Introduction to Activism Throughout History
The prospect of violence being used as a way of protest is thought to be absurd to most but many activists see it as a way to gain their rights and make a change. An activist is a vigorous advocate of a cause, more commonly a political cause. Activists use means of peace and violence to gain their rights or change something they do not agree on. Activists use protesting in order to gain the attention and support they need in order to make a change. Many activists choose the violent approach as a way of gaining attention in order to make change. This approach involves disrupting the community and attacking people such as police officers or people who do not agree with the change attempting to be made. While many activists may choose the violent approach there are still many who choose to not use violence and make the change they feel that they knew they required.
Socio-economic human rights activists are people who fight for rights such as the right to education, right to housing, right to adequate standard of living, right to health and the right to science and culture. An example of this type of activism is the stop and frisk activists who protest the law allowing NYPD to randomly stop and frisk any suspicious looking individual. NYPD officers are taking this inch of power they were given by their commissioner and running a mile with it.
Women’s rights activists are people, not always women, who make an effort to secure equal rights for women and to remove gender discrimination from laws, institutions and behavioral patterns. They fight for rights that promote a position of legal and social equality of women with men. Olympe de Gouges (7 May 1748 – 3 November 1793) was one of many women who fought on a daily basis for women to have rights equal to that of a man. She died fighting for her rights.
Gay rights activists are people who campaign for LGBT rights and equality. Many activists fight for the right to marry. While many places in the world today have recognized same-sex marriage and made it legal, others do not see things the same way. They believe that same-sex marriage is unconstitutional and many places alike have banned the marriage of two people of the same sex. In some societies homosexuality is criminalized still to this day. Hudson Taylor is one of the many athletes who is a straight ally and fights for gay rights and equality.
In this essay I will be speaking about the history of activism from the perspective of individual activists who aren't involved in political affairs. John Tosh, a British historian, wrote a book The Pursuit of History in which he writes about the history not usually mentioned in a text book due to it being told from the point of view of a person whom has nothing to do with politics. He writes about how historians write about “the role of economic factors in historical events” and how history can “contribute to an understanding of the development of society itself” (Tosh). Tosh goes on to explain how political history is “conventionally defined as the study of all those aspects of the past that have to do with the formal organization of power in society” (Tosh). Tosh speaks about his opinion on descriptions of historical events about one person and how he is okay with it. I on the other hand disagree and feel that history cannot be spoken and written about based on one person because everyone has a different opinion and perspective on matters of the events being spoken about.
Stop and Frisk
How would you feel if a person entrusted with keeping you safe used brute force for no reason and hurt you? Well, that is what cops are doing to innocent people every day. Stop and Frisk is the law giving cops the right to stop you at any given time and frisk. Police officers have been using force on innocent people without any reason other than they fit the description of a suspicious person. This race-based choosing of whom to stop and frisk is another issue activists are fighting to stop. Activists are meeting and making plans to stop this abuse of power. Change is possible with few consequences to your own calm character.
In a vast majority of recorded stops officers named a reason other than fitting the description of a suspect as being the reason (“Stop and Frisk facts”). Ninety percent of the people stopped were neither arrested nor given a summons (“Stop and Frisk facts”). Not only are officers using unnecessary force but they are also racially profiling people. Officers are stopping several people every day and the majority of the people being stopped are young minorities. young minorities are being stopped so often its as if being a young minority automatically makes you a criminal. Many activists are taking non violent approaches to changing this for the better.
Activists have created something they are sure will help put an end to this abuse of power. Stop and frisk watch is a free app that allows users to monitor police activity and hold the law accountable for unlawful and improper stop and frisk. The app allows users to record an incident in which an officer stopped a person for no reason and/or used unnecessary force. The video will be sent to the NYCLU along with a statement written by you (“stop and frisk watch app”). This app is only one of activists’ tactics to end improper stop and frisk. I believe that this app will have success as long as the app/play store does not get rid of it because in this day and age technology means everything to people. You can never go a full day without seeing people everywhere checking their phones, listening to music, talking/texting, playing games, posting and watching videos, taking pictures and so on. People are always out and about and somewhere on their person there is an electronic device. This app is giving civilians the chance to make a change without having to resort to violence. This is not the only thing activists are doing to make a change.
In October 2012 around 161st street, a group of activists projected a slide show full of statistics about Stop and Frisk onto the side of a 29-story public housing tower. The statistics were gathered from a survey of 1,000 concourse-area residents. The surveys found that not only were there nearly 4,000 stops in a 40-square block but most respondents had been stopped often for causes they considered to be “bogus and under conditions they found degrading.” The survey also found that sixty seven percent of the survey takers had been stopped and half of the stops involved some physical force ("Stop-and-Frisk Data Projected Onto Bronx Buildings."). The point of this projection was to show people what the NYPD is doing wrong and why it has to stop. This is another tactic that is also successful in gaining supporters to help end improper stop and frisk. While stop and frisk is a great idea in order to keep New Yorkers safe. Police officers are taking advantage of this privilege to stop any suspicious looking civilian and frisk them briefly and with discretion. This policy often makes civilians feel alienated from the rest of their community just for the simple fact that they are young and colored. Activists are showing these surveys and projections to make people more aware of the issues going on around them and in their community without using violence.
While some people may feel that this abuse of power may never end, with all the effort these activists are showing, change is possible but the only way to assure their success is to gain even more supporters and that requires us as New Yorkers to step up and help the change come faster. Making the change will not be easy but it can be done and without violence as shown by stop and frisk activists.
Olympe De Gouges
Olympe de Gouges took a different approach to activism and used her plays to make a point. Olympe de Gouges was a French activist during the french revolution in the eighteenth century. She dreamed of becoming a famous playwright in Paris yet faced many challenges due to the fact that she was a woman. Women had no rights at this time and were seen as inferior beings to men. Men believed that women did not have the intelligence to participate in politics. Olympe decided to fight for women's rights in order to make a change the world desperately needed without adding violence into her agenda.
The National Assembly, an elected legislature in various countries, wrote a document entitled The Declaration of the Rights of Man which defines the individual and altogether rights of all people as universal. This document was thought to only pertain to men due to the name, thus prompting Olympe to counter the document with her own pamphlet, which she titled The declaration of the rights of women. She used this nonviolent action to gain the attention of the people high up in politics, which she did.
The Declaration of the Rights of Women had a set of rights to parallel those written in the rights of man. This was her way of criticizing the National Assembly for forgetting to include rights intended for women. The pamphlet was addressed to the queen, Marie Antoinette where she also warned the queen that if she did not work for the revolution she would risk destroying the monarchy altogether (“olympe de gouges”). Olympe felt that this pamphlet was another push in the right direction to gain equal rights for women.
Women today have the same rights and consequences for wrongdoings as men but many would say that this was no thanks to Olympe de Gouges. Before Olympe could make the changes that she wanted to make to society she was executed for going against the king and his set laws. I on the other hand feel that while Olympe was still alive she made enough of a fuss to gain the attention of French women and men everywhere. Without Olympe’s insistence on equal rights for men and women people who agreed with her wouldn't have had the courage or “fame” to be noticed and make a change.
Olympe de gouges made women’s rights what they are today by risking her life to make the change she felt was necessary and in the process gain political attention. She helped to bring women everywhere together to make a change in society. She took the non-violent approach and made a change even after her death and that is why she should always be remembered as the woman who made a change.
Hudson Taylor
Hudson Taylor, A Former wrestler at the University Of Maryland College Park where he earned the most pins and the most wins in the history of collegiate wrestling, is now not only a wrestling coach at Columbia University but the founding executive director of Athlete Ally. Taylor uses this organization as a way to educate those who would like to know more about the LGBT community and its history. Hudson uses several nonviolent approaches to helping to make LGBT feel accepted in the sports industry.
Hudson Taylor witnessed several different forms of abuse towards homosexuals having played sports all his life. "It's tough being a college athlete," Taylor says. "Guys like to bring each other down and use hurtful words. But I think you need to be conscious of your thoughts, words and actions.” When entering college he majored in interactive performance arts and befriended several gay people. Throughout his years in college Hudson noticed that the gay community was more accepted in his interactive performance arts class as opposed to in collegiate sports. This realization shows how stereotypes and media have influenced many people, whether it is for them to feel like they should not do a certain thing because of their sexuality or that one person should bully another because of their sexuality thus making them feel alienated from a sport. Taylor decided that he would break stereotypes and be accepting of all despite his strict Christian upbringing. Taylor managed to make a change by simply making approaching the situation from a non-violent point.
It was not until he started wearing a sticker promoting equality that he gained attention from the media and an adverse reaction from his peers. When he began blogging about homophobia in collegiate sports he started to receive several hundreds of emails from closeted athletes not only giving him praise but suggestions for his blog and questions relating to lgbt history and gaining confidence. He had emails prompting him to do something bigger than the blog he wrote, something that could make a bigger splash in sports media, especially wrestling.
The more emails he got, the more reason he had to create Athlete Ally. This is a non-profit organization that has gained media attention and supporters not in sports. To go along with the supporters of Athlete Ally Hudson has also attracted the support and allyship of athletes from football players to gymnasts. Athlete Ally currently has over one hundred athlete allies and a good amount of those allies are straight.
Hudson Taylor took a non-violent approach to changing collegiate sports and the views on gay people participating. His initial approach was silent and just a sticker on his helmet but the more attention he gained from simply wearing a sticker the more he felt he could do thus bringing athlete ally into the picture. Hudson Taylor is a prime example of an activist who used a non-violent approach as his way of trying to make change.
Conclusion
Stop and frisk activists have taken every approach possible make a change and what they didn't do was given up. Olympe de Gouges, despite dying before she could see a change never gave up and in the end gave her life for a cause she was so passionate about. Hudson Taylor still to this day is gaining more and more pro allies and recognition in the LGBTQ community. All it takes to make a change in the world is dedication and perseverance. What may seem like a small and unimportant change to you may mean a lot to someone else and could change their whole world for the better.
Works Cited
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