Activism is not where you originate from or where you are located, it’s what you do. Activism allows us to make social changes; this can occur in many different ways. It allows us to make a change in the world through political, social, economic, and sometimes even through environmental changes. It’s usually lead by individuals but the majority of the time people gather collectively through social movements. An activist is the principal of a social movement. Activist arouses particular information that impacts individuals and allow them to gather, protest, and make social changes. There are many different types of activism first we have those who “demand solutions to contemporary problems through taking the oppositional stances to mainstream …show more content…
Think of the fight to cure AIDS, cancer research, Alzheimer's research and now healthy life extension. Productively framing, placing and keeping a problem front and center in the mainstream of our culture is hard work, but that education and persuasion unlock purses far and wide. Government money is usually the least of these resources. Far more funding comes from a venture, charitable and corporate concerns. Corporations and venture capitalists see mainstream culture explicitly in terms of needs and markets for future products. If a need is shouted loudly enough, money will be directed to answer that need. Charitable causes answer the same needs and more certainly goes to those needs shouted loudly from the rooftops but through voluntary donations and giving. AIDS funding in the 80s and 90s is one crowning example of a victory for activism and advocacy. In a comparatively short few years, AIDS moved from obscure disease to the center of media attention. There was a close relationship between activists and researchers at that time. The floodgates of research funding opened and AIDS progressed from death sentence to manageable condition for those with access to treatment. Through activism, we, become more aware of current life situations and we make a change for the better with larger groups of people who believe in that we believe …show more content…
Wright Mills, founder of the sociological imagination which means to see things socially and how they interact and influence each other rather than just from our own perspective, emphasizes the importance of seeing the connection between social structure and individual experience. One way in which one can think about this is to recognize how what we often experience as personal troubles, like “not having enough money to pay our bills, are actually public issues”. So how do activist come in to play? it begins with one person, they realize how it is a public issue and want to bring these issues to the government so that there can be a change. Later on you see groups of people that have a similar mindset as the activist and want the issue to be address so they begin to protest, through social media, through the streets, through their jobs etc… and so it becomes not only activism but the sociological imagination itself. A perfect example of a social issue as well would be Colin Kaepernick and his protest on not showing pride to the flag or the country of the United States for the oppression on black people or simply people of color. Of course Kaepernick goes into detail explaining that his protest was in response to the persistent racism and brutality that black people experience, whether its from the police or from the inactions of the government. Kaepernick would be considered a activist who stands up for racial discrimination and just like him there are more like LeBron
There are many issues this world faces such as pollution, car fatalities, not taking care off the world etc.. People try and show their concerns for these issues by starting organisations or having protests and just trying to get people to realise that what they are doing is wrong and that we cant continue to live like this.
While volunteering and advocating for social justice are things that have always been important to me, I would like to become more involved in community movements and advocacy groups that promote gender equity. The article, “Why gender matters in activism: feminism and social justice movements”, by Bhattacharjya et al. (2013), emphasized the importance of community and mutual involvement in working towards gender parity within social movements, concluding that such equality is best achieved when supported by a whole, resulting in unification between males and females in the decision-making
The Progressive Era was the period of reform and social activism from 1895 to 1920, it was an attempt to get rid of all the ills that had penetrated American society during the Gilded age. The Progressives were people who tried to make the life of the average American better, they believed in the ability of humans to create a better world. Industrial capitalism, burgeoning cities, the influx of immigrants, and the depression of the 1890s were some of the sources of the reform impulse of the era. The Progressives were primarily middle class citizens such as doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, businessmen, etc. Many of them were part of the Republican and Democratic parties. They were greatly influenced by the Europeans.The Progressives believed
One of the biggest distinctions between successful activism and unsuccessful activism is how the movement is organized. If the movement is just a group of interconnected people with no system of authority, otherwise known as a network, it is more likely to fail. However an activist initiative that has a system or organization in which some people are ranked above others, also known as a hierarchy, is much more likely to succeed.“Networks are the opposite, in structure and character, of hierarchies. Unlike hierarchies, with their rules and procedures, networks aren’t controlled by a single central authority. Decisions are made through consensus, and the ties that bind people to the group are loose.” (Gladwell 139) The reason networks do not work is because it is very hard to organize anything meaningful without a central authority to oversee it Sure a network can organize a small, low risk event that people can easily participate in, but when it comes to organizing high risk, well thought out protests, networks are almost completely worthless. That’s because high risk events need plenty of planning to carry out, something that a network is unable to do. In order to organize a high risk event, there needs to be someone of authority in charge, who will make the tough calls required to plan something of that magnitude. Networks don’t have this person. There is no person of authority in a network, everyone is virtually an equal. Since there is no person above everyone else, there is also no person who has the responsibility of someone in charge. Meaning that there is no person who will make the difficult decisions needed to successfully organize anything of note. Networks aren’t good at getting important things done. And important things need to get done for any movement to be successful.
Activism varies from individual to individual; one person may simply support front-line activists, another might lead a campaign online, and others might be the front-line activist and participate in high-risk activism. In Malcolm Gladwell’s essay Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted, he stresses the differences between online and traditional activism. Gladwell references multiple sit-ins and other activism campaigns throughout history. Gladwell emphasizes the need for traditional activism over online activism. Although I agree with Gladwell’s claim up to a point, I cannot accept his overall conclusion that activism based on traditional activism with strong ties is more beneficial than online activism with weak ties.
Have you ever heard of the word activism? Or have you ever met an activist? Activism is the policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to bring
The movement changed the landscape of American society and opened it up to excluded groups and gave these groups a model for protest and change. It demonstrated that nonviolent protests and struggle was a viable method of social and cultural change.
Teen activists fight for something they believe in And every teen activist does it in a different way. For example Malala Yousafzai fights for women’s education rights by speaking out for her cause.She began her mission after her education was taken from her. There are other ways to fight for what you believe in. Alex Lin an environmental activist began to take charge when he realized that e-waste is destroying the environment is one of these people who fight in a different way. According to Takepart, Alex takes action to help his cause and does manual labor like collecting E-waste or refurbishing old computers. Although taking action is a great way to solve a problem most teen activists seem to use
Reference.com defines political activism as: “... someone who is involved in the political process for the sake of promoting, impeding or raising awareness of a certain issue or set of issues.” [6] (Political Activism). When political activists get involved in events they care about in large numbers, change is made. A recent a popular example of this was the protests occurring in North Dakota over the pipeline being built on an india preservation site. The protests took place up until December 4th, when the company in charge of the pipeline announced plans to reroute the pipeline due to the protests. The protests not only saved a native american reservation, but also demonstrated to the public the importance of political activism, protest, and standing up for one's
The "Asian American movement" is distinct in that it challenged predominant conceptions of an established identity by creating a new identity for Asians. For many ethnic Asians, the 1960s and 70s were periods of political activism that benefited them greatly. Asian activists banned together, forming a common identity as "Asian Americans." Their organizations and programs provided ethnic groups with political, social, and economic structures that challenged those of white America and set the foreground for the creation of this identity. As "Asian Americans," activists sought to eliminate stereotypes, discrimination, and exclusion that have pervaded throughout their history. Their resistance towards negative representations directed at them manifested in the form of social and political movements.
Teen activism affects the worlds in many ways.Teen activist are believers and are people who want to change the world, and all it takes is to have a passion and fight for it. But some of the most important ones are, Malala Yousafzai affects the world by enforcing women's rights. Second, is Alex Libby fights to stop bullying.
Social justice is the fair and just relation between the individual and society. This is measured by the explicit and tacit terms for the distribution of wealth, opportunities for personal activity and social privileges. In western as well as in Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fulfill their societal roles and receive what was their due from society. Today social justice lies in between the balance of chaos and insanity. In what possible way could law enforcement be viewed as criminals while professional athletes who show no respect to the country that pays them millions of dollars be viewed as political figures and heroes?
By practicing social advocacy and supporting change we have the opportunity to influence social policy, especially within our government and help promote equality, social justice, and ultimately end social injustice. Advocacy gives people the opportunity to learn and become more aware of their own rights and the opportunity to exercise those rights and have a voice on decision that concern their lives.
Awareness springs activism. When one properly learns of a situation that must be alleviated they can now act to reduce the problem. Courses and organizations on women’s and gender issues are most helpful in spreading awareness throughout the land. As more people become educated on the subject, there is a good chance that a percentage of those people will take action.
This summer if you were on social media you heard about the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. The concept was simple, just film yourself dumping a bucket of ice water over your head, challenge your friends to do the same, and donate ten dollars to the ALS Association. Opt out and donate one hundred dollars (Madison). Many Americans did not know what ALS was and by putting this challenge on social media has brought tons awareness to this devastating disease. Activism used to be taking action to bring social change, people in the 1960s used to gather in front of community centers and protest and or speak about their issue or cause. Now even though people still gather together it is much easier to use the internet. Hundreds of social media applications