Oppression In Freedom Riders By Stanley Nelson Jr.

Improved Essays
Oppression Strengthening the Oppressed Oppression has been an ongoing issue since the Native Americans stepped foot onto this land until present day. Back then, Native Americans and shortly after, African-Americans, were discriminated against because of their skin color and the common perception society had of them. Throughout history and even right now, so many groups of people are discriminated against because of their race, sex, religion, and, in the last twenty years or so, sexuality. When someone or a group of people are persecuted in some way, that only strengthens their points as to why they are fighting for their cause, thus strengthening their motives to fight harder. The most prevalent form of oppression throughout the decades has …show more content…
In the early 1400s and perhaps even earlier, the Native Americans came onto this land and as soon as other began to colonize, the Native Americans were called “savages” and kicked out. More commonly known is the oppression towards African-Americans. Slavery began around the 17th century simply because of their race and people perceived them as worthless, dirty, and the thought they needed to be worked to death and suffer. Slavery went on for so long but even when it ended, African-Americans still struggled to be viewed as real citizens. In the film Freedom Riders by Stanley Nelson …show more content…
Beginning around the 1600s, and perhaps even earlier, women were stopped from having an education, a real job, and just an overall voice in their community. This went on up until around 1920 but even years later, and present day, some women are still not paid as much as men, get as good of jobs as men, and generally not given the same opportunities as men. In the poem “Ain’t I A Woman?” by Sojourner Truth she says: “I could work as much and eat as much as a man--when I could get to it--and bear the lash as well and ain 't I a woman?” Truth is saying that women are just as capable of doing the same things as men, yet they are never recognized and praised for it like men are. Back then and even now these false perceptions of women has only birthed women’s suffrage, feminism, and many women activists groups. All these organizations solely working to get women recognized and appreciated past all the negativity they face. On the contrary, in the story, “The Men We Carry In Our Minds” by Scott Russell Sanders, he refers to both men and women stereotypes. Continuing on the topic of women, Sanders says: “It’s if they’re trying to overcome a million years’ worth of evolution in one lifetime.” Meaning that women have so many responsibilities in life such as bearing children, being the wife, providing for herself and other, and on top of that, fight for her rights. But nonetheless, women prove time and

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