individuals who grew up during the 60s, I was told not everybody was involved in the movement. Better yet, some even feared being associated with such a movement.

If you go to the civil rights museum in downtown Greensboro, you will find even with the “A&T Four,” when they first went to the lunch counter, that there were two black women who told them that they needed to stop what they were doing because it made life harder for black people.

In addition, I have come to find a whole generation took credit for what only a few people did. It is a well-structured fairytale that African Americans were united in the sixties. In reality, African Americans who were involved in the civil rights movement were, in fact, not united, but separated into different groups; it was either you had a black panther strategy or an NAACP strategy.

Even today people from the sixties stick to their sides downing and critically analyzing their counterparts. All in all, past generations are not much different from the current, both have had teenage pregnancies, both indulge in drugs and alcohol both had a good amount of crime and more.

The only difference between the past days and today is technology, not so much the people.

• GIANCARLO SPELLS