What Would You Do?

Engl 165-04 Fall '22

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Honestly, the level of violence in this week’s reading shook me to my core. As I sat there scanning over the gruesome depictions of these events, I couldn’t help but think, “This makes me sick.” The thought of people suffering these horrendous crimes was enough to make my stomach churn. That’s how I fell deeper into my thoughts. What would I do if I were in that situation? Would I be able to take it without fighting back like they did? Would I run away? Or would I even be involved in the first place?

The thought of having to live in the past is always an interesting one. Putting yourself in the shoes of the people that came before us is something I find myself doing often. Thinking about the actions I would’ve taken really put things into perspective. These people did not fight back. Their peaceful protests spoke louder than any violence they could’ve shown in return. It showed the real extent of how far they would go for their freedom. Every time I imagined myself in that position, I couldn’t help but cringe at the thought. Being spit on, stepped on, beaten half to death, have slurs shouted in my face. All of those things made me gain a new level of respect for them.

It’s hard to picture myself in those situations. It’s hard to picture those situations now. What’s even crazier however, is knowing that there are people fighting these same battles today. These same battles that we thought had come to an end, are still being fought. There are clear parallels between the freedom riders and the Black Lives Matter protests. Their choice to protest peacefully and be met with unnecessary violence is identical. I can confidently say that people today are willing to go even further when fighting for these causes.

 

Let Freedom Ring: March Book Two

Engl 165-16 Fall '22, March Blog Prompt

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The Freedom Riders

 

The pages of this week’s reading in March Book Two were violent to say the least. The images in the comic are hard enough to see, but the images of the event are by far harder.

In reading March Book Two this week, think about the phrase “Let Freedom Ring.” What does that mean? And to who? What would you be willing to go through for the freedom that we all take for granted every single day? Where do you see yourself in this text? Do you believe that people today would be willing to go through these sacrifices for freedom, and why?

It’s a lot to digest, but these events are not just important historically. They are important TODAY!! Why?

If these thoughts do not appeal to you, what about this part of the text does?

[Image on the left comes from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/18/us/politics/freedom-riders-john-lewis-work.html]

[Image on the right comes from http://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1605]

 

Let Freedom Ring For All

March Blog Prompt

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The saying “Let Freedom Ring” is a metaphor that symbolizes the sound of a bell representing hope and equality. Martin Luther King Jr. used this metaphor in his famous “I have a dream” speech. This quote has been used to symbolize freedom for all Americans. At the time of his speech, freedom was not accessible to all citizens of the United States. It had to be fought hard for. Lives had to be sacrificed to achieve it and make a difference in this world. By Martin Luther King Jr. saying, “let freedom ring,” he meant it for every person in the world, regardless of race or gender.

Honestly, I do not know if I would be capable of doing what generations before us had to do to fight for equality and freedom. Many people had to risk their lives and were beaten senselessly for trying to go against the forces who disagreed at that time. I would like to believe I would have the courage to make a difference and fight for our rights, but it is hard to know for sure without being put in that position. If I was, I could only hope that I would be brave enough to take a stand and do what was needed to conquer freedom for myself and my people. 

I am not sure that today’s generation would have the backbone and be able to commit to such a hard and life-threatening challenge. Our generation can only imagine what previous generations endured through textbooks and what school teaches us. I think it is hard for any of us to understand what these struggles were because we have not had to see them, or at least not as intensely as our ancestors did. If the world was how it used to be and we saw how important making a difference was, then we could find the grit to fight; however, our lives do not compare to those of the past. 

Events like these are still important to be taught today because we need to see what occurred in history to make sure that history doesn’t repeat itself. Equality is still not achievable for everyone, and it will be many more years before our world does see humankind as a whole. These issues still need to be taught and fought for until equality is achievable for all.

 
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March Book 2: Let Freedom Ring, Forever

Engl 165-04 Fall '22

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Today in labor history: Freedom Riders attacked in AlabamaAretha Franklin through the years

In March Book Two pages 62 to 123, the audience gets to take a look at what it was like for the freedom riders of the time. The section starts when Lewis and a bunch of other freedom riders take a trip down to Montgomery, Georgia. The freedom riders were a group of civil rights activists, both whites and colored people, who took trips through the south on buses to protest against segregation, but most importantly, segregation on buses and other means of transportation. The images shown in the book of the freedom riders’ trip were quite hard to look at. There were a series of images that showed the freedom riders getting attacked by the citizens of Alabama. 

When the beating was over, the story cut to the future where it illustrated Aretha Franklin singing “Let Freedom Ring”. I looked up the video of her singing it on YouTube, and it was very powerful. It was sung in DC in 2009, the day that President Barack Obama was first inaugurated. The phrase “let freedom ring” is defined as “a statement that the ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness should be spread across the Earth and allowed to flourish”. This was the message that was spread by Lewis and other civil rights activists through the period of segregation. They wanted everyone to be equal. I think that the song was a perfect fit because Obama, the first elected black president being inaugurated, shows how far society has come. 

I think a lot of people take freedom for granted. My family wasn’t negatively affected by segregation, but I’m sure if they were, they would have fought for their freedom, and I’m sure most people would have done the same. If no one would have stepped up, nothing would have ever happened, and that’s crazy to think. It’s hard for the generation, myself included, to try and imagine what it was like for people fighting for their freedom at the time. We’re used to an accepting society. I would hope people nowadays would be willing to fight for their freedom as people did back then, but it’s not an easy task whatsoever, so it’s hard to predict if they would or not. 

I’ve been thinking since the book was first brought to our attention that it’s a good thing to be reading. Society has definitely improved a lot, but it’s still far from perfect. I feel like certain events in the last few years have really shown that we still have a ways to go. However, society has recognized this, and we’re getting there, we just need more time. This book makes me, and hopefully everyone else reading this, realize how lucky we are and how much we owe it to civil rights activists. Even with society against them, they risked their lives fighting for what was right. We as a society need to keep carrying out the message that they carried out back then: let freedom ring.

 

African American and Black protesters buying movie tickets

Engl 165-04 Fall '22, March Blog Prompt

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The book discusses dramatizes the struggles of the freedom riders who traveled through the American South in the early ’60s. The narrative spotlights pivotal moments in the civil rights movement and shows some of the progress made in the intervening decades. The book also emphasizes the power of nonviolent protest. The black and white protesters risked life and limb for what was right. In Book Two, Lewis’s story continues with the events that took place on November 10, 1960, in Nashville, Tennessee, as “…our young organization had successfully ended segregation at the lunch counters downtown and turned its attention to fast-food restaurants and cafeterias using the same strategy.” It then continues with events that took place in the South between 1960 -1963, culminating with the March on Washington on August 28, 1963. The tension in the South and in Washington as events unfold. Finally, while Lewis introduces us to the giants of the Civil Rights Movement, he never loses touch with the fact that the real heroes were those who sacrificed their goals, their times, and sometimes their lives to advance civil rights. Furthermore, while Lewis was a key player, he modestly downplays his own role in the events. As Lewis’s life unfolds, we learn that with the success of the nonviolent protests at the Nashville lunch counters, the SNCC decides to expand their protests to fast food restaurants and cafeterias and then on to movie theaters. We see that their use of nonviolence is met with increasing uses of violence  from brutal beatings to being subjected to fumigation “used only for killing pests.” And we learn that after a march at a local movie theater, Lewis along with 25 others spent his 21st birthday on February 21, 1961, in jail.

I feel like we could stop the BLM protests if everyone agreed and got along with everyone. It is also putting the police officers in jeopardy because police should focus on effective management during the protest to contribute to keeping protests peaceful. One of the things that really hit home for me is having all these protests so close to my house and feeling like I can’t go anywhere or anything because I don’t want to be harmed. During one of the protests in my area, the protesters got very aggressive towards the police officers and started to destroy buildings, run a car through the local Walmart. The protesters were very angry and brutal to the officers.  I hate seeing the killings of police officers it hurts my heart. Especially the school shootings like the one at Bridgewater college. One of the police officers graduated from one of the local high schools in my area. Seeing a protest break my heart and I never join in the protest because I don’t want to be hurt personally.

https://www.insidenova.com/headlines/five-arrests-seven-officers-hurt-in-manassas-protest-local-leaders-question-use-of-force/article_a4c58560-a361-11ea-a534-97a1024a5189.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/02/09/bridgewater-officers-shooting-memorial/

 

 
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