The period when a few people try to draw attention to a particular social issue that is not in the public consciousness describes which stage of a social movement?

Emergence

Explanation:

A social movement has 4 different stages, according to sociology. These stages are:

Emergence: There is a widespread discontent but not much organizations, some people are discontent but they haven't taken any actions just yet or if they have, these actions are not strategic or collective.Coalescence: There is a more defined sense of discontent, the people already know why and who is the sense of discontent. Leadership emerges and some actions start to take place. Also the media starts covering these kind of news. Bureaucratization: The social movement has had some success and they can no longer rely in the members to do all the duties but they need trained staff. Decline: Also called "institutionalization". It is important to notice that decline doesn't mean failure and some movements go through institutionalization by finding a institutionalized way to protect themselves.

In this example, the period when  a few people try to draw attention to a particular social issue that is not in the public consciousness is clearly describing the stage of emergence.