In the United States , the Civil Rights Movement had turned away from the south and toward the cities in the north with the issues of open housing and the Black Consciousness Movement . The Black movement unified and gained international recognition with the emergence of the Black Power and Black Panthers organizations and their support of violence as a means of protest . The Orangeburg massacre on February 8 , 1968 , a civil rights protest in Orangeburg , South Carolina , turned deadly with the death of three college students . In March , students in North Carolina organized a sit-in at a local lunch counter that spread to 15 cities . In March , students from all five public high schools in East L.A. walked out of their classes protesting against unequal conditions in Los Angeles Unified School District high schools . Over the next several days , they inspired similar walkouts at fifteen other schools . On April 4 , Martin Luther King , Jr. , was killed , sparking violent protests in more than 115 American cities , notably Louisville , Baltimore and Washington , D.C. On April 23 , students at Columbia University protested the school 's allegedly racist policies , three school officials were taken hostage for 24 hours . This was just one of a number of Columbia University protests of 1968 . The August 1968 Democratic National Convention became the venue for huge demonstrations against the Vietnam War and the political system in the U.S . It culminated in a televised " police riot , " where Chicago police waded into crowds in front of the convention center and beat protesters . At the 1968 Mexico City Olympics during a televised medal ceremony , track stars John Carlos and Tommie Smith each raised a black-gloved hand in the black power salute
1968 Democratic National Convention
1968 Democratic National Convention
Protests of 1968