The Sociological Imagination

C. Wright Mills had a strong belief in a process called “Sociological Imagination”, the interaction between self and society (Class notes- January, 2018). Your sociological imagination is influenced by agents such as media, religion, family, and authority (Class notes- January, 2018). Author of The Sociological Imagination and Social Responsibility, Robert J. Hironimus-Wendt, argues “to fully realize the promise of sociology students should come to an understanding of the sociological imagination that includes a sense of social responsibility” (https://www.researchgate.net/). Social responsibility is enacted when problems are labeled as “social issues” rather than “private troubles”; which Mills coins as “the most fruitful distinction” of understanding

“Troubles occur within the character of the individual and within the range of his immediate relations with others”, a trouble is something that’s simply due to the actions and behavioral characteristics of one person (https://www.researchgate.net/). “Issues have to do with matters that transcend local environments of the individual and the range of his inner life” (https://www.researchgate.net/). Society doesn’t like to label things as a social issue because then it means that they must act to change the issue (Class notes- January, 2018). The problems in Mississippi during the summer of 1964 were a social issue, considering “social issues arise when dysfunctional social arrangements (environments) limit the range of choices available to individuals into either a subset of primarily bad choices, or no good choices at all”, which can be seen through the actions of the police department when they limited the three men’s choices of going free, and ultimately brought them to their death

With social movements such as Black Lives Matter (BLM), it’s almost guaranteed that attention would be brought to this situation, and not for the white men, but for the black men. Just like the outpouring of response BLM brought for the death of Trayvon Martin, the same would be brought for Chaney. Perhaps the biggest reason BLM has a strong support is through technology which allows them to organize protests and get information out in just minutes. Today racism still lives on, although it has changed form, it has not changed in degree (Class PowerPoints Part Three - January 2018). In the 50s and 60s “‘many of the lynching’s were not executing for people for crimes but executing people for violating the racial hierarchy’” , today the racial hierarchy is still present, but is brought to the public’s attention through BLM and