I was not aware of the Triangle Shirt Waste Factory Fire that took place, and I’ve lived in NYC my entire life. This just shows you how much of NYC and America’s ugly history is kept hidden. Given this was the deadliest fire before Twin Tower, is even more shocking. When I think of sweatshops, I think of the employees to mostly be women. The terrible conditions within a sweatshop, it unfortunate a situation like this had to happen for NYC, to realize better laws for the safety of employees need to be better. Why are doors being closed from the outside in, to keep the employees inside? The workers were treated like scrum, without any consideration for their livelihood.

            I’m not surprised this started a labor movement. Now while many changes have been made in America, this doesn’t discredit sweatshops overseas. The fashion industry is a wasteful, greedy institution. So though sweatshops are pretty much illegal in America, for us to enjoy our indulgence requires these shops to continue overseas. As the YouTube video Triangle Returns explain, we need to implement rules that protect these employees overseas. How can we claim to care about human life, or “Fair Trade”, but have our biggest cooperations allow children overseas to work for pennies to satisfy or greed?

            I started to be more consciously aware of how my habits impact the world around me. I’m very serious about the clothing I wear, and it is either ethically sourced and or 2^nd hand. I remember American Apparel, being one of the first brands to speak out about the conditions of sweatshops, which is why they were so proud to be an American company. It is cheaper to source out of the county, but if it is coming cheaper, at what cost. I can’t comfortably support a company that is willing to exploit children and women for pennies.

It was interesting watching the video and reading the timeline of the women’s suffrage movement. You can easily see the intersection between race and gender, and how this affected the movement. Ida exposed the inhumane ramifications blacks experienced, and also the mistreatment of women. She spoke to the core values of the feminist movement. However, you can see when she partnered up with Susan B. Anthony, the race then became a part of the equation. The white women could not see past the race, and that they were both on the same team. I feel like this interaction spearheaded the movement we sort of see today.

In every institution, women have to fight for their rights and accolades in a paracortical system that is catered to the man, but most importantly the white man. I’ve had my own experiences were speaking of women or people in general, and how my words are heard but only for a certain race. Unfortunately, black women are not granted the space to only worry about women’s issues. Black women have to fight for their rights to be black, along with being women. This puts us at an incredible disadvantage when allies come short and few. In many situations, we are equal until the race. This is why it was so easy for Susan to allow Ida and the other black feminist to join the movement (which in my eyes I believe Ida initiated), but only if they remained in the back. Out of sight out of mind.

I think moving forward and as always need to acknowledge that race does play a part, however, does not make us different. We need to learn from our history, so we can make proper changes for the future.

Growing up in Brooklyn, my peers were extremely diverse. While there was diversity, everyone still gravitated to people who looked like them. I had a few friends who spoke Spanish, but never essentially had the “look” like they did. I never thought much about it, but Williams’ Too Latina To Be Black, Too Black To Be Latina article, really opened my eyes to what that experience may have been for them.
I think many of us who have dual nationalities, struggle with which identity to conform to. Especially when neither race is willingly open to accepting you. I think about my Spanish friends like Melinda and Sofia, who were easily mistaken for black girls. I recall many situations where they had to call out other classmates in their native language, addressing derogatory comments that none of them else would’ve understood. I never considered how hurtful it could be to have your identity called out on the line. Being black and simultaneously Spanish at the same time is a battle when you live in a country that considers both a minority.
Williams mentions “Even now as an adult I find people are constantly trying to restrict me into a specific mold and identity. My home language is Spanish so this must mean I eat tacos. I have kinky hair so this must mean I bang to Meek Mill.” People are constantly trying to push you into a box, and confirm an idea or identity that is easier for them to swallow. However, a person can be anything that is written in the DNA stars for them. Spanish and Black, German and French, the list goes on. A person’s identity is not bounded by the limitations of another individual’s idea.
Even Alicia Garaz touches on this notion in The Power of Identity Politics. “Controlling the story of who we are and what makes us who we are is an exercise of power…” Allowing people to control the narrative of who we are, is releasing the power to them. Forcing a person to identify with one race, when they are multiracial, is a crime. Forcing them based on the outside identity is even worst. As the old saying goes “You cant judge a book by it’s cover”, which also applies to identities. Moving forward, especially as society becomes more blended, we need to adjust our mindset to accepting people as they choose to identify themselves. Out appearance is only a fraction of what a person is, and there is so much to unwrap for person. We shouldn’t be forcing people to confirm to our ideas, but instead conform to theirs.

Johnson shared made had many solid points for his thoughts on Patriarchy. The idea is that it’s not just a system that works on its own. However, it is one we play a role in no matter if we do something or nothing at all. Caitlyn’s post really made me reflect on this more since she shared a picture from the Met Gala. A few attendees came to share many of their views on America, by displaying their thoughts on the clothing they wore for the evening. It was interesting to see Cara Delevingne’s “Peg the Patriarchy” outfit and realize she isn’t even aware of the part she plays in the system. When critics shared their views on her outfit, she said “It’s about women empowerment, gender equality- it’s a bit like, ‘Stick it to the man”. How could that be? When you are at an event where only a certain “class” of people can attend? How could that be, when you spent an unnecessary amount of money on “The Man” to attend, and therefore, actively playing in your role that was set in this system of patriarchy.

Even more interesting, on the night while people were dressed in their finest silks and jewels, marginalized groups were outside protesting for Black Rights, and Equality and the Met Gala requested the cops to remove them from the premises. How can you thoroughly enjoy an event and wear an outfit that’s screaming for equality, while the people who are in charge are silencing the same group you are bringing attention to?

Johnson really digs in to show how this system can’t function without us, and in some way, we can’t function without the system. That our own identity is based on the structures put in place by patriarchy. Audre Lourde describes this more or less in her piece. I can’t fight the war of being Black without acknowledging the wars of Homosexuality. Her words “Any attack against Black people is a lesbian and gay issue because I and thousands of other Black women are part of the lesbian community. Any attack against lesbians and gays is a Black issue because thousands of lesbians and gay men are Black. There is no hierarchy of oppression.”

If we are going to make any changes in this system, we have to address the inequalities at their core. Racism, Homophobia, Anti-Asian, Women Inequality, the root of all of these issues are the same, Oppression. As Johnson says we have to look at the What and Why of this and can then work from there to create a better system. We need to look at ourselves and truly understand the role we play in this system and how we will go about things differently to create a more equal space for all of us to exist.