INDIANAPOLIS - This week on Eyewitness News, we begin what we call the Generations Project. All this week, we will look at baby boomers. If you are one, you may learn something about yourself. If you're not, perhaps you will recognize characteristics in someone you know. Either way, we hope it will lead us all to a better understanding of each other.
We've all heard the term "baby boomer." But who fits into the generation?
Baby boomers were born from 1946 to 1964. Their age today is 47 to 65. Like every generation, boomers have unique characteristics and values that shape their lives.
Growing up a baby boomer was the golden age to be a kid. The Space Race played out as families gathered around televisions.
What seemed out of this world was now possible. Polio was cured, and a strong family upbringing gave boomers appreciation for what they had.
Boomers' empowerment and patriotism was shaped by the sacrifices of their parents and grandparents who suffered through the The Great Depression and World War Two.
"Boomers molded very strong core values of idealism, demanding the best from themselves, their employers, their nation, their world," said Chuck Underwood, generational expert.
But those strong ideals were tested when boomers saw politicians fall. They thought they could push through. The generation brought flower power and free love. As boomers started to find themselves, they launched the sexual and drug revolutions and fought for women's rights along with civil rights.
"This has always been an underdog willing to step up to the plate and fight for the less advantaged. And if they haven't sold out that value, America should be in for a brilliant 20 years of leadership," said Underwood.
Underwood is a generational expert who's branded this time as the consciousness movement.
"It began in 1961 ended in 1975," he said.
"The women's movement which directly affected 51 percent of the population, the civil rights movement which affected not just African-Americans but also Jewish people who had been discriminated against. Immigrants from other countries, Hispanics," he said.
"That's why they called us outsiders and they called us freedom riders," said Dr. Thomas L. Brown, pastor and civil rights activist.
Dr. Thomas L. Brown's father, civil rights pioneer Andrew J. Brown, marched in the south with Martin Luther King Jr.
"In the civil rights period, the people were setting the agenda for the cause of what we were saying freedom. We were advocating for integration, but we were also advocating for freedom and education," said Brown.
Minorities weren't alone in their quest to be heard. So too were women who wanted to prove they were just as qualified as men in the workplace.
"I have always felt equal in opportunities to men," said Allison Melangton, Indianapolis Super Bowl Committee. "I always had a lot of dreams and aspirations but I probably did not anticipate leading a Super Bowl."
Melangton is one of only three women in NFL history to run the local Host Committee Super Bowl effort. While there's been a perceived pressure for women to prove their worth in the workplace, Melangton relishes in the Baby Boomer ideal that there's strength in numbers and others who've paved the road perhaps lessen the load.
"There's a couple of women who took me under their wing when I was in my twenties and were great role models," said Melangton.
And for many, their role models were those who served our country.
"I grew up in a generation where my and my friend's fathers served in World War Two so we did feel strongly and in a positive manner about military service," said Tim Slongo, baby boomer.
"I just remember a lot of protesting and things like that and a lot of people were against it," said Mark Turner, boomer.
The Vietnam War was another defining movement.
"The war protest movement changed our government's way of thinking about military combat forever," said Underwood.
Regardless of where people stood on the issue, they were not afraid to vocalize their opinions - a true trademark of the baby boomer generation, people with strong core values of idealism and empowerment who challenged our nation's biggest institutions and social issues.
What do you think about the baby boomer generation? If you're a boomer, what important events helped define your generation?
The Generations Project - Find out your generation's defining characteristics.
