Week 9
One point evident from week 9 is that civil rights have happened in waves and steps. When it started, it was not appealing to many. However, with time, over the 20th century, civil rights have become a major issue. It became an issue because people started taking it seriously and questioned why African Americans did not have equal chances as whites in leadership and other social areas. according to the article by Turner (2024), even though 72.4% of African Americans in the US are registered voters, only about 47% of the registered black voters vote. The article shows that even though civil has come a long way, it still has room for growth.
Feminism is another issue that we covered in class and is also covered in the article. According to course material, women’s empowerment has come a long way. Unlike in the past, women can now vote and take positions initially for men. However, from the source, even though women, especially black women, now have rights like the right to vote, they are not using them fully. Many black women do not vote. The author encourages women to use their power to vote to influence the country’s leadership during the coming presidential elections. By discussing the issues that affect people with women who are registered voters, the author hopes that more women will be encouraged to vote.
Another clear point from the article covered in week 9 is that social movements and identities should not be taken as separate. Usually, they are related because they fight oppression. Oppression affects people in various ways that cause the movements to be related. For instance, from the class, we learned that women participated in the civil rights movement and feminist movements at the same time. The civil rights movement helped African Americans and women from all races ensure that their rights were protected and that they were not discriminated against. Turner (2024) discusses African Americans’ involvement in voting. Even though many are registered voters, the fact that many still do not vote means that they remain more disadvantaged than other women. Their failure to vote leads to the leaders not focusing on policies that are favourable to them. Therefore, black women should vote to ensure that their gender and racial minority statuses are not used to discriminate against them.
References
Turner, M. (2024). ‘Power of the Sister Vote Boot Camp’ highlights importance of Black women voting. Retrieved from https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/smart-living/power-of-the-sister-vote-boot-camp-highlights-importance-of-black-women-voting/ar-AA1nN24R