Violence against Civil Rights

Hosing down peaceful protestors, sending in the dogs, police brutality; sounds familiar doesn't it? However I do not believe that we have seen such violence against peaceful protestors since the Civil Rights Movement. Hate is the root of discrimination and hate is what you see when you look at the pictures.

Elizabeth Eckford

I found this image on Wikipedia.

This photo seen in the chapter on the Civil Rights Movement stood out in particular to me. You can see the hatred on the white girls face who is screaming right behind Elizabeth. I have never really understood discrimination and it is absolutely shocking to see such hatred. What really caught my attention was the absolute calmness Elizabeth carries as she walks holding her books, not letting the cameras capture any emotion in response to such hatred.

Violence in Birmingham

I found this image at the Civil Rights Movement Veterans website.

I chose this chapter because I think it is important for todays generation to understand how important equal rights are. My generation was not alive during the Civil Rights Movement and we were not there to see the violence against colored people who simply wanted the right to vote. This is a right we all have; we cannot imagine having to fight for this. Although voting rights were given to African Americans after the civil war, most African Americans were denied this right by things such as poll taxes and the grandfather clause.

This chapter is also extremely important because it really emphasizes the impact that television had on Americans. A picture is worth a thousand words and it is the images that were shown at the time that really spoke to the people. 

Violence during the Civil Rights Movement

This image can be found at http://www.euro-webonline.com/world_cultures/images/civil_rights.jpg

Violence during the Occupy Wall Street Movement

I found this image on the ABC News website.

These two images look eerily similar. The police force is responding to the Occupy Wall Street Movement in almost the exact same way as they did to the Civil Rights Movement. It is the looks on the faces of the observers that really get me. The look of complete indifference, or perhaps even interest is utterly shocking! When are they going to learn that violence is not the answer? It wasn't the answer back then, and it isn't the answer today!!

Rosie the Riveter: an image that changed minds.

We have all seen this image: in textbooks, in magazines, maybe even in our own homes. She is Rosie the Riveter and this one photograph changed the American citizens' minds of what a woman should be doing during World War 2. This is a photo that changed biases about the woman's role during the time.

Rosie the Riveter

This photograph was taken from Wikipedia.

I chose this chapter because I believe that the Rosie image is important, especially for women, to how society views a working woman. Even when I was a child many of my friends moms were stay at home moms. My mother never was and never had any interest in being a stay at home mom. She was a role model; not only did she work full-time as an RN at Westchester Medical Center, but she also went to school full-time at Mercy College. All of this on top of taking care of two daughters. But, the working woman wasn't always allowed. At one point in time this was a taboo.

A typical housewife

This photo was taken from flickrCC.

Newspapers, Magazines, Radio shows, etc. took Rosie the Riveter and used her image, plus many more, to get women out into the workforce. The government used Rosie the Riveter as propaganda to fill jobs in order to help the war effort. I believe that the Rosie image is one of the most famous images of all time that had such an impact on changing how we viewed working women during that time.



NOH8

 Photo taken from the NOH8 Website.

Today there are many images that come with a message. My personal favorite is the NOH8 campaign. With duct tape across the mouth and NOH8 written on the cheek, the message is clear. The NOH8 campaign is a photographic silent protest that began in direct response to the passing of Proposition 8 in California which amended the state constitution to ban gay marriage. There are thousands of faces to choose from on the NOH8 website, from celebrities to common citizens. I chose the Kardashian sisters because out of the "familiar faces" the three of them are someone that most people would immediately recognize. I also chose this particular photo because they are depicting the Speak no evil, See no evil, Hear no evil statement. You may not be a Kardashian fan, but when it comes to standing up for a cause they believe in, they do it well.



Meghan McCain

 Taken from NOH8 Website.

Another face on the website is that of Meghan McCain, Republican Senator John McCain's daughter. I love the irony in this picture because she is holding the elephant (the symbol of the Republican party) and is supporting gay marriage at the same time. 

The NOH8 Campaign has gained many supporters over the past few years, however it has not had the same impact as Rosie the Riveter. Rosie the Riveter was being backed by the U.S. government and was featured all over the media. However, I believe both images have a similar goal: to change minds and break biases. If there was a bias you could break using an image, what would it be?

Sowing the Seeds of Revolution

"Revolutions don't occur because of logic. They require passion, and this emotional element was brought to the movement by a group of radical visionaries fully aware of the power of the press." (pg. 8) Revolutionary ideas are spread by word of mouth along with written word of the press passing ideas from one another, stirring the fire.

I chose Sowing the Seeds of Revolution because I was moved by the words and ideas given in this chapter. In order to truly care about what you are reading you must have an emotional attachment, you must be moved by what the writer is saying. Currently, in the year 2011, we are undergoing a modern day revolution: Occupy Wall Street.




Occupy Poster

Photo provided by Dustin B on Occupy Together website.


Occupy Wall Street started on September 17, 2011. It is a "leaderless" resistance movement that is currently happening all around the world. The movement is the 99% who have had enough of consumerism. The 99% who are standing up against the 1% of the population that hold most of the nations wealth. The 1% that control most businesses and corporations throughout the nation.




Persistance of Ideas

 A protester at the Occupy Wall Street movement. Taken from flickercc.


If you are interested in joining the Occupy Movement you can go to the website.

How to occupy

Thomas Paine historical sign

Photo provided by http://www.ushistory.org/paine/


Thomas Paine's Common Sense

I think that the revolutionists talked about in chapter one would be proud of the movement going on today. One of the most notable revolutionists, in my opinion, was Thomas Paine. Chapter one talks about Thomas Paine's pamphlet Common Sense and about how passionate he was about his cause. "Its message has been credited with transforming thousands of mildly disillusioned colonists into defiant rebels fully prepared to fight for a utopian new world." (Pg. 17) This is exactly what is going on today, messages are being sent around the world. Those who are sitting on the sidelines are being pulled into the movement and demanding change. It amazes me how a single idea can change the world.