From what I got from the reading by wendy syfret, “how to think like an activist,” and the Netflix documentary “knock down the house,” I think activism is basically about protesting something that you believe in and what needs to be changed. This generation, especially the younger generation, likes to speak their mind, and some do it for the right reason. Activism shows people the meaning of becoming powerful in something that needs change. It gives people a view of society in a bigger picture.

I decided to watch the documentary ” knock down the house,” which involved Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez, Amy vilela, Cori Bush, and Paula Jean Swearengin. These four women were running for Congress against men while going through hardship and trying to make society understand that the men won’t actually be changing anything meaningful to happen. The activism that I see in the documentary is that they all wanted their voices to be heard. People didn’t think that they would make it far since they were going against men who had more experience than them. These four powerful women weren’t going to let them push them around. They each had a story and were fighting for their story to be heard. This documentary shows that no matter your background or knowledge or where you come from, you have the right to fight for what you believe in. in the video, where I saw activism was when amy vilela wanted to do anything in her power to win for Congress. She wanted to do for her daughter to get justice. Her daughter would have been alive if it wasn’t for the insurance system. that system didn’t allow her daughter to take a test to find out if she was sick or not. That’s when amy wanted to be in Congress to take away that system so it doesn’t take another person’s life.

To be honest, I haven’t been in any activist group. I’ve seen them on social media and during the pandemic. For instance, black life matters, the abortion system, gun laws, and many more. Those activist groups I would have loved to have been part of it. It’s something I wanted to see change for the better. This society needs to know what they need to let go. Their old tradition isn’t working, and it’s never been. Those protest shows how this society needs to wake up for real.

Activism is the moment when you feel that there is something wrong going on in your life, your neighbor, or your city and you feel the need to make a change. I enjoyed watching “Girl Connected” and I really loved how these five Girls: Josi, Michelle, Aisha, Latifa, and Ghazal were mature enough to think outside their comfort zone and actually stand for their rights. They know they deserve better education, a good environment, and most importantly mature mentality around them. It is very sad to see them scared of society that is ready to steal their youth, future, and virginity. They choose to be activists because it is the only way to freedom. For example, Aisha from India was diagnosed with epilepsy when she was five which lead her to quit school. I found her very brave and ambitious about not only karate but life in general. The fact that she is Muslim and took a men’s sport tells a lot about what she went through as a child. In my opinion, Activism always starts from the smallest groups. It should be at least one of us who has the courage to speak, break taboos and say the truth. Like Josi from Peru did in her university, she was so fearless that she picked the most sensitive topic in her city to talk about. Prevention of teenage pregnancy is a very serious problem that most girls deal with. It can stop them from achieving their goals, having high-salary jobs, or getting married. Activism has no age and no gender. Anyone who thinks something needs to change is an activist.

An activist is a person who is looking to change the world. An activist is a person who is ready to commit and inspire others. Wendy Syfret explained in her excerpts “How To Think Like An Activist” that activism has always been related to the energy and voices of individuals who are willing to make a difference in the world. Young activists are the ones speaking the most because of the environments they live in their universities, clubs, gender, sexual orientation, etc. These topics are more discussed between young adults and that’s why they are the ones seeking change. Social media has played such a huge role in developing activism because it become very easy to educate or speak about an issue nowadays. The message could be heard and transformed by thousands of people on social media. This is such a great opportunity and motivation for young people who are sometimes afraid of speaking up. Now, all we have to do is to press record and film a video of something inappropriate happening. This is how the world or police will believe us. For me, since I created my social media platform and I become confident about myself and what I believe in, I started sharing videos about me just talking about different topics that most of my friends find it hard. Before I talk about any topic, I make sure I do a lot of research and get more knowledge to fully understand the situation. Most of the time my followers will interact and discuss the topic too. It feels good to be a leader or to think outside the box sometimes. This world will only move forward if we make changes.

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.  In the same way, Latifa is in charge of avoiding child marriage because they are children who have not yet experienced that many are abused, others do it out of fear or to seek an escape from their parents.  Ghazal inspires teenage girls that they can be motivated, creative and live with free expression without fear.  Josi directs helping adolescents to avoid pregnancy at an early age, to learn more about their bodies and everything about sexual life.  Michell and Kenya, motivates them to continue studying, preparing and having a good education.  And lastly, Ayesha teaches them self-defense so that whatever awkward situation they find themselves in they can defend themselves.  I loved all of them because we can see the work and dedication they put in and how they do good things to improve.  This leaves a lot to say as the girls worry about having a better system as it is not only the adults who are often.

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.

My definition of activism is when we the people decide that we want change to happen in our society and work together to achieve that common goal. It is the act of standing up for what you believe in and fighting for a difference you want to see become a reality. Whether that be through the act of marching, going on strike, boycotting, or peaceful protesting there are so many ways as an activist to get people on board and make sure your voice is heard.

The film I watched was United in Anger, and it went into great detail about the aids epidemic and the activist group behind it, ACT UP. ACT UP was brought together by people who had lost their loved ones to aids, had been diagnosed or just people who wanted change before things got worse. The government and FDA were not funding the aids research and things were being taken at a literal pain-staking pace, so people took to the streets and organized an association that aimed to get drugs to combat aids faster and prevent more people from dying.

One major moment of activism I remember vividly engaging in was during my senior year of highschool my friend and I attended a climate strike. It was to spread awareness in Manhattan about the Earth dying and how we can all do little things to save the planet in the long run. It was a really fun experience honestly and it felt very energizing and powerful to be surrounded by so many people who cared about the same thing as me. Also, marching around the huge streets of New York all day made my voice feel heard. I would realistically also engage in the activism around gender justice most likely by joining a similar march.

One quote I really enjoyed from How to Think Like an Activist was when Syfret went into detail about how the youth can still be powerful activists despite being young. “Fresh voices have a distinct ability to break through discourse…reach the heart of issues and make people engage…What younger activists might lack in direct experience they make up for with ingenious ways of thinking.” She then brought up the famous example of Greta Thunberg, which coincidentally at the climate strike I attended, she was there and let us hear her speech which really fired up the crowd about making a change.

I watched the film “Girl Connected” which follows the stories of five young teen girls from 5 different countries, on their journeys of activism for women’s rights and female empowerment. Their stories touch upon issues like child marriage, denial of women’s access to any education, a lack of sex education and high rates of teen pregnancy. Each activist group began with a single person (each individual girl sharing her story) and often was driven by lived experiences with the issue, whether hemselves or someone close to them. They learned that power comes in numbers and brought more girls in to join their cause, and create a larger impact. One of the girls, Latifa from Bangladesh had been tried to marry off as a child and resisted. She now works to prevent child marriage by increasing awareness about the moral rights of the child’s lack of ability to consent. She is often asked why she is an activist and says, “We have faced these problems ourselves and we work so that no girl should have to suffer such a fate. So they can get educated and live beautiful lives.” She is passionate about this cause, and says that changing even one girls life/fate is worth the work.

Activism is about creating change (social, political, environmental). Activist movements usually originate within and are led by the people who are being affected. I think of activism as speaking up for a marginalized group that is being hurt, discriminated against and/or dismissed. In many activism causes, voices of white activists are the one’s being highlighted in media and listened to. The voices of the people actually being affected by the cause are frequently ignored.  It is the job for white people/the “majority group” to use their voice and privilege to speak for groups that are being hurt and killed through discrimination and ignorance. I think that this line from the reading summarizes it very well, “Decentralizing yourself within an issue is about more than keeping your mouth shut. You also need to seek out ways to give up some of your space to others”  

In my early years as a queer young adult, I was more active in my local LGBT organization. I participated in some LGBT summits and our Social Justice program, leading small groups. I personally want to focus on disability advocacy and animal rights activism. I think gender has a huge influence on both. Women/femmes are more likely to be dismissed around health and disability reasons, and it is life threatening. POC femmes and fat femmes are affected at higher rates. In my daily life, I try to share my experiences as a queer disabled poc person to counter ignorance and expand people’s understandings of my marginalized identities. I think I would like a part of my future activism to teach about Gender and Sexuality to our new generations. 

I watched the film “Girl Connected” which follows the stories of five young teen girls from 5 different countries, on their journeys of activism for women’s rights and female empowerment. Their stories touch upon issues like child marriage, denial of women’s access to any education, a lack of sex education and high rates of teen pregnancy. Each activist group began with a single person (each individual girl sharing her story) and often was driven by lived experiences with the issue, whether themselves or someone close to them. They learned that power comes in numbers and brought more girls in to join their cause, and create a larger impact. One of the girls, Latifa from Bangladesh had been tried to marry off as a child and resisted. She now works to prevent child marriage by increasing awareness about the moral rights of the child’s lack of ability to consent. She is often asked why she is an activist and says, “We have faced these problems ourselves and we work so that no girl should have to suffer such a fate. So they can get educated and live beautiful lives.” She is passionate about this cause, and says that changing even one girls life/fate is worth the work.

Activism is about creating change (social, political, environmental). Activist movements usually originate within and are led by the people who are being affected. I think of activism as speaking up for a marginalized group that is being hurt, discriminated against and/or dismissed. In many activism causes, voices of white activists are the one’s being highlighted in media and listened to. The voices of the people actually being affected by the cause are frequently ignored.  It is the job for white people/the “majority group” to use their voice and privilege to speak for groups that are being hurt and killed through discrimination and ignorance. I think that this line from the reading summarizes it very well, “Decentralizing yourself within an issue is about more than keeping your mouth shut. You also need to seek out ways to give up some of your space to others”  

In my early years as a queer young adult, I was more active in my local LGBT organization. I participated in some LGBT summits and our Social Justice program, leading small groups. I personally want to focus on disability advocacy and animal rights activism. I think gender has a huge influence on both. Women/femmes are more likely to be dismissed around health and disability reasons, and it is life threatening. POC femmes and fat femmes are affected at higher rates. In my daily life, I try to share my experiences as a queer disabled poc person to counter ignorance and expand people’s understandings of my marginalized identities. I think I would like a part of my future activism to teach about Gender and Sexuality to our new generations. 

After reading “How to Think Like An Activist” by Wendy Syfret and watching Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution directed by James Lebrecht and Nicole Newnham, I’d define the word activism as taking action to achieve a political or social goal. To as a community fight to support or resist a cause. In the reading, some parts focus on the power of the youth when it comes to activism. These young people are bringing topics such as authoritarianism, climate justice, gun control, and transgender rights into their classrooms, exposing them to the importance of those topics and educating them on what actions can be taken. “…it is creating a cohort of citizens who will be active participants in democracy” (15). The film I watched focuses on the disability rights movement and how the bond that the young people at Camp Jened shared helped launch said movement across the nation. The film does an incredible job of educating the audience on a topic that is not talked about enough. It also does a great job of focusing on Judy Heumann, an American disability rights activist. As a group, they were able to share their thoughts on how they’ve been wronged and how their rights were stripped from them because of their disabilities. In the reading, Syfret states, “activism is best enjoyed with friends. A support network will help you refine your values, educate yourself and others, celebrate victories and offer encouragement when things get tough” (41). That is precisely how the campers at Camp Jened were able to lift the movement from the ground by building a solid community that shared not just the fact they were disabled in common but their views on seeking justice and defending their human rights. They weren’t going to take no as an answer because they weren’t asking to be treated fairly. They were demanding it.

I’ve personally engaged in activism by attending Black Lives Matter protests and educating myself on anti-racism. I helped my community out by donating supplies that would be handed out to those marching. I try my best to attend the women’s march every year to honor ALL women. I can realistically engage in activism around gender justice by doing my best to learn all that I can throughout this course. Since the start of the semester, I’ve already been involved in more conversations on the topic with the people I surround myself with. This is an essential course for me because I want to know more and do more. One last quote that stood out to me from the reading was, “Talk to them about why this cause matters to you; make it personal. It’s easier for people to connect with an issue when they see how it impacts those they care about. It also might encourage them to think about how it touches their own lives” (42). Communication has so much power, and these conversations need to be had; they are vital to all movements.

Activism is the collection of voices that all come together for a common goal. It starts off as individuals working towards their own unique goals and eventually combines into a much larger movement that is capable of accomplishing part or all of what was originally set out on.

Activism is also a combination of loud voices to organize the masses who will bring a lot of general awareness to the cause but the additional quiet deal making that brings lasting legislative or structural changes resulting in longer term systematic changes.

I watched Knock Down The House since it is a documentary about how American individuals go to politics and represent their classes, their communities and their people. In the documentary, AOC ran in New York City against Senator Joe Manchin who earned millions dollar from coal industry. Her brother nominated her and it was her first time to participate in politics. AOC had experience that worked 18 hours a day which would be a common experience that many working class people could feel related to it. As AOC said in the documentary, working class means there are working non stop. People work so much and the politician represents them is not even from the same class or even not living in the same district. It is doubtful that how a person like that can understand them and represent their benefit. AOC decided to stand for working class and send the voice out. That’s what motivated her to run and many people didn’t think she would make it. But in April, 12th, 2018, she got on the ballot. Activism is like this that from small step by step, from individual’s action, and every action gather together can make a big influence for other people. It would become movement in the end.

There are multiple ways to engage with in activism about gender justice in my life:

• Start at home: a. When there are news or cases about gender injustice happen, I would discuss with people around me especially my boyfriend. It is difficult for other people to put themselves in your shoes, but it is easier for them to consider the situation if they care about you. I like to chat with him to see his opinion, and I would explain to him why my opinion is different from his also let him know how I feel and how I view it. b. I live with 2 roommates and we hang out sometimes. I love to share informations I read or movies/TV shows I like about gender justice.
• Suggest the book about gender justice: I have a neighborhood book club and members can suggest books then we would vote for the book of the month. I would suggest books about gender justice so that people from the book club can read it and share opinions. In this way, I can get more people involved with the topic I care about.

Activism is referred to as a policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to bring about political and/ or social change. It consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct, or intervene in social, economic, political, or environmental reform with the desire to make changes ins society toward a greater good. Activism is a very important act that has induced so much change and advantages we take for granted today. The will power to walk around freely, to choose one’s own path of career, identity, sexuality and so on resulted from activism. Activism is not any playground one just gets up to partake in. It involves dedication, will power and dying desire for change for the greater good. When you take your time to look back on historic moments, activism takes place. Activists are like the sole heroes of mankind; they take the burdens of millions upon themselves and go to extreme measures to make sure that there is a reform. As Wendy Syfret stated, “Activism is a powerful thing. It has the ability to change communities and lives, reorder the way think about our place in the world” (Syfret p.38). Going forth she explains about how difficult activism is, that it is not just beautiful clouds and rainbows. You would be demanding for changing through every means possible and your voice might not be heard or will just be ignored. When thinking of becoming an activist, you should believe in yourself, what greater and better benefit will come from going for this change, are you prepared for the worst that could happen? Do you deeply understanding what you are going in for? Using the French Revolution as an example, it was founded by a group of Parisian craftsmen and store owners who were fed up with the authoritarian leadership. They knew what was at stake, they were going against people who had more power and resources than they had. However, it did not stop them for fighting for what they believed was right. In the course for fighting for change, so many lives were lost, and the struggle went on for years. The craftsmen were able to achieve their goal which so many of their descendants enjoy today. This was one of the very first devastating movements, but its victory served as a source of hope and new beginning to many reforming society movements. Being an activist does not necessarily mean you have to go on the streets to protest, you could also educate others about activism. You could also run for office in the political sector to administer policies and enforce laws which is very beneficial to everyone. To know how people really feel, you could create surveys. You could have people sign petitions which also a very effective way.