Learning about the Civil Rights Movement, it taught me that we would not have what we possess now, like our freedom and improved equality, if the actions that were done by the activists back in the 1900s, did not happen at all. Looking back, it seems ridiculous that two different race could not even get along and go to the same school. However, I learned that at some point, that is how life was and that that was pure reality. All the revolutions, riots, death, bullying, unequal treatment, and most especially racism, all happened because of the ideology that African Americans were not capable and did not have the same intellectual as the white Americans. This further showed me how corrupt our world can be. For example, when southern schools were desegregated, a six year old girl, Ruby Bridges, was pelted with tomatoes and eggs as she went to school in the 1960, just because of her skin color. Moreover, African Americans and the White Americans were unable to sit next to each other on the bus since African Americans were only allowed to sit in the back of the bus. These incidents prove us how important the Civil Rights Movement was. I learned that we should all feel lucky that the movement happened because if it did not, we may still have laws that segregate each of us. Also, it taught me to not take advantage of the rights that I have now and that I should be thankful of my freedom to be whoever I want to be and have the oppurtunity to strive to reach whatever I desire. Overall, I think the major lesson learned that we can all take from the Civil Rights Movement is that at some point, we did not have the privilege that we have now and we should all appreciate the people that helped us reach what we have now. Moreover, we must work together to continue the work that they have started because obviously, the battle is not over.
Despite the hard work and perseverance of all the activists from the Civil Rights Movement, it is clear that our society has still not reached equity and equality. Everywhere today discrimination and racism still linger in people's language and actions. One of the main problems that we are facing is our economy. The low income workers are getting poorer while the rich are getting richer. Like the graphs we saw in class, CEO's salary was raised by 45% since 2007 while the other workers' salary stayed the same. Since products today and expenses are getting more expensive, the other workers are having a hard time to provide a decent life for their families. As a result, the balance of incomes for different kinds of people ends in an unequal way of living for people. Moreover, the government are lacking their attention to the people who truly need their help financially. For our society to reach equality in our financial needs, the government and the people need to beat the system and fight to treat everyone with equity. In addition, America today still struggle to not see people based on their race or gender but according to who they are inside and what they do as a person. In America, it is found that Google has very few African American employees compared to other races, black men are three times more likely than white men to receive jail sentences, and that at some jobs, there is an off proportion between men and women employees. All these problems show different kinds of institutional racism because even if people do not mean to cause it, it happens because it is part of the system. I believe that these institutional racism came from the ideology created back in the day that some race are more dominant than others. For us to beat the system, we must all fight to correct the discrimination that is made today by being more aware of our actions and decisions we make toward other people.
Connecting the Civil Rights Movement and the present, we will see that in both times, people fought and stood for similar things. In these times, activists fought for equality for every individual against all the mistreatment that some people and the system enforce. Also, they both had different methods on achieving their goals like riots as a violent act and sit-ins as a nonviolent act. For example, during the Civil Rights Movements, African American, along with some White Americans sat in restaurants that African Americans were not allowed in as a protest against segregation in public facilities. Similarly, people in New York occupied Wall Street in November 2011 because of the financial inequality that the 99% of our people are experiencing while the 1% of the population are getting more than what they need financially. These acts show how people in the United States do not stop fighting for equality and that even now, our society has not reached equality yet. In addition, the Civil Rights Movement and the present are still connected through the activists that fought during the Civil Rights Movement. For example, the fact that we have a holiday to celebrate Martin Luther King shows that we still remember the actions that MLK did for his community and some people today are even influenced by his acts. To me, it is wonderful to see how despite the mistreatment and hardships that people experienced in the 1900s, like Martin Luther King,it is true to say that their actions are not useless. People today still admire and remember acvtivists from the 1900s and even continues to fight what they have started. Overall, even though the people from today and from the Civil Rights Movement are not fighting for exactly the same things, the main issue stays the same, our society fails to give equity and equility for everyone. However, I believe that despite all the persecutions, people will not stop fighting to achieve perfect equality.
No comments:
Post a Comment