Moisture Of The Earth : Mary Robinson, Civil Rights & Textile Union Activist

“I am, was, and always be a catalyst for change” (Chisholm, 1970). Shirley Chisholm was a Visionary Leader and Ethical Leader by challenging the country to live up to ideals of equality and opportunity, while navigating the rough political landscape, contending with racial and gender discrimination. In this essay, I will review how Shirley Chisholm used her visionary leadership traits by becoming the first African American congresswoman to create diversity and how she used Idealized Influence to garner votes to run for U.S. presidency. Additionally, I will review how Chisholm displayed Ethical Leadership by challenging the seniority system in Congress and how she used her moral values to stand up for what she believed in. Finally, I will review how Shirley Chisholm’s visionary and ethical leadership behavior is personally relevant to me. First, let’s review how Chisholm used her visionary leadership traits.

Ida B. Wells, an African-American woman, and feminist, shaped the image of empowerment and citizenship during post-reconstruction times. The essays, books, and newspaper articles she wrote, instigated the dialogue of race struggles between whites and blacks, while her personal narratives, including two diaries, a travel journal, and an autobiography, recorded the personal struggle of a woman to define womanhood during post-emancipation America. The novel, _THEY SAY: IDA B. WELLS AND THE RECONSTRUCTION OF RACE_ , provides an insight into how Ida B. Wells's life paralleled that of

Many families were broken apart during the civil war, where the father had to leave his spouse and children behind; forcing them to take care of themselves in his absence. In the novel Little Women, Marmee is the ideal representative of a motherly role model in a transcendentalist family during the eighteen hundreds. She continually guided her daughters to find joy in the most menial tasks. She stood strong in the presence of her daughters, although she had to raise them alone in the absence of their father, who has left to volunteer as a Chaplin during the Civil War. Her girls made it clear how they aspired to be as good hearted as she was. A mother’s hard work is seen through her children’s actions.

Though born into slavery, Nanny had "dreams of whut a woman oughta be and to do." She wanted to "preach a great sermon about colored women sittin' on high, but they wasn't no pulpit for [her]." She tries to fulfill her dreams first through her daughter and then through Janie. But slavery and years of dependence on a white family have warped

To be a woman meant that one had no say in regards to political affairs or in government making decisions. If being a woman had limitations, imagine what a black woman experienced, as they were considered less than human and mistreated more than any other female from any different background. In “A Plea for the Oppressed”, Lucy Stanton, one such black woman, tried to avail her people’s plight upon an audience of white women, to support the antislavery and reform cause.

Mary Hutchinson was by far the most glorious and loving person through-out the novel, caring, passionate, and loved by all that knew her. She was a young seamstress who lived a simple life making an honest living and was very close to her loving family. She had been pursued by her co-worker the young Jack Wilson who fall in love with her (or so she thought), but it was normal for people to be attracted to her beautiful nature. After years of courting they had finally gotten married and had children of their own although the second would not be born until the “father” I say vaguely had left the country. This once highly sought after woman would now be left to care for two young children while her husband moved countries to find work (not to mention flee

She includes illustrations and photos depicting various political cartoons, petitions, artifacts, and engravings between pages 80 and 81. In her preface she first introduces the limitation of having white, middle-class women reformers. Chapter one, The Roots of Reform, introduces us to how women, empowered by the church first start exploring various charitable forms of outreach, the effect of the Second Great Awakening, and the first leading women; such as Juliana Tappen and Maria Weston Chapman. Chapter two, Charity and the Relations of Class, explores the middle -and upper-class women's need to perform charity. (Again tying in religion) The poor merely existing as a way for the wealthy to earn their way into heaven. We see the invention of the poor house, and how to define who was the "worthy poor." We see the invention of the Asylum as well as early talks of abolitionism. Chapter three, "Drinks, Sex, Crime, and Insanity", introduces the first major movement of the antebellum era, temperance, and the role alcohol played in the antebellum life. We see the emergence of Susan B. Anthony. This is the chapter where we begin to see more radical action from women, and some earlier reformers step away because they are scared of how far the movements are going. These movements are beginning to keep the women out of the kitchen just a little too long. Women begin to have more say, and do more than just simply make speeches and hand out pamphlets. Chapter four, Antislavery, is where we see the biggest divides in the reform movement. Women were divided on issues such as colonization, ending slavery, or should they even be involved at all. Many women wanted to be abolitionists, but did not want to associate with black people. Chapter five: Women's Rights, explores the earliest movements in the women's right cause. We see the effects of the Seneca

Mary Dudziak, author of Cold Rights Civil War, showed how the civil rights movement effected American foreign affairs on an international level. She argued that the international ridicule helped the United States and the Civil Rights movements achieve what it did. She helps explain just how important the Cold War was to the Civil Rights movement and how the Civil Rights movement helped, America refreshes its image in the eyes for the world. However, not just lead and paly a major part in the Civil Rights movement but also reform America. She also argues that the Cold War and anti-American propaganda push America to up-hold civil rights and equality because of all the backlash and animosity from other countries. There are many things I like about this book for example the way she showed the views of America from other countries and the way she talked about democracy. However, one thing I did not like about the book was that she really did not go into much detail about Brown vs. The Board of Education and The Civil Rights act.

I learned how Ida B. Wells-Barnett started her life. Born as a slave, orphaned at 16, she became a teacher to support her surviving brothers and sisters. With the difficult circumstances brought upon her, it took an amazing amount of determination for her to fight for black civil rights and women’s rights in the 19th century. In a more civilized age, it’s harder to witness the courage she represented for the disadvantaged.

Mary E. Freeman was best known for her depiction of New England life and was objective and straightforward in her writings. Many of her works had a theme of mental oppression and and rebellion of women.

“My mother and I were separated when I was but an infant—before I knew her as my mother. It is a common custom, in the part of Maryland from which I ran away, to part children from their mothers at a very early age…I never saw my mother, to know her as such, more than four or five times in my life; and each of these times was very short in duration, and at night.”

Her work experience and historical knowledge is clear, and her historical facts and figures can be checked using the many primary and secondary sources she sites in her bibliography. However, she does tend to focus on minute details of the lives of the women she discusses that are of lesser importance than their achievement or political lives, such as the explanation of Felton’s husband’s career and political viewpoints. However, her narrative gives insight into the differing values of white and black women at the time and what was seen to be acceptable for a woman, and a woman of color, to say and do, as well as the consequences they faced for defying racism, male-dominance and widespread

Janie’s journey sets off when her grandmother, Nanny, insists she marries Logan Killicks, a man twice her age. Because Nanny’s experience with slavery, her worldview has been about financial security for Janie. Like all elders they hope that their children and grandchildren have protection and stability so they can ease. “Tain’t Logan Killicks Ah wants you to have, baby, it’s protection… (Hurston 15)”. With Janie rebellious young age, she does not realize what her grandmother went through. Janie knew she had to obey her grandmother so she can give her Nanny assurance that she would be taken care of before she dies. But not long after the Nanny’s death, Logan Killicks starts to treat her like a “mule” a free work of labor. Because of Janie status she ought to speak for herself.

Mary E. Wilkins Freeman is one of the many authors that represent the realism movement. Realism is a style of writing started in the mid nineteenth century and lasted until the early twentieth century. Realism was a response to romanticism. One of Freeman’s most popular story is “The Revolt of Mother”, which is a story that represents farm life during the nineteenth century. The main character in this story is Mrs. Penn, who is a dedicated, and loving mother and wife. Even though she is a dedicated woman, her husband does not appreciate her or gives her the respect she feels she is needed. Her husband did the hard work, while she was in the house washing dishes and cleaning like many wives during this period. Her husband keeps on promising that he will build her a house,

Alice Walker, born February ninth of 1944, was a child of tenant farmers in Eatonton, Georgia. As she lost sight in one eye from being shot with a BB gun, she read and wrote surrounding herself with her mother and aunts. As she witnessed the independence of these women, along with the oppression of the sharecropping system and violent racist acts, her artistic view was shaped. In 1961, she got involved with the Civil Right Movement at Spelman College, and became active after moving to Mississippi. Together with her husband, Civil Rights Lawyer Melvyn Rosenman Leventhal, married in March of 1967, she worked registering blacks to vote in Mississippi. They divorced after her daughter, Rebecca, was born.