America: Land of Oppression
Strobe lights overwhelm the shadowy streets with blue in Atlanta, on the 11th of November. The epileptic flashing is unstartling as more authorize forces speed towards the protest; their sirens blare begging for attention. People of various races, religions, and ethnic backgrounds are in attendance with passionate concerns over the future prosperity and equality of the country that belongs to them too. Amongst the crowd, people carry cardboard signs that ache their arms, some stomp with the iconic two finger symbol of peace, while others spectate from their high-rise apartments, cheering and waving their support. The protest is mass with many differing and numerous causes of dissatisfaction, but a commonly shared opinion causes the underlying discontent: the president-elect is not supportive of the multiple demographics that compose the United States. There is a feeling of underrepresentation from these minority groups who have been long overlooked in politics. The protest is not a cry for help but a demand for change. The massive police force surrounds the protesters attempting to block their march. This border between the two opposing sides is a symbolic reminder of the ongoing power struggle, of the endless fight— The powerless is to be heard, for at least tonight.
This protest is a current event, but the issues that fuel it are not a current problem. It would be simple to regard protests such as these unnecessary, but the root of the
Our national anthem chants “O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.” My challenge is although this is indeed the land of the free; it is more the home of the slave than the brave. The reasoning behind this logic is that it was the slave whose muscle built the soul of America, and whose uncanny intrusion branded an indelible mark upon U.S. history.
Yet as revolutionaries themselves, they recognized the imperative of organizing and its centrality to a liberal democracy. Without the visibility afforded by protest, challenge to the cultural and political norms is impossible. Organization and protest have shaped America from abolitionism to temperance, unionization to gay liberation and continue to shape it today. More recently, Black Lives Matter activists have demonstrated the sheer power of grassroots protest, effectively using their freedom of assembly to challenge structural racism. On a personal note, my liberty to assemble has allowed me to protest at my school as well as to participate in various election efforts. I relish to challenge the status quo and express informed dissent. The Bill of Rights ensures Americans’ ability to do so, thereby ensuring the vitality of
In light of the recent presidential election, many people fear for their freedom as restrictions on immigration, religion, and abortion rights have been proposed. As a result of this, on January 20th, countless citizens banded together across America in “Women’s Marches”, the largest of about 400,000 people at Washington, D.C. (10 Actions). At these protests, advocating for people of all genders, races, ethnicities, and sexual orientations, zero arrests were made. These peaceful gatherings gained the attention and unification of many people across the country and motivated citizens to continue to organize events. At the Women’s March on San Francisco, it was said by a speaker that we are “on the right side of history”. As people continue to vocalize their disagreements with the government, change will always be made, though it may be
In a march against segregation and barriers for African-American voting rights, peaceful marchers were exposed to harsh treatment by the police, 50 being hospitalized by the terrorism inflicted on them (civilrights.org). The targeted protest became infamous in the Civil Rights Movement, marked “Bloody Sunday” and was crucial to gaining favor of the public (civilrights.org). The two causes went hand in hand in this, rocketing in support and becoming the main goal of the country - the end of segregation was the most dire problem that the Civil Rights Movement needed to solve. And with the 24th Amendment, Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Voting Rights Act of 1965 being ratified, the civil rights movement and the fight to end segregation reached its legal goal (infoplease.com). However, the nation’s mentality needed work - though the popularity of Civil Rights was rising, many riots and racial hate crimes continued to occur throughout the country, with many casualties resulting from them (infoplease.com). The ratification of these laws may have made the “separate but equal” rhetoric illegal for the U.S. but the citizens inside it still battled for their beliefs. As segregation and civil rights become national topics, their
The riots in Baltimore, Maryland hold major sociological implications, not only currently, but also for years to come. While the peaceful assembly of people to voice concerns to the United States (U.S.) Government, is part of the guaranteed rights that comprise the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution (U.S. Const. amend. I.), which includes freedom of speech as one of its tenants, rioting is not. Rioting is a mores, whereas in sociological terms, is not a tolerated action of citizens (Henslin, 2014a). This mores is quite the opposite of a peaceful gathering. Because of the destructive nature of the rioting, millions of dollars in damage to public and private property were reported to various news outlets. While Baltimore can afford mend the public sector portions of the damage, the private businesses appear to be on their own to rebuild. The city of Baltimore, while able to afford the public repairs, is requesting federal funds to offset these expenses as to not drain the city’s budget (Baltimore riots will cost, 2015). Although rioting is the overall sociological mores in regards to Baltimore, there are others.
In April of 1861, the Civil War broke out in America, a war that was heavily based on the difference of opinion about slavery. The article Land of Contradiction by Justin Martin shows the experience of a traveling undercover journalist, Frederick Law Olmsted, who writes about the South, as he encounters new people and observes different lifestyles. Readers are able to see the South’s way of living through the use of slaves, but through the eyes of a Northerner. This helps with the understanding of the mindset of the Northerners when opposed to the South, which are the root feelings for the start of the war. As Olmsted was undercover, he was able to get up and close with the Southerners, revealing many secrets about the South that suggest why Southerners acted the way they did prior to the war, and why their economic status declined after the war. Through this article, one may understand the different views that were present during the civil war about the South’s harsh treatment of slaves, creating the understanding of the issue
Over the past five centuries, black people have endured violence in many different ways. Today, police officers use deadly, excessive force that leads to inexcusable assaults, beatings and shootings. This demonstrates the government’s role in initiating and prolonging racial suppression and provides the explanation for police brutality to become a federal crime (Black Radical Congress, 3). In history, racist violence, police brutality, has been used to suppress the racial blacks and to preserve power and privileges for the white race.
Racial inequality is a multidimensional problem in America. If the problem was simply minorities in America are less well off than their white counterparts, the problem could have been solved long ago. This narrative isn’t about racial inequality, its root causes, or its solutions; yet racial inequality plays a central role in that night’s events to the point where it should be mentioned. Racial inequality is a generational, economic, social, psychological, and every other facet of society people can analyze, type of problem. Northern Philadelphia is a prime example of racial inequality at its worst in America. Entire swaths of blocks consumed by poverty, drugs, and gang warfare are common in the streets of the predominately black and hispanic North Philadelphia. The heavy police presence on some blocks
March 16 saw a demonstration in Montgomery, Alabama in which 580 demonstrators planned to march “from the Jackson Street Baptist Church to the Montgomery County Courthouse” (Reed 26). These protestors included a large number of northern college students. They met a police line a few blocks from the Courthouse and were forbidden from proceeding because “they did not have a parade permit” (Reed 26). Across the street came 40 or so students who planned on joining the group en route to the Courthouse. Eventually a few of the demonstrators dared to cross the street, led by James Forman who had organized the march. When it seemed the whole group would cross, police took action, with mounted officers and volunteers arriving at 1:12 pm. Riding into the small group of protestors, they forced most to withdraw, but a few stood fast around a utility pole where horsemen began to beat them. “A posseman
Protests riots in the United States has proven to an issue for both the country’s financial strength and the unity of the nation. With the presence of social injustices, combined with the increased impact of social media propaganda, protests riots are beginning to reach an all time high. Protest riots destroy individual communities and businesses, jeopardizes the safety of others and taints the protest’s cause by resorting to civil disobedience. Action must be done in order to prevent these random acts of violence from continuing after every social hot topic. The goal is not to prevent citizens from protesting; in fact, this should be encouraged. The goal is to change the way the protests are handled from both the citizens and authority perspectives, in order to prevent these protests from escalating into something dangerous.
Throughout history riots have been the way for underrepresented people to make their voices hear and spur a change. One of the first riots in American history was the Boston Tea Party and as a result, the people achieved their goal. The riots and violence related to race that have happened in in more recent decades have shaped how our world is today. During the course of this class, we discussed the racial riots and how they were influenced by the economic and political issues going on during the time frame of the uprisings. Each riot we discussed was a result of either political or economic conditions and sometimes even both.
Donald J. Trump has probably become what is known as the most controversial political figure and President in the history of the United States of America. With all of the negative rhetoric and promises that he made during the campaign trail, as well as the suspicion surrounding his path to 270 on election night 2016, many people have banded together to protest his administration. At first being only a large number of disgruntled voters, those protesting Trump’s Administration have grown into a solid counter-movement to the one that he managed to sweep the United States away with. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive of the Trump Resistance Movement. This paper will show the groups and movements involved in the Trump
However, in 1967, there was a collective group of African Americans that united together to protest on the streets of Houston, Texas. These individuals went out to the streets to express their disapproval of the city’s decision to allow a city garbage dump into their community. The protestors were rigorously advocating the clearance because they believed the garbage dumps deteriorating effects “claimed the lives of two students” who resided in the neighborhood. As a result of the protest that occurred in 1967, constituents begin to mobilize themselves into coalitions to influence the decision making
It is seen within the great activists who have shaped the world and in protests currently taking place, no matter the scale. Never had a speech moved an entire nation like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream Speech” did on August 28, 1963 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. And to this day, it is looked at in the same way, as a source of motivation for many. The various types of unrest occurring all over the country as the result of Darren Wilson’s non indictment are a contemporary example of successful protest—Not because of any particular result thus far, but because of the encouragement they offer to all of those feeling discouraged. Many across the country feel that a police officer’s murder of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, as well as the grand jury’s failure to indict the police officer, serve as examples of a clearly racist criminal justice system. This has produced various types of protest. Protestors in the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, and in other cities are exercising their First Amendment right to protest by carrying signs and holding their hands in the air while shouting, “don’t shoot,” some violent, and some not. Some used Black Friday as a platform to protest through refusing to support the
This photo emphasizes the importance of silent protest and the power of gesture, political climates experience incredible shifts with movements such as these.