Film: "Stay Woke" and "Mighty Times"
The filmmakers show how the struggle against injustice, inequality, and racial discrimination continues on to this day. The image in the film
Stay Woke that best highlights this continued struggle is the one on the cover of
Time magazine, "America,
1968 2015, What has changed, What hasn't." The film
Mighty Times showed the movement against racial segregation in Birmingham Alabama in 1963. The film
Stay Woke demonstrated why and how the Black Lives Matter movement started in 2015. Both films show how activism can make change happen. The films show how necessary it is to come together, rally, and speak up against injustice and inequality in order for things to change.
In the films, Blacks joined together to fight against segregation in Birmingham Alabama, and police brutality in Ferguson Missouri. In both films Blacks stood up to law enforcement. In the films a form of media was used to get the message out. In
Mighty Times, a popular radio show host helped rally up the children for the marches. In
Stay Woke, social media initiated, and kept the Black Lives Matter movement alive. Both films allowed us to get a glimpse at what these two completely different generations were up against, "The enormity of the problem that the movement is up against." In both films people were fed up with how things were, "I am sick and tired of being sick and tired" and decided to stand up and fight for their freedom and their lives. In
Stay Woke and
Mighty times those speaking up against racial prejudice were the youth in America. These films remind me of something James Baldwin said in
I Am Not Your Negro, he said that when people are continually oppressed, held down and silenced, it is only a matter of time before they revolt.
In the film
Stay Woke, the disturbing images of mistreatment by police of Eric Garner, Michael Brown, and Freddy Gray:
arrest of Freddy Gray, emphasize the need for action against racial injustice and discrimination. In
Mighty Times the mistreatment of Black children by law enforcement showed how necessary the fight against segregation was to the future and safety of an entire generation, "A baseball injury heals, segregation destroys the inside of your mind and your soul, it doesn't heal that easily."
Hello Yanery,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100%. Unfortunately, Minority groups in the US and around the World is still struggling against injustice, and racial discrimination. Thankfully social media placed an important role during these difficult times in Birmingham Alabama. The media showed the world that African Americans, especially children were being oppressed, mistreated. The whites wanted to silenced the black Community, they wanted to keep on segregating the already marginalized poor people. Social media such as Black Tweeter played a crucial part as it showed the world what was really going on in America. The Black lives Matter Movement came to exist simply because in America, there is a great need d and still have a great need to come together and speak up against injustice and inequality. I truly believe that in order to see changes in society, we must make changes to our current laws. Change will happen when community leaders and other people like politicians, members of the government, actors, athletes as well as others unite to fight for what is right, Justice for ALL Mankind!!
Regarding Mighty Times ,documentary Children were the heroes of the 1960s. Social media also played an important part as it was the platform used to delivered the secret messages. Children were the generation that brought the change to their community. Government was forced to change its laws of oppression, racial inequality and marginalization of many communities in the South.
Children who participated in the march did the right thing. Shame on the local law enforcement who did nothing to end discrimination, oppression, isolation of entire communities during the 60s. They took the power to the next level, a level of abuse, separation. Media like television played a key role during the March as it presented disturbing images to the world. Like you stated in your post, the mistreatment of Black Children showed that African Americas needed to get together to fight against abuse and discrimination. Children showed the government that they were more powerful than the authorities were. Evil was defeated by Angels (children)!!
The last quote from your blog is really powerful. "A baseball injury heals, segregation destroys the inside of your mind and your soul, it doesn't heal that easily." The effects of segregation are so much deeper than a physical injury, inequality breaks the heart and scrambles the mind. Sometimes you can see anger and hurt from the outside but a lot of times it builds up within overtime. There are so many social issues of inequity that we have discussed during this course, poverty and segregation based on race or disability, to name a few. These effects are are life altering, how do we give support to those who are already victims of inequalities and how do we make a change so that inequalities no longer exist?
ReplyDeleteI was reminded how media played a major component in both events. Communication is the key in having these movements succeed. Another commonality is that in both films, the people who are out protesting and are making, or at least trying to make, changes are the younger generations. This was evident in "Stay Woke;" when there were attendees at a protest that were not receiving of the words of Al Sharpton, with Jesse Jackson in the background. It is time to pass the baton. Bring in the new. After the 60s, the Civil Rights movement started to lose momentum. Maybe a part of that was because in the film, "I Am Not Your Negro," it states that 1976 was when equality among the races were close, and the gap was closing. What happened? How did we go from 1976 to now? I think about hegemony, and maybe the media and the powerful implemented social services that benefitted African Americans, and new policies were created to appease this group to only have Regan come in and dismantle the good that was happening. I would like to think the #blacklivesmatter movement, is not only here to stay, but will make gains that will not be lost or forgotten with time.
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