activism

Engl 165-04 Fall '22, Engl 165-16 Fall '22

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l I’ve also not put too much thought on about what I would be like if I didn’t have freedom. I do have to say I don’t ever think my freedom would be stripped because of the color of my skin, mostly because I am white. On the other hand, I do think my attraction to men would give people a reason to strip me of certain rights. I would also have to agree that I don’t care much for activism because I some incenses I don’t think it would really change anyone perspective on how the view things like black rights, LGBTQ+ rights, or types of religious liberties.



People in general don’t really care for activism because mostly activism just reinforces negative public perception to the point where people just see activists as fanatics, wild-eyed zealots who see the world in black and white. The reasons that many activists are seen this way is that the corporate media works relentlessly to portray activism in a bad light. Secondly, many activists are wild-eyed zealots who see the world in black and white terms. One of the more counterproductive yet enduring activist tendencies is to focus way more time and energy challenging cops than challenging the dominant culture those cops are serving and protecting. So, if you really want to goad cops into arresting you and/or scream “fuck the police,” please recognize that such gestures will do absolutely nothing to bring about serious, sustainable social change or to help lure more folks into activism.

 
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Freedom?

Engl 165-16 Fall '22, March Blog Prompt

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What would I do for freedom? I can start writing about how I would protest and participate in everything to gain my freedom. I can say that I would be part of every protest and be okay with getting arrested and staying in jail for however long the law deems fit like the Freedom Fighters did when fighting for their freedom and rights. The reality of the situation is that I do not know what I would do in that situation until it actually happens. When you grow up in a life without freedom you can start to lose hope and think that nothing will ever change no matter how hard you try. That mentality would seriously diminish any fight you could have had to make changes in your freedom and others’ freedom. That is not to say I have never spoken out and been an activist but I have never gone to protests because I could not. I had wanted to go to protests in DC when Roe v Wade was overturned and during the BLM movement but I was never able to because I had no way of getting there. I would always try to sign petitions and do as much as I could with what I was able to. The thing is you never know if signing petitions actually helps anything or if it is just a way to make the person feel as if they had done something helpful. Even though I have spoken out about issues in government and things I disagree with I will never know if I could be part of their sit-ins and be completely peaceful when people shout and throw stuff at me. I would like to say that I would do everything in my power to get freedom for myself but that is just a hope I have for myself. 

 
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Time to Build my Identity as an Activist

Engl 165-04 Fall '22, Engl 165-16 Fall '22

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You can always do more! So why haven’t I? 

I could answer that I don’t pay much attention to the news or “politics” in general, which would be true but that’s the problem. It is a problem that I am walking around oblivious to what people are facing today in this world. I should be searching to get involved, the resources are at my fingertips. I am surrounded with so many opportunities. 

Answering the question “Who are you as an activist?” was difficult to find an answer to. I sat with it and really dwelled on the question. After thinking I came to the conclusion that I don’t feel I have much of an identity to claim myself as an activist. I feel I find myself self advocating often. I self advocate in school, to my teachers. At times I even have to advocate for myself when I am with friends or family. But there are also times I advocate for them as well, my little brother especially. I asked myself why I feel the need to advocate for him?  The answer brought me so much clarity. It’s simply because I am protective of him. He’s my baby brother, how could I not be? I love him and would do absolutely anything for him. 

So why can I not apply this to my peers? I may not have the same love for them the way I do my baby brother but I am one in the same as my peers. We are all people. I would go far lengths to protect my rights. It could be me in their situation and I know I thrive with support. 

As a young adult I have the accessibility to do my part as an individual to support my peers. I have to take the responsibility to seek knowledge and give out my support to those who need it. I have the opportunity to build my identity as an activist.

 

 
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Are Things Better

Engl 165-04 Fall '22

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While reading the book march I can’t help but think that people as a whole in America have become more racially tolerant than in the 1960’s. In the book march they don’t sugar coat what was happening during this time at all, they straight up say this is what happened. There is no telling how many people beat, bruised, battered, or even killed during this time of civil unrest mostly because the police didn’t care about black people disappearing. The police were even sometimes responsible for the African American people disappearing or their death.

Even though I say we have come a long way that doesn’t me we can’t even further. In 1940 60 percent of employed black women worked as domestic servants, as of today that number has dropped down to 2.2 percent, while 60 percent have white- collar jobs. Also, in 1958 a study showed that 44 percent of white families would move If a black family moved in near them today the figure is 1 percent. These facts are what the media reports that the black underclass is still what is used to define black America in the view of the public. And many blacks who consider themselves to be middle class outnumber those below the poverty line by a wide margin.

 
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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.

 

Could it Get Any Worse?

Engl 165-16 Fall '22

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In February 1961 in Nashville, Tennessee the blacks organized a “stand-in” similar to the nonviolent “sit-ins” at the diners. This time the “stand-ins” were held at movie theaters. The first “stand-in” they held was to see the movie Ten Commandments. This was a religious drama film based upon the bible about Moses, a Jewish prophet, and him discovering his Hebrew heritage and God’s expectations of him. Ironically, they decided to hold a “stand-in” for this particular movie about the ten commandments and essentially the holy bible because God is supposed to love everyone no matter their race, gender, ethnic background, etc. Throughout the Bible, God teaches us to love our neighbor just like God loves us. In this “stand-in” that is not the case at all. Throughout segregation in history, this isn’t even the case. The segregation of blacks is not an example of loving your neighbor. Spitting on, punching, and yelling racial slurs at blacks is not an example of loving your neighbor. The whites did this to the blacks just because they were standing in line for a movie ticket. Not only were the white folks a problem but the police even became a dangerous problem as well. One officer asked a boy to leave the line and when he refused, the officer proceeded to beat him with his baton.

This event reminded me of current events happening today with the Black Lives Matter movement. One that happened right in my home of Fredericksburg, Virginia. For about an entire week black lives matter protests were going on all around downtown Fredericksburg. My family was scared for me to even go out of my house because of how close these protests were. Not to mention these weren’t nonviolent in the slightest bit. I saw posts all over social media of friends going to these protests. Some of them were arrested and tear-gassed by police officers. Other friends were there protesting All Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter. Seeing pictures and videos was horrifying. People were getting out of hand and I was terrified. It quickly became a hot topic at school and even fights broke out. Now, I was afraid to go to school too.

Being a Christian myself, even if you don’t believe in God you should love your neighbor as you would want to be loved. We were put on this earth for good not evil. As we were all taught in kindergarten, we should treat each other with kindness and how we would want to be treated.

 
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Irony Abounds: Let’s Discuss those TEN Commandments

Engl 165-16 Fall '22

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This week, I want you discuss the scene in the comic where the African American/Black protesters are trying to buy movie tickets.

  • Think about the movie they are trying to see.
  • Think about the violence they are faced with in trying to see this movie and the things other movie viewers are saying while in line.
  • Think about the violence that is happening today in BLM protests.
  • Do a little searching and digging to see if you can find any parallels to the scene in the book.
  • Or if another scene really hit home for you, discuss that in-depth

Dig deeper this week and really analyze that scene and see if you can find any parallels to your life or what’s going on in today’s world. Use the critical reading skills discussed in class and in the text UR.

 

Freedom and Activism

Engl 165-04 Fall '22

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The Birmingham Campaign – 1963 | Black Then

After reading this weeks’ assigned pages in March Book Two, it really got myself, and other students reading these pages thinking about what lengths we would go to for the right to go to school to get an education, to have the right to vote, etc? Although I am taking a class about leadership, I, unfortunately, don’t see myself as one, so I don’t think I would go to great lengths myself, but with the help and support of others, I could see myself going to great lengths. The things that people of color couldn’t do back then weren’t small-scale issues. Getting an education is one of the most important things a person can do, and if I wasn’t allowed to get an education because of the color of my skin, I would be in outrage and would try my best to do something about it. I don’t know if I would risk my life for it, but I would still go to great lengths. 

I personally don’t see myself as an activist. I have my opinions on topics, but I tend to keep them to myself rather than advocating them, and maybe that’s something I should work on. I can see myself in the future partaking in large group activities like a protest for an issue that I feel strongly about. In today’s society, you see activism everywhere for every large-scale issue out there. Whether that be for human rights, for the environment, for politics, or for any other issue, there will be activism for it. I feel like activism is effective because essentially people will advocate for an issue until there is change. That’s the goal of activism. People who are passionate about a specific issue keep going and would rather not give up unless they have to.

As I said, I personally don’t see myself as a leader or activist, but if it was something I was passionate about like getting an education or having the right to vote, I could see myself going to great lengths to have the right to have those freedoms. Activism is a very important thing because, without it, there would be no hope in trying to resolve a large-scale issue.

 

“Let Freedom Ring”

Engl 165-04 Fall '22

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“March: Book 2” had some unsettling images, to say the least. The horrific events escalated to become even more disgusting and heinous as the time went on. The actions and lengths taken to ensure the African American minority did not have access to equal public transportation were completely unnecessary and, a smack in the face to the religion, most of the attackers claimed to worship.

The phrase “Let Freedom Ring” means to be released from the shackles that have held a person for so long. These shackles can be literal, like prison, or metaphorical like, oppression, an abusive relationship, depression, or the anxiety eating away at a person’s mental state. This can take form in many ways in anybody’s life. This not only applies to minorities, but every single person has something holding them back from being taken as an equal amongst society. Every person yearns to break free from the barriers that make them feel “less” than the other members, at school, at work, or even in the world.

I see myself in the text, when I think back to when I wanted something for myself, but every time I was close to the goal, some barrier made that goal feel so far out of reach. Many of us take for granted the access to the things that others wish they had the opportunity to obtain. When I was in my freshman year of college, I wanted to be student body president. When Election Day came, I had more than 60% of the votes. I was denied the position, because the area where I was from lacked urbanization. They said I would not be able to connect with the students from urban areas, up north. This was not so, I was denied because of the color of my skin. This was a barrier set in place to defer me from the position. I understand what it means to not be given the same opportunities a white man would receive.

I would take lengths to make sure I am seen as an equal today. My lengths would be non-violent and perfectly legal. I would protest and make sure every person heard my voice , through social media. Every public event where I could have my voice heard , I will be in attendance loud and proud. Most importantly, I will not stop until my voice is heard.