After doing tis week’s reading and watching the film Knock Down The House I would define activism as putting in effort to stand up and make a difference. Advocating for improvement, striving for social and/or political change. To be an activist you have to be fearless. There are people with apposing views that will fight against you. Social and political topics can be especially polarizing. People often reject change or controversial opinions. Which is why activism calls for a lot of work, it is often said that you need to “fight” for change.
The main experiences I think are ways I’ve engaged in activism are two protests I joined during high school. A couple of catholic high schools in the Bronx planned to come together to protest gun violence. All the students in my school, including myself, were eager to join the protest but my school ended up not allowing us to join. So we just did a few laps around the school with our posters. Later, the student from my high school planned to do a Black Lives Matter protest. Again, the school stopped us from going through with it, this time sending out emails to the students saying there would be repercussions if we try to go through with the protest. This brought up many issues amongst us students. We were frustrated with this being the second protest the school had stopped, but this time it felt more personal/malicious. My high school has a racist history and we continued to experience racism at that current time. We knew the school didn’t support the BLM movement so we decided to do a sit in at dismissal with all of us students sitting in the parking lot. The school locked its doors behind us, not even allowing girls to go back inside to get their coats. Although we were punished and unsupported by the school, it felt so rewarding to make that statement.
I really enjoyed being apart of protests. So to engage in activism around gender justice, I could join protests in my area. Today (March 8) is International Women’s Day and there are many days like this that are celebrated in the city which I could take part in as well. There are also many laws regarding women’s health care, education, and rights that are being fought for currently. With me turning 18 soon, I can vote for the first time and make an impactful difference with my vote. While advocating for the people around me to vote as well!
Hi Aleah,
I agree, when being an activist you have to prepare for the worst. There will be plenty of people that will be against you, but that is when you have to stand your ground the most. Confidence is key and it’s best to know what you want when going for ti.
Hi Aleah!
FEARLESS! I like your use of this word. In most cases, people are afraid to fight for what is right because they are worried about the outcome. It’s those who put that fear behind them and prevail to speak for those who are too scared to do so. Fear is ingrained in us to follow rules and do as we are told, but activism allows for us to push the societal narrative of right and wrong and ensure a positive change. ^ I also agree with Jade’s comment about preparing for the worst, you can still fear and mentally prepare for the worst while standing your ground.
Hi Aleah!
I really enjoyed reading your post. I think it’s great that you’re taking voting seriously now that you’ll be turning 18! I’m glad you’ve been brave enough to protest in the past, as well. It takes a lot of strength to get yourself involved in activism because there will always be people who aren’t on your side. I think that persevering despite this and still working hard to bring about change is the best thing we can do!
Hi Aleah,
I’d firstly like to agree with your entire post, we fight take action when a sufficient number of people become dissatisfied with the status quo and fight for their inalienable rights.
But I’d want to take a step back and consider something along the same lines. We can transform the entire perception of how we live, work, and love by changing a few words in that phrase. Rather than saying ‘fight for your rights,’ say ‘fight for what’s right.’ This phrase has a far deeper meaning and applies to all individuals around the world, regardless of nationality, religion, or race. We must stop fighting just for the rights provided to us by some human power and instead begin fighting for what is right.