Stay Woke and Mighty Times
Films:
"Stay Woke" a film by Hudson and Houston with executive producer Richard Cohen
"Mighty Times" a documentary directed by Peabody and Laurens Grant
"Stay Woke" and "Mighty Times" are both films that chronicle the protest against unequal rights and actions towards black people. There has been a struggle of oppression faced by black people starting long, long ago. Both films show a movement brought up by anger for an unjust system. "Mighty Times" documents the children's march movement in Birmingham in 1963. Thousands of children were put in jail in just a few days. They were peacefully protesting for their freedom. "Stay Woke" documents the "Black Lives Matter" movement starting in Ferguson in 2015. This movement protests for police to stop killing black people. This movement was greatly influenced by social media.
Neither movement is hateful. They have come about because of black people who are "sick and tired of being sick and tired." They are sick of being treated as less than for years and years. In Birmingham black people were completely segregated from white people. In addition, the conditions of the black areas were much worse than the conditions of the white areas. In Ferguson there were many instances of black people being shot and killed by police officers with no consequences for this violence. In both cases the police were brutal towards the movements. Whether it was hosing down protesters in Birmingham or tear gas in Ferguson the protesters did not have it easy.
I myself cannot imagine being against these protests, which are about the freedom of human beings and the right to live without fear of being killed. One officer in "Stay Woke" states that we should be saying "all lives matter." While I do believe with that all lives matter, I completely disagree with the way this officer meant it. We do not need a movement for "All Lives Matter," because there are lives that are not oppressed by the system. When talking about race, white people do not face the struggles that black people have historically faced. White people had superior spaces in Birmingham and white people are not being shot and killed by police for no reason. I believe that Obama explains why "all lives matter" gets it wrong.
Movements come about because of some injustice that must be fixed. People band together to fight against oppression and unfair treatment. In both of the movements these films capture, the protests attempt to be peaceful. There are always people who stray away from the peace, but the leaders of these movements preach peace. It is inspiring for me to see the amount of people who work together in protest. It is even more inspiring to see the will of young children in protest. These films have made me think about the injustices I see and what I can do.
"Stay Woke" a film by Hudson and Houston with executive producer Richard Cohen
"Mighty Times" a documentary directed by Peabody and Laurens Grant
"Stay Woke" and "Mighty Times" are both films that chronicle the protest against unequal rights and actions towards black people. There has been a struggle of oppression faced by black people starting long, long ago. Both films show a movement brought up by anger for an unjust system. "Mighty Times" documents the children's march movement in Birmingham in 1963. Thousands of children were put in jail in just a few days. They were peacefully protesting for their freedom. "Stay Woke" documents the "Black Lives Matter" movement starting in Ferguson in 2015. This movement protests for police to stop killing black people. This movement was greatly influenced by social media.
Neither movement is hateful. They have come about because of black people who are "sick and tired of being sick and tired." They are sick of being treated as less than for years and years. In Birmingham black people were completely segregated from white people. In addition, the conditions of the black areas were much worse than the conditions of the white areas. In Ferguson there were many instances of black people being shot and killed by police officers with no consequences for this violence. In both cases the police were brutal towards the movements. Whether it was hosing down protesters in Birmingham or tear gas in Ferguson the protesters did not have it easy.
I myself cannot imagine being against these protests, which are about the freedom of human beings and the right to live without fear of being killed. One officer in "Stay Woke" states that we should be saying "all lives matter." While I do believe with that all lives matter, I completely disagree with the way this officer meant it. We do not need a movement for "All Lives Matter," because there are lives that are not oppressed by the system. When talking about race, white people do not face the struggles that black people have historically faced. White people had superior spaces in Birmingham and white people are not being shot and killed by police for no reason. I believe that Obama explains why "all lives matter" gets it wrong.
Movements come about because of some injustice that must be fixed. People band together to fight against oppression and unfair treatment. In both of the movements these films capture, the protests attempt to be peaceful. There are always people who stray away from the peace, but the leaders of these movements preach peace. It is inspiring for me to see the amount of people who work together in protest. It is even more inspiring to see the will of young children in protest. These films have made me think about the injustices I see and what I can do.
Hi Jill. I have to say, I really appreciate your view on these movements. I too believe that standing up for the oppression that these people experience is that right thing to do. However, the escalation of events, on both sides of each movement is what makes it so difficult to continue on as a neutral party. The violence that occurs can scare a lot of people away from defending their actual beliefs. For example, I know that I believe in the movements for justice simply because I can see the wrong in the situations that resulted in death. However, would I go out to the streets and stand against a line of police officers? No.
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