Assignments

Martin Luther King Jr.

The article’s main argument was the idea of ending immature political behavior and how this change can ensure the fixing of current issues in the United States. When reading the article, I did agree with the author’s main point. We currently live in a country where those with any form of political power choose to hurl insults and names at one another. This “exercise of power” is both immature and ineffective in solving many issues in our society today. As the author (MLK's son) had stated, we can’t make a change if people continue to fight against each other and be divided. When reading the article, it made me annoyed that this is our reality. Our country has real issues, such as: climate change, immigration, and gun violence. However, instead of making any sort of difference, those with the power to do so choose to fight amongst each other instead. In my opinion, it’s necessary for Americans to work together in order for our country to survive. As MLK wrote, “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?”.

Stop Belittling People's Culture

Picture this, you attend a costume party thinking it’ll be an amazing time to spend with friends and possibly form new bonds. You walk in, everything is fine, but as your looking around the only costumes you see are based off of you. Your past, your insecurities, your culture. These costumes don’t stand as a way to represent who you truly are, but as a way to mock, insult, and belittling you. When you finally work up the courage to confront these people about it, they try to shut you down. Saying “It’s just a costume, no need to get offended, stop being a buzzkill”. But in truth, you are offended, how could someone do this to another human being? They don’t know your story or what you’ve been through. The harsh reality of this setting is, this is what many people of color face in their lives. Cultural appropriation is a real thing in our society, especially today. We see it everywhere, with celebrities (such as Ariana Grande, Justin Beiber, Beyonce), media, costumes, even fast food chains. One big example of a culture that has been insulted back and forth is Mexican culture. When people think of Mexican culture, they imagine, vatos, cholos / cholas, people deemed “uncivilized” by society. But many who dress up as these socially accepted “characters” don’t even know the history of it all nonetheless how it part of Mexico came to be owned by the U.S.

This is how Tejas came to be what is now known as the state of Texas. After the war with Spain, Mexico was left weakened and lacked a lot of stability. Instead of helping them, the United States saw this more as an opportunity to gain land (for profit off of trade and slavery). This act of attacking Mexico was mainly the South’s decision, because the idea of more profit meant that they could be able to compete against the North. Two people with power who were apart of this decision was Jackson and Houston. Together, they formed the strategy to sneak in white settlers. Before sneaking in these white settlers, Mexico was completely resistant in the United States’ attempt at having their land. However, after sneaking them in, the majority of the people (who in1835 were mainly made up of these settlers) begged to be apart of the U.S. and become what is now known as Texas. When looking back at this history, what a lot of people are reminded of is the story of “Alamo”. Although, there are two completely different versions of it. There is the U.S. perspective, which is unsurprisingly glorified and talks about how in 1835 “Texans” started the heroic resistance against the “oppressive” Mexico and Alamo was the site of their last “stand” against them. In contrast to this, there is the truth, written in Mexico’s perspective. Where these so called “Texans” were in fact slave traders / owners and “Indian killers”. It was a deadly battle for both sides, but wasn’t a massacre.

In addition to this part of Mexican history, there is also what is known as the ¨Chicano Moratorium ̈. According to Fusion, in the year 1970, 30,000 Chicanos marched in East LA for a peaceful protest. In a matter of a couple hours, this protest quickly turned violent with many people hurt in the process. The question is, what started this march in the first place? As you may know, the Vietnam war was going around at this time. Many people fought hard and died, but one community noticed that 20% of those being killed were Mexican Americans. This is because the government were sending these people towards the front lines, seeing them nothing more than lower achievers and pawns to their game. Society has made it so that dressing up as other cultures is socially acceptable. So the next time you see someone unintentionally insulting another person's culture by impersonating it, maybe inform them as to why it's wrong. There’s too much history behind cultures to simply just hide it all behind a sombrero and poncho.

Feminism: How We Came to Be

Feminism is the diverse spectrum of ideas that relate to the rights of all womxn and equality among sexes. This concept has gone a long way and womxn throughout the years have endured much hardship in order to ensure the future we have in today’s still unjust society. Throughout time, the Feminism movement has made many large steps that have brought us womxn to the place in society that we are living in today. The history of womxn’ s rights and Feminism has been divided into three separate waves. Let’ s start off with the very first wave, the question of political equality.

One important thing to note about the beginning stages of feminism is who was apart of it. Many people have heard the names: Susan B. Anthony, Carrie Chapman Catt, and Elizabeth Catty Stanton. Notice one huge similarity all three have? None of them are womxn of color nor was there much representation during that time. Not to discredit any of these womxn who helped make big advancements in womxn’s rights, but it should be known that many feminists of this wave strictly consisted of white wealthy womxn. Although this wave did have its flaws, there were also many successes due to it. Such as the change in marriage laws, access to education, and the passing of the suffrage law. Although womxn of this time were able to make some changes, they continued to be oppressed heavily during the aftermath of the first wave. However, one war was able to reignite and begin the 2nd wave of feminism.

As previously stated, womxn were still not treated with the same respect as men. For example, the government continued to deny them the right to be able to work. Around this time, World War 2 had begun and it caused a shift in women’ s freedoms. Due to many men leaving to aid in the war, womxn in the 1940s were finally able to get jobs. There was a short period of time where womxn were somewhat “respected” for their contribution to the war. Unfortunately, after World War 2 ended and the men came bag, large scale companies and media began the “Tranquilizers” campaign. This campaign was set off in order to put womxn “back in their place”, which basically was at home being their husband’s maid and personal object. They used many methods of propaganda in movies, posters, etc., but this played a role in triggering the second wave of the Feminist movement. This wave basically caused a lot of womxn to rebel against their assigned roles. Resulting in many divorces during this time. Although, womxn of color continued to be disregarded in the conversation.

Now this leads us to the 3rd wave, which continues to go on till this day. So far, this wave has mainly been focused on ending all forms of oppression. Such as white supremacy, male supremacy, capitalism, and the cis-heteronormative society. Fortunately, by this time the movement has gotten to the point where it is a lot more inclusive as it recognizes trans womxn and womxn of color. Many issues have been addressed by the powerful womxn of the third wave. Such as immigration, education, domestic violence, rape, and a lot more. Although Feminism continues to grow, it has made a big impact in our society today and has come a very long way.

The Important Womxn Who Deserve Recognition

As I’ve mentioned before, Feminism was extremely exclusive during the times of the first and second waves. Although womxn of color aren’t recognized for their hardships during this time, that doesn’t imply that they played no role. One womxn who does have some recognition is Sojourner Truth. She was both a former slave and a women’s rights activist around the 1800’s. Being most commonly known for her speech “Ain’t I A Womxn?”, Truth discusses her own personal experience about being a womxn of color in the United States and how she is repetitively overlooked and dismissed by society. While also making the comparison between her life and the treatment of a white womxn.

Truth wasn’t the only womxn of color who had fought for womxn’s rights. Another example is Luisa Moreno, a Guatemalan American womxn around during the 1900’s. Her influence and voice was able to advance the rights for working womxn (especially those of Latinx culture). Originating from Guatemala, Moreno travelled throughout the South and California to raise awareness about the mistreatment of womxn and poor working conditions in places such as fields and canneries.

Feminism: The 3rd Wave

I’ve previously discussed the main points of the 1st and 2nd waves of Feminism, while only briefly discussing the latest. The 3rd wave of Feminism (60s-present) is the part of Feminism that I most identify with. This is because during this wave, Kimberle Crenshaw, introduced the concept of International Feminism. This form of Feminism is a lot inclusive as it involves many target groups who weren’t recognized in the 1st and 2nd waves. Such as womxn of color, transgender womxn, womxn with disabilities, and the list goes on. In addition to this idea, the 3rd wave also focused on primarily unjust systems of power. These systems being: White Supremacy, Male Supremacy, Cis-Hetero-normative Society, and Capitalism. Although they were somewhat discussed in previous waves, these issues in our society are currently gaining more attention as the Feminist movement continues to thrive. In an interview by global news, feminists Bee Quammie and Aisha Addo, establish the main concepts of Intersectional Feminism and why many find it difficult to call themselves feminists today. Stating that Intersection Feminism is basically a way to express “different womxn have different struggles”. The idea of Feminism has always been marketed in a perspective which only appeals to white womxn. Womxn who don’t fit this category are never portrayed as heroes or in the media and so the concept of Feminism is misrepresented.

Another thing that we discussed in both our notes and research was the difference between one’s own gender and sex. In many situations, many people have misinformation around the subject. For example, according to transstudent.org, gender identity is how one feels they identify as whether it is the sex they are born as, the opposite sex (trans), non-binary, and more. While sex is what you’re born as and has to do with anatomy and the chromosomes in your body. Some can even be born intersex or with characteristics of the opposite sex. Although this spectrum is wide, it is important for us to know the right terms. For both our own identity and the identity of others.

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