On April 17 we were given the opportunity to go see a performance in the theater by this female theater performer. Her play was based on her life story of her growing being homosexual. When I first saw that we could go to this I was not sure if I was going to go. I am not really into plays and they usually bore me to death. I went however because we would get some extra credit out of it. I went in not know what to expect and when she stepped on stage and starting swearing to caught my attention. Her entire performance was fantastic. Her retelling her life story about how hard it was being homosexual and losing many people in her life really touched me. This performance also made me laugh many times because of the way she acted out her life and even joked about it. Overall this was one of the better plays that I have seen. Even though we only saw a short part of it her message did get to me. That message is that no matter what you are or what you want to do, you can do whatever you want with your life. Her life story really did touch me because just seeing how hard it was for her made me think about my life. This also ties back into our class because we were talking about that week homosexual women activist and their struggles. They did not fit in with any organization and had to make there own and try to get there voices and needs heard by the masses. Now she did not join any movement during her life but she was going through a lot of the same struggles that many of the activists we were reading about went through. She was having trouble finding where was the right place to call home was and how to fit into society. She broke the rules and became her own person. Overall I would recommend seeing this play if anyone does have the chance to.
Beyonce Homecoming and Taylor Swift Outgoing
Beyonce has been in the entertainment industry for over 23 years and as she evolves she is able to represent black culture to her hearts content. Previously in media, black women are forced to conform to a Eurocentric view of beauty to obtain publicity and fame. In todays society, the celebration of melanin is being popularized and black culture is joyfully being celebrated and sadly being appropriated. Beyonce is the first black woman to headline Coachella, and she is also one of the first people to negotiate all rights to her performance. After doing this, she was able to upload her recreation of an HBCU band performance to Netflix and showcase beautiful black art forms. Soon after Taylor Swift performed an exact replica of Beyonce’s performance. How do you guys feel about Taylor Swift copying Beyonce’s ode to black youth culture?
Is Marvel Making America Great Again
Marvel has been known for their action packed films and amazing visual affects. After created the film Black Panther, which showcased a different portrayal of an African country, Marvel received raving reviews and praise. After Black Panther was released, Marvel showcased their new film Captain Marvel on National Women’s day. Feminist and women alike were happy to see the ultimate hero of the universe be a woman. In the final movie, Endgame, Captain America gives his shield to Falcon, a black man. Immediately this symbolized to me that white captain America was tired and played out. Captain America giving his shield to Falcon making him the new Captain America was essentially showing a visual representation camaraderie between old white America and new black America. What do you guys think this means for future marvel movies ?
What is Happening to Wooster ?
Over half of the diverse faculty and staff members at the College of Wooster are leaving. Most of these faculty members had tenure and a secure career here at the College. Many people said that each staff member has their own reasoning but the numbers are quite too high for this to be a coincidence. Is there a degree of racism we have not noticed at the College of Wooster? We speak out against forms of oppression from a student level but in order to change the institution and systematic oppression at the college, the staffing needs to be re-wired as well. The College of Wooster increased their acceptance of black students from 10% to 30% of their population. Without proper support and aid, these students will have a difficult time surviving the Campus climate. There are no diverse staff members in STEM. After a trustee commented “Would you rather have a black professor or a good professor”, the College of Wooster’s mayhem involving diverse faculty members did not stop. The effects of Wooster’s racism is showing and the institution needs to be revamped.
– A primary source from the College of Wooster
Women of color want 2020 Democrats to work for their vote
According to several political strategists and activists, women of color are poised to be a particularly powerful voting group in the 2020 Democratic primary. Women of this group have proven to be loyal Democratic voters and have helped deliver key wins in elections within states such as Virginia and Alabama. It is highly expected for issues grounded in race and identity to play a significant role in the primary. Thus, the support from women of color, particularly black women, could be the difference between winning and losing for any of the Democratic candidates who are currently running for the presidential nomination.
However, many candidates appear as if they do not have a specific agenda for winning over these diverse groups, which includes black, Latina, and Native American women. According to the article, this was most recently on display at the “she the People Presidential Forum”, an April 2019 event billed as the first presidential candidate forum to focus exclusively on women of color. While Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris were able to bring policy specifics and proposals to the table on issues like black maternal mortality and criminal justice reform, other candidates faltered when asked to discuss how their plans would benefit women of color in particular.
In my opinion, this would suggest that in the coming months, 2020 candidates will need to work harder to find ways to connect with black and brown women.
Article link: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/5/2/18525536/women-of-color-voters-2020-outreach-policy-democrats
The 2020 U.S. vote sees Democrat’s making efforts to put Black women’s health concerns at the forefront
The health care delivery system in the U.S has created a situation in which black women are three to four times more likely to die than their white counterparts. While there are a multitude of factors that contribute to this dynamic, democrats such as Sen. Kamala Harris and Sen. Elizabeth Warren are arguing that it really all boils down to prejudice. Doctors and nurses don’t give as much precedence to black mothers’ health concerns as they do white women. This has resulted in a huge disparity as well as a growing mortality rate amongst black mothers.
Consequently, as the 2020 vote approaches, Democrats seem to be following the strategy of garnering the support of their most influential allies, black women. The push for a celebration of “Black Maternal Health Week”, as well as the different economic approaches being offered to incentivize hospitals to take better care of the women of color that visit them, are some of the ways in which Democrats hope to rally support. While the political motives of this growing narrative are explicit, it is an undeniably good start to increasing the attention towards the racial bias that black mothers in the U.S. face.
Nike Did It Again
Just over a month ago, I posted about a Nike ad that covered women as a collective. Now, this ad just covers a Jamaican woman olympic sprinter, Caster Semenya. This woman happens to be one of the best in what she does. However, people always give her mess about her build and where she comes from. Let me inform you, Usain Bolt is also from Jamaica and is the fastest man ever. So, just because she’s dominating in women’s track and field, it’s considered a problem or as some would say, she had an advantage. Nike wanted people to see the work she’s been through and all the times she questioned if she was really doing what she loved. People believed she was being ‘too fast’ in most cases considering she always won. She always questioned “Do I need to stop winning?” “Do I need to run slower?” Just so that people can see who she her for her.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UW-VgxlIZI
Saving America from itself: A miscomprehension of Black women’s political involvement
The election of Doug Jones instead of Roy Moore in 2017 for Alabama’s senate bid was a result of 98% of black women voting for Doug Jones instead of the disgraced judge. This resulted in an applause for black women from across all demographics such as white women. Often times, there is a pattern that media outlets and common rhetoric takes when black women play a role in deterring the U.S from making a decision that has the potential of dire consequences. However, this is very much an unfair expectation to have towards a group of people that most of America is comfortable sidelining when it comes to addressing issues of social injustice. Statistics that show black women voting overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton instead of Trump should not tell a story of saviors but rather of endurance and survivors of oppression. Black women’s role in the U.S is not to save the citizens from themselves; this is not a possibility when women of color don’t enjoy the same benefits as their fellow citizens
Work shop IV
Mark Herron, “Black women struggle impact in sports”
Conflicts from an athletic standpoint. Serena Williams has been receiving backlash for her catsuit from audiences saying it was too exposing. Brittney Griner is a WNBA player who is lesbian and gets referred to as masculine. Gabby Douglas is a gymnast who also has a strong body structure and looked at as manly. How these athletes struggled with getting sponsors and endorsements, do to not meeting the beauty standards of a female.
Focusing on the different forms of oppression they faced regarding gender, sexuality, and race. What events happen that are evident to unfairness or oppression. Female athletes that made a difference. The timeline of events that occurred to make progress. Fashion/ beauty standards of athletic African American women.
Alyssa Smith “A Black Woman Runs the Black Panthers”
This research essay explores the impact of the only woman who ever became the leader of the Black Panther Party. She joined the Black Panthers in 1968 doing small work, like cleaning weapons and selling the official Black Panther newspaper. She rose through the ranks, opening the eyes movement to the misogyny linked to the group, even stating that women were believed to be irrelevant by the party, despite their front claiming that black is beautiful. Women in the Black Panther Party were treated incredibly poorly. They were physically abused when they “disrespected” male coworkers, exploited sexually, and had their ability to do tasks belittled constantly. Elaine Brown, at the time, didn’t identify as a feminist because that title was associated almost exclusively with white, middle class women, but it was apparent to her that the misogyny of the Panthers was so wide spread that even the women were chauvinist against themselves. Despite the group being paramilitary, where everyone is simply taking orders, many of the women saw themselves as below their male leaders. When Huey P. Newton fled to Cuba, Brown took charge, leading the party away from the sexism it once considered part of its foundation.
Rajani Subramanian “The Foundations Behind Montgomery Bus Boycott”
In order to understand the Montgomery Bus Boycott, it is important to take in consideration the process behind the movement. From meetings held by the MIA (Montgomery Improvement Association), to Ms. Georgia Gilmore’s “The Club From Nowhere”. In my paper I want to explore how different women held positions of importance and what their role in the boycott was. My thesis will explore how black women helped build a movement even though they were not given much credit or publicity. Not many women were put in positions of power (for example, MLK was the MIA leader), however women led through empowering others to do their best. Most big events have a face, in the example of the bus boycott, it is Rosa Parks. But there are many stories of women who have faced injustices riding buses, for example, Claudette Colvin was kicked off the bus line nine months before Parks was. In response to this, many leaders within that community protested, but they found out she was pregnant, and action was not further pursued.
In my essay I will examine how with under the constraints of class, sex and gender black women were the wheels of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Although this is related to the Civil Rights Movement in large, I will be specifically focusing on the bus boycott.
Ousmane Sy, “Calling Whom? A case study of the Galpin Call-In”
Racism has often taken precedent over sexism within the Black community. Throughout this course we have analyzed how the role of Black Women is often secondary in many cases, whether it is in movements or their marital lives. This often leads to the exclusion of the Black women in many aspects of politics, economics and mobilization for activism. By using oral history. I will examine the absence of Black women within the Galpin call-in. The paper will be centered around 5 or more interviews conducted with Black women who did, and those who did not, participate in the event. The purpose of the research is to show the absence of Black women in the 2018 Galpin Call-in. By doing so I call attention to the historic tendency for one to downplay the important role of Black women in activism.
Kidi Tafesse, “The Development of Black feminism alongside the struggle for black liberation: The Elaine Brown story”
This paper will be assessing the life and work of Elaine Brown to assess the development of her feminist ideals through the struggles she faced within her efforts to bring justice and equality for black people by joining the Black liberation Struggle. Brown was the first leader of the Black Panther Party (BPP) so hers is a story of success; however, she often expressed her dismay and observation towards the male-dominated movement that was seeking to liberate black folk during the liberation struggle. She brought her ideals to life not only through activism but also through different forms of art such as music and literature. This paper will be analyzing her different works such as “A Taste of Power”to understand how her conceptualization of freedom was developed as a black woman.
This analysis is limited in its external validity, since it will only be providing one woman’ s experience in depth. However, providing insight into one of the most important contributors to the Black liberation Struggle should help in understanding what being a black woman in that era alongside the different liberation movements looks like.
Thus, this research paper will first summarize her contributions whilst assessing their influence on the Black Freedom struggle but quickly move on to her personal development while going through this process and the ways in which she adopted black feminist ideals that developed together with her efforts to fix some of the systematic forms of oppression that Black people faced in the United States.
Angela Danso Gyane, “SAY MY NAME!! SAY MY NAME!!!- A look at activism in the Sandra Bland Protests”
I am looking at the Sandra Bland story including a look at the activism that took place. I will also look at the response to the video being released and its effects on protests. I am also analyzing how the protests (Physical presence) were at a smaller scale than those for Trayvon Martin and other males who had suffered similar fates. I will also look at the works of Kimberly Crenshaw and others regarding the disparities between police brutality against black men and black women. The reaction of the public and accounting for how the hashtag #Justiceforsandy and #sayhername were used. The reaction and actions of that specific jail, the county, the sheriff, and prominent members of society. Sandra Bland was also a Black Lives Matter activist so I am looking at the support of that movement overall and to see if individual organizations joined in as a support system. I will compare her circumstances with other black women whose experiences with police brutality were not as publicized.
“Black Women in Defense of Ilhan Omar”
https://www.theroot.com/watch-angela-davis-and-ayanna-pressley-lead-black-wome-1834434738
This week saw several significant and powerful black women activists and politicians rallying in Washington, DC in support of Rep. Ilhan Omar, one of the first Muslim women to be sworn into congress in 2018. This comes at a time where Omar’s been the recent target of attack for Trump’s random tweets. As a politician who is known for being critical of U.S foreign policy as well as its method of addressing issues such as Islamophobia, Omar has been a controversial figure since her time in congress began. The combined effect of her words being misconstrued and made out to be anti-Semitic as well as her identity as a black, Muslim, woman have made her the repetitive subject of criticism and distaste amongst conservatives. Moreover, the lack of support from her own Democratic party, was an issue activists like Angela Davis as well as politicians like Rep. Ayanna Pressley wanted to address.
However, despite the unfortunate circumstances that led up to this rally, I feel that it was an important and necessary step in addressing the often negative and even dangerous rhetoric that Trump promotes regarding black women. This is an issue often forgotten due to his simultaneous attacks on different groups but rallies such as this have the potential of making his rants against black women finally take precedence.