Hello Classmates & Professor Waychoff I hope everyone’s doing Well
Activism has changed so many things in the society I live in for the good or the bad. There are many forms of Activism that I like and appreciate like Petitioning, Political campaigning, or using social media to push a message or reach their goal. A person or a group of people who campaigns to bring political or social change are considered Activists. I wouldn’t really consider myself a big activist. There are a few things that I would stand up for or try to speak up about and support. Things having to do with Human rights is what I support. Many Icons like Dr Martin Luther King & Mahatma Gandhi and the people behind them are good examples of activists. Things like going on Hunger Strikes like Gandhi or having many protests with hundreds of thousands to get rid of Jim Crow laws like MLK are perfect examples of Activism & being an activist. This week while reading a couple excerpts from How to Think Like An Activist by Wendy Syfret I gained more knowledge on how to become a good activist and different ways to speak up against something that oppresses me. I like how from the beginning the author explains Why and how Activism is so important. I totally agree that Activism has made things better for people like me when certain things in the past had to be spoken up against. In general throughout the Article she continues explaining the many resources that we have to make a message clear nowadays.
I decided to watch Knock Down the house. It was based on 4 powerful women named Alexandria Cortez (AOC) representing NYC, Cori Bush ,Paula Jean, Swearengin, Amy Vilela. They are all from different states. They come together because they want to fight FOR social justice and more diverse representation in the US congress For their communities and people. They are racing against each other for a spot in the government to make a change. As things go on we Focus more on Alexandria, the one who got ahead of the other women (AOC) showing what her struggles are like. Constantly working trying to get to where she wants to be. She is a part of the working class running Against Senator Joe Manchin, someone really rich. Unlike him she was still working like me, someone in the working class. On April, 12th, 2018, she got the ballot and became a part of congress. I Like this documentary because it shows examples of many things we speak about weekly things like activism & oppression . These women really show what it is like to be a female activist, to be dedicated to doing something even when the odds are stacked against you. Activists can start small and end up very big getting their point across.
I really liked your summary of Knock Down The House, It has made me want to watch it. I’ve known who Alexandria Cortez is but was not aware she was still working while running against Senator Joe Manchin, that is quite powerful. I completely agree with you when you said that activists can start small, because in order to achieve a goal we have to start somewhere and it’s usually at the bottom. This weeks reading helped me gain more knowledge as well, I feel like I understand more of what it takes to actively speak up and defend our human rights.
Hi Mamadou,
speaking up in your daily life against racism/sexism/etc. around you is still activism! just on a micro level. like you said, activism starts small!
It is amazing to see the power and speed that the internet has given us in spreading social change and activism. It makes it possible for anyone! We are living in such a different world of activism than 100 years ago. We are able to spread word like wildfire.
Hello. I think Activism is to create changes in society such as political, environmental and social. Activist movements not created for the purpose of defending or changing something are mostly made by people who are alienated or abused from something. I liked and was struck by the video of “Girl Connected” Because it is about 5 adolescents that each one of them does something different and thus a way to improve the system, for example they work on the issues of violence and discrimination so that in tomorrow may decrease. They want to create and improve security for citizens, take better care of women to prevent rapes of innocent women from continuing to grow.