Ambassador-At-Large For International Religious Freedom By J. Johnson Cooke

Women have been downgraded and mistreated because of their gender. From birth, Women and Men grew up with very different rules to follow. Men were raised to be the head of the house and do work for a living. Growing up as little girls, women were taught to raise their kids and make food for their families. “Strong family structures were necessary because the family was the basis for all other institutions. The government, church, and community all worked through the nuclear family unit.”(“Gender and

Throughout time women and their rights have varied among where they are living and the people that surround them. Some of the major changes with women’s rights is giving them the right to vote, reproductive rights, and the right to work for equal pay. Another thing that varies throughout time is women’s roles. For example 100 years ago the only jobs that women could have was to either be a housewife, nurse, or a teacher. Until about 1910, women didn’t really fight for their rights and what they could do. In 1910, women started to voice their opinions in society and fought for the right to vote. Though things have changed greatly today, there are still women in the world that believe in the “traditional way” and prefer to still wait on

Another amazing African American women leader and voice for her feminist activist audience was Sojourner Truth who spoke from within

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.

Society told women that they could only do certain things, like only work in the house, or not talk to other men outside of her home, or that a woman's place is in the kitchen. Like in the book Of MIce and Men, Curly wouldn’t let his wife leave her house, and she was supposed to wait on him hand and foot. He also didn’t allow her go out and talk to other guys. When ever she went out he spent all of his time trying to find her and find out what she was doing. Women of today tend to do a lot more than women back then did. Women today have more freedom of what they do. Men and women can work side by side and not have one problem, because that's the new normal for this day and age.

If I could have a conversation with any person in human history, my first choice would be the woman that stated, “The emotional, sexual, and psychological stereotyping of females begins when the doctor says, ‘It's a girl.’” Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm, born on November 30, 1924, and passed on January 1, 2005, was the first African-American woman to serve in Congress and to seek a nomination for the U.S. Presidency. She ran, in spite of she coined, her “double handicap” in reference to her blackness and womanhood. Mrs. Chisholm broke barriers in the political field that has allowed young women like me to one day dream of stepping foot in the Capitol building or the Oval Office, as a President or otherwise.

I attended the Gender, Labor and Politics event provided by the Black Studies Project at UC San Diego. During this event, I was able to hear about the research done by three black women in which they examined the intersectionality of black women in America during different time periods. There were three speakers but I found that the research done by Sarah Haley brought forth the most relevant and interesting information.

Women has always voiced their opinion and will continue influencing the world. Women play such a big part of society and today women are becoming stronger, and more wiser than ever before. Once women won their vote, they began to teach and showcase independence and empowerment through society and create examples that every little girl should follow. Women have accomplished many goals throughout history such as increasing and improving social, and economic view of women. Because of the strength and power women display, women are receiving more respect and realizing the sense of self-worth.

Sojourner Truth is prominent for being an abolitionist, an evangelist, and a feminist. Born into slavery, Sojourner Truth was a victim of ill-treatment and underrepresentation of the slave whose rights were ignored. Her extemporaneous speeches and stand against slavery favored not only abolition but also gave women and the minority groups voices in the New World. Truth’s contributions, therefore, have continued to motivate women to fight for their rights and leadership positions against patriarchy in the contemporary world.

On April 12, 2017, the Department of Gender and Sexuality Studies in UCI presented an inspirational lecture that was led by Sarah Haley. Haley, who is a passionate writer, wrote an inspirational book. Through her book, No Mercy Here: Punishment and Making of Jim Crow Modernity recounted the harsh, brutal, and inhuman experiences black women faced in the 19th century. Her focus was the south part of Georgia because it was a gated city to get her inspiration. During the lecture, I noticed that Haley’s indignant tone of voice led me to think and feeling empathy, especially for black women. If I want to choose a word to define their courageous behavior, the word choice will be kind of difficult. I recognized

When we hear the term activist from the Civil Rights Movement, we associate that term with Black, religious men from the twentieth century that we most commonly learned about in our classes growing up. Those men were known for fighting against social injustices and impacting the lives of black citizens; they include Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X. If someone like Rosa Parks were mentioned in class, we would focus more on her gender than her achievements. It was easy to assume that only men were leading and participating in the Civil Rights Movement. In her book, Witnessing and Testifying: Black Women, Religion, and Civil Rights, Rosetta E. Ross focuses on key women in the Civil Rights Movement who exercised their faith, despite the injustice that surrounded them, to improve the lives of others.

Women throughout time have experienced position changes more times than can be counted. Not just in modern times, gender roles began in the B.C.E era. In Egypt and India, gender roles were a huge part of society. In both locations, male’s word was law. What they said was the final answer and a woman could not change that. The gender distinctions were similar in ways that women had minimal power in familiar locations, like their homes. They had a small opinion about certain subjects, but they never ventured out of the comfort zone of subjects they were allowed to discuss. Men were treated better than women, yes, but the power women held was used for some of the most important topics.

We are often used to seeing black men who preach and become authorities in pastoral care. However, black women are not far behind. In fact, some have even achieved more.

In history, women have always struggled to gain equality, respect, and the same rights as men. Women had had to endure years of sexism and struggle to get to where we are today. The struggle was even more difficult for women of color because not only were they dealing with issues of sexism, but also racism. Many movements have helped black women during the past centuries to overcome sexism, racism, and adversities that were set against them. History tells us that movements such as the Feminist Movement helped empower all women, but this fact is not totally true. In this paper, I will discuss feminism, the movements, and its "minimal" affects on black women.

Growing up, I always felt ashamed to be black because society had taught me that being black will not get you far. Until this course, I did not realize that I belonged to a community inside a community. After recognizing “what I am”, I began to think about all that goes into a black women not only in America but in the world. Countless “studies” have been