Last blog of the semester, this one is due the Sunday AFTER Thanksgiving (Sunday the 29th)…discuss the significance of each of these pictures in the various civil rights movements of the 20th (and 21st) centuries.
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All the bairns o' Adam 
I like that picture of the sign that says “ A right delayed is a right denied” and also the poster of the transgender woman. I’m assuming, because the one sign is in rainbow colors, it involves the gay rights movement. I lived in California for 8 years. I learned when I was there that the word “tolerance”, to the majority of people there actually means “acceptance of everyone with the exception of those who disagree with us”. It was quite disheartening, but that didn’t mean that I wasn’t blessed by the opportunity to make friends with many people, including those who were gay, lesbian, transsexual and bisexual. I met many who disliked me simply because my race, heritage and income level meant that I was technically part of the status quo, but I met others who proved that not all of the stereotypes are correct. The people I became close with who had different preferences than me weren’t all that different from me and my family, other than what they would be allowed to do if we had been in another state. One of my friends, for example, had a life partner, a husband and 2 kids. You wouldn’t have known those things about them just by looking at them. Their behavior wasn’t anymore promiscuous or misguided than anyone else I knew and their kids were happy. I knew many transgender people, and they functioned just a normally as anyone else I’ve ever known. I personally don’t believe that I have the right or capacity to decide what lifestyle a person should be able to pursue legally. Even if I did, I have seen enough to know that it simply wouldn’t be fair to try and force others to do things the way I do them. I am not a religious person, but I am a believer, which only makes me feel more strongly that these people deserve the same blessings and happiness I have been given in my life, but on their terms. I do believe that we were all perfectly and wonderfully made, even if our design makes some others uncomfortable. I don’t have a source for these thoughts, other than my own life experiences.
The picture on Edmund Pettus Bridge is from “Bloody Sunday”, in 1965. An organized march to raise awareness for the civil rights movement and the shooting death of an innocent protestor lead to over 50 protesters being beaten by police and being subjected to tear gas. The outrage from this lead to more marches, and more support. Although the marchers suffered physically and mentally, Dr, King encouraged them to be patient, which is ultimately what helped them to see their cause through many more stumbling blocks. The Voting Rights Act was ultimately passed, but the movement still goes on today. I have 2 nieces and a nephew who are mixed. They are treated differently by every person they meet, depending on where the person is at in their acceptance of other races. It is incredibly sad, and there is more work to do, but I can’t imagine what life would be like for them if the amount of work that has already been done hadn’t started yet.
The last picture, “Headquarters, National Association Opposed to Women’s Suffrage” is of an “organization formed in New York City in 1911 during a convention of state antisuffrage groups.” These were women who believed that women’s suffrage would effectively reduce women’s roles in their communities, rather than increasing it. In my opinion, most groups who are trying to move forward and obtain equality have small cells within them who tend to hold them back. No one in my family was happy when I joined the Army, because they thought I needed to do what “normal” girls did. The women in my family were especially bent against the idea.
“Selma, Alabama, (Bloody Sunday, March 7, 1965) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed.” Selma, Alabama, (Bloody Sunday, March 7, 1965) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2015.
http://www.blackpast.org/aah/bloody-sunday-selma-alabama-march-7-1965
“National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage (NAOWS) | American Organization.” Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2015.
http://www.britannica.com/topic/National-Association-Opposed-to-Woman-Suffrage
Nice discussion, personal experiences are a valuable way of thinking about the world.
Section 28 was introduced under the Thatcher government in the UK in 1987, becoming law in 1988. This clause banned the teaching of homosexuality as a “normal family relationship” by public authorities, specifically in schools. The legislation was abolished in 2003 under the government of Prime Minister Tony Blair. Although the law is no longer in place, there are still homophobic traces of it remaining in many schools today. The protesters in the photo are from the Gay Pride Parade in 1998, before the law was lifted. The main problem with this law was that it alienated the LGBT community as “not normal” by preventing healthy discussion of homosexuality in schools and other public arenas.
The people in the top left photo are protesting the neglect of the equal protection law towards the LGBT population. The Equal Protection Clause is the 14th Amendment that “prohibits states from denying any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” This clause is usually used to defend an individual who has been denied a right because of their membership to a certain group such as race, sex, religion, or age. The most recent group of people fighting for equality under this clause is members of the LGBT community. While the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects people based on race and sex, but not sexual orientation. These protesters are arguing that the equal protection clause is not being used to protect the rights of the LGBT community as it should be.
The transgender community as represented by the photo in the top right, has recently become the subject of discussion in relation to civil rights. While the lesbian, gay, and bisexual community has made progress with the legalization of gay marriage; the transgender community has been working towards breaking down many cultural barriers and stigmas associated with them.
The photo in the bottom left shows the protesters from the Selma to Montgomery marches. These people were marching for the right to vote. The first time the marchers tried to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge, they were brutally beaten and attacked by state and local law officials. Because of the march and several other peaceful protests led by Martin Luther King Jr., President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This put an end to the horrific Jim Crow laws that kept African Americans from voting in many places in the South.
The photo in the bottom right shows the struggle that women had to go through in order to gain the right to vote. It wasn’t until after WWI that women in America gained the right to vote. When a large portion of the labor force (young, able-bodied men) went off to fight in the war, women had to enter into the workforce in a way they never had before. After the end of the war, women began to push for the right to vote based on the fact that they were the ones that essentially kept industry and the economy going during the war. They started to see that they could work just as hard as men, and therefore deserved the same political rights as them.
Sources:
“Civil Rights.” LII / Legal Information Institute. Cornell University, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2015.
“Equal Protection.” LII / Legal Information Institute. Cornell University, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2015.
“Local Government Act 1988.” Local Government Act 1988. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2015.
Morris, Nigel. “The Return of Section 28: Schools and Academies Practising Homophobic Policy That Was Outlawed under Tony Blair.” The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, 20 Aug. 2013. Web. 27 Nov. 2015.
Pierce, Andrew. “David Cameron Says Sorry over Section 28 Gay Law.” The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 01 July 2009. Web. 27 Nov. 2015.
“The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.” National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2015.
United States. National Park Service. “We Shall Overcome — Selma-to-Montgomery March.” National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2015.
Good discussion.
Various civil rights movements fueled the 20th and 21st centuries across the world. The five photos above mark some of the most influential and impactful movements to date.
The bottom left photo catches a glimpse of the march for civil rights that took place from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. On March 7, 1965, approximately 600 people marched east out of Selma, only getting to the Edmund Pettus Bridge before being forced back into town. Two days later, civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr., led another, more symbolic, march to the same bridge. Unwilling to back down, on Sunday, March 21, around 3,200 marchers set out for Montgomery, Alabama. They walked twelve miles a day, slept in fields, and picked up more marchers along the way. Once they reached the capitol on Thursday, March 25, they had about 25,000 people. This march started a movement that ultimately led to President Lyndon Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Across the photos, in the top right corner, is a campaign released by the government Office of Human Rights of The District of Columbia affirming the rights of its transgender citizens. In small print on the campaign sign it reads, “Discrimination based on gender identity and expression is illegal in the District of Columbia” (I’m a Transgender). The District of Columbia started this movement after watching the success of the LGBT movements throughout the United States.
Similar to this campaign was the quote by Martin Luther King Jr. that reads “A right delayed is a right denied”. In this case, they are using his words to promote the LGBT marriage rights movement in the United States. While the Supreme Court was voting on these issues, signs like this one were present across the nation in order to gain support. The middle photo represents Section 28, a clause that banned the teaching of homosexuality as “normal” in the UK. Officially becoming a law in 1988, it was abolished in 2003 under Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The bottom right photo is of the Headquarters of the National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage, located in Washington D.C. In the United States, the Women’s suffrage movement was geared towards giving women the right to vote. The demand began in the 1840’s and was not nationally approved until 1920. Men often opposed this movement with fear of their status and class would diminish, and many businesses also opposed women’s suffrage. Brewers, distillers, and cotton mills, opposed the movement because they feared that women voters would favor the prohibition of alcoholic beverages and that women voters would support the drive to eliminate child labor. The men who opposed the movement often created organizations like the one pictured above, across the nation.
Citations
Haskel. “C.J. Hooker Middle School Template 3 – Goshen Central School District – Goshen, NY.” C.J. Hooker Middle School. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.
“”I’m a Transgender Woman, and I’m Part of DC”” Osocio. Osocio, 14 Sept. 2012. Web. 25 Nov. 2015.
United States. National Park Service. “We Shall Overcome — Selma-to-Montgomery March.” National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior. Web. 25 Nov. 2015.
“Section 28.” Guardian. Guardian.uk, 2014. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.
Good discussion, especially the part on the civil rights campaign in the US.
Each of the five pictures depicts the struggle for equal civil and political rights throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. The franchise, free speech, consumer discrimination, access to education, employment, and housing are some of the primary features of these movements. Securing legal recognition from their governments and acceptance from society proved to be a slow and challenging process when working through the traditional legal and political channels. Demonstrations and the formation of mass organizations were far more effective at bringing these issues directly to the public, though as a consequence, counter-demonstrations and counter-organizations arose in opposition.
The picture in the bottom-right corner portrays the National Association Opposed to Women’s Suffrage (NAOWS), a group founded by women to counter suffragette sentiment in the United States during the 1910’s. American society revered women as symbols of piety and virtue within the home. Behind the NAOWS movement was the belief that women could contribute more to society independent of the corruptible world of the ballot box and party politics.
The women’s suffrage movement was closely linked to temperance and the belief that women could cleanse society’s ills through obtaining a political presence. The NAOWS insisted that women would lose their civic spirit and adopt the vices of their male counterparts, i.e., alcohol, if suffrage was granted. World War I aided the movement as women went to work in jobs traditionally held by men. Once the 19th amendment was adopted in 1919, the NAOWS disbanded. Though the political landscape was not significantly altered (men continued to dominate public service), the cultural frontiers for women began to expand in the following decade as they participated in mass and consumer cultures and started to enter the white-collar workforce.
Legal recognition, however, doesn’t always guarantee the security of civil and political rights. The fifteenth amendment (passed in 1870) stated that U.S. citizens could not be denied the right to vote on the basis of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” Distinctions between black society and white society continued to develop after the passage of the fifteenth amendment, most notably through Jim Crow laws passed by local governments in the American South. Poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses were adopted, all of which made it difficult for blacks to vote.
The march on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama (bottom-left picture) occurred at the height of the black community’s struggle to assert the right to vote, hoping that Congress would pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Nonviolent demonstrations were effective in grabbing public attention, and in hand, a response from the federal government. Images of defenseless and harmless marchers compelled a reluctant Washington to act. The Supreme Court had already desegregated schools and the federal government had passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 a year earlier, but by going one step further with the Voting Rights Act, federal mechanisms were established that were responsible for monitoring discriminatory practices related to voting throughout the country, giving the 15th amendment the force it needed for effective implementation.
More recently, LBGTQ rights have become tied to the concept of civil rights (refer to top-left image). Critics assert that nonconventional sexualities and forms of gender identification are matters of choice and cannot be compared to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Public opinion on these issues, however, has evolved rapidly. As Obergefell v. Hodges made same-sex marriage the law of the land in the United States, the majority of Americans were in favor of the decision, a sharp swift in sentiment from a decade earlier when many states’ voters had adopted measures that explicitly forbade same-sex measure, even going so far as to prevent LBGTQ couples from adopting children.
Western society typically designates legal advantages to married couples, i.e., tax status, visitation rights, spousal benefits. Couples of non-traditional unions cannot access these benefits if their partnership is not recognized by the state. In more extreme cases, the private activities of homosexuals, and even mentioning them in public contexts, have been targeted. Numerous U.S. states passed anti-sodomy laws until 2003, after the Supreme Court’s Lawrence v. Texas ruling. Actions “promoting homosexuality” by schools or local officials were forbidden in the United Kingdom with the passage of Section 28 in 1988 (right-center image).
But rather than limiting the influence of the LBGTQ community, it can be argued that such policies have only emboldened the movement and strengthened pressures for civil recognition. Voters in Fayetteville adopted an anti-discrimination ordinance after repealing a previous ordinance from a year earlier. Past opposition to such policies often target homosexuals, but have shifted towards the transgender community as public opinion has shifted on the issue of same-sex marriage. A robocall featuring Michelle Duggar voiced concerns of men “using women’s restrooms” to violate women and children – https://soundcloud.com/fayettevilleflyer/michelle-duggar-robocall-fayetteville-anti-discrimination-ordinance
Only thirteen states and the District of Columbia (top-right image) have passed non-discrimination laws related to transgender identity. Multiple cities throughout the country have passed ordinance similar to Fayetteville’s, and with those that have been voted down, as in Houston for example, “bathroom rhetoric” has been effective in mobilizing opposition. To what extent does federal law protect transgender discrimination is becoming the dominant civil rights question in the United States now that same-sex marriage has been legalized. As with the previous civil and political rights movements mentioned earlier, the transgender community is expected to adopt similar tactics, aiming to work through political and judicial outlets, but likely to make its case directly to the public through civil protests and by framing the cause as a civil right, currently unaddressed by our existing legal system.
Excellent discussion. especially on LGBT rights.
These photographs characterize, almost entirely, the civil rights movements of the 20 and 21st centuries in western civilization. This may seem a bold statement, but it is a statement I intend on justifying. I will begin with the photograph pertaining to women’s suffrage, for a reason which will become clear. I will continue dealing with the movements in order of degree of ambiguity of the defined groups, from least to most ambiguous. In fact the latter groups become so difficult to clearly define that one could certainly argue my ordering. Hopefully this makes for a lively discussion or, at the very least, sparks in the reader some thought on the issue of classifying human beings.
Let us begin with the photograph pertaining to women’s suffrage. First, notice the homogeneity of the individuals which are gathered here. They are the same sex, they are all of European descent, and they all are wearing essentially the same hat. Homogeneity, to varying degrees, in the opposition is something which all of the civil rights movements share in common. It is also interesting to note that the photograph seems to indicate that the opposition was open, and proud, of their opposition, another characteristic shared by all the civil rights movements. It does not seem a coincidence that subsequent civil rights movements all have traits in common with the first, women’s suffrage. It also does not seem a coincidence that the civil rights, in particular suffrage, of the largest subaltern group was the first to create unrest. I would also like to point out that up until recently gender was very clearly defined (with obvious exceptions). I posit this is another reason this civil rights movement was among the first in the 20th century. As a quick aside: I find it funny that, according to Encyclopedia Britannica, the National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage (featured in the photograph) believed that “woman suffrage would decrease women’s… ability to effect societal reforms.” Regardless of the reasons, or beliefs of the opposition, women’s suffrage seemed to pave the way for future civil rights movements.
The next photograph I would like to discuss, of the Selma to Montgomery marches, pertains to the civil rights of African-Americans. I would like to discuss this movement next because, although African-Americans and LGBT might be a similar percentage of the population, African-Americans are much more easily identified (more clearly defined) and, I argue, this contributed to the movement’s placement in time. Notice this group is very homogeneous, suggesting the opposition was as well. But I should point out that the homogeneity has decreased. That is, there is now a gender blind opposition. This photograph also implies a large scale, possibly because this movement was emboldened by women’s suffrage. Another thing one might notice is that these people are simply walking, arm in arm, they are not engaging in violent opposition. This sort of nonviolent march would become the bread and butter of civil rights movements.
The next civil rights movement I would like to discuss is the LGBT movement. You can see in two of these photographs people expressing their pride in themselves and desire to be treated equally under the law. Again the opposition was homogeneous, mostly heterosexual people with religious views, but less so. But note that this time, the homogeneity of the disenfranchised group has drastically disintegrated. In fact, their only common ties might be their pride and their species. So it seems there is an inverse relationship of homogeneity of these movements over time. This suggests that there will be a final civil rights movement. Are we seeing the last one now? The contemporary one includes more than one group of individuals and seems willing to include more. Will it be extended to other groups such as polygamists and people with alternative sexual practices, or will we have at least one more movement?
The photograph on the top right, of the transgender woman, nicely ties all the other photographs together and seems to be a culmination of all the previous movements. We have a black transgender woman who is part of our nation’s capital. How are these photographs significant to the civil rights movements of the 20th and 21st centuries? Because, among other things, they seem to fully embody the civil rights movements and reveal the intimate connections between them.
Good discussion.
The photo in the top left corner depicts some individuals protesting over the Equal Protection Clause which is a part of the fourteenth amendment. The clause states that no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of laws. The clause was enacted in 1868 after the Civil War in order to give former slaves the same equal opportunities as white Americans. The Equal Protection Clause has become a very hot topic as of late because states had continued to discriminate against the LGBT community by creating laws, such as the Texas statute that prohibits homosexual sodomy, that violated an individual’s rights. In June of 2015 the Supreme Court used the Equal Protection Clause along with the Due Process Clause to guarantee the marriage of same-sex couples and that these marriages must be recognized in all states and territories.
The photo that is directly to the right of the previous image is a picture of a transgender woman. This photo is part of a campaign in Washington DC to raise awareness of the transgender community. This past summer the transgender community was in the spotlight following the announcement by Caitlyn/Bruce Jenner that she identifies herself as a woman and the announcement by ESPN to give her the Arthur Ash award for courage. As we discussed in class, the future for transgenders to use restrooms or other gender oriented places is up in the air, which hardly makes sense considering the fact that most people can’t even tell if someone is a transgender.
Section 28 is a part of the Local Government Act of 1988 which prohibits that local authority shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality. Because this amendment did not create a criminal offense, there was never any prosecution under the law. It did, however, cause many groups to limit or end their activities. This act was created during the height of the HIV/AIDS outbreak in the 1980’s and was widely accepted by religious organizations in Britain but was also opposed by the homosexual community. The law made it seem like people, mainly children in schools, could be persuaded into homosexuality rather than it happening biologically. Section 28 was finally revoked in 2003.
The bottom photo is a picture of the headquarters for the National Association Opposed to Women’s Suffrage. Women’s struggle to achieve voting rights took nearly 60 years beginning in the 1840’s and finally ended nationally in 1920. The opposition of women’s suffrage was rooted in the fear that it would destabilize the man’s prominent figure in the family and that it would reduce or get rid of special privileges granted to women. Women’s suffrage was also opposed by businessmen fearing that women would vote against their practices.
The final photo shows the Edmund Pettus Bridge where the Selma civil rights incident occurred. Civil Rights protestors organized three peaceful marches from Selma, Alabama to the state’s capital Montgomery. On March 7, 1965 they were met with a violent opposition from the state police once they crossed the county line. Following the incident, President Lyndon B. Johnson had a televised joint session of Congress to pass a bill regrading voting rights. The final march which began on March 21 had the US Army and National Guard escort the marchers peacefully to Montgomery. The march was a historic and critical event of the African American Civil Rights Movement.
Very nice discussion, good analysis of civil rights progress in the US.
The last 20th and 21st centuries has seen its share of movements for equal rights for a variety of groups, from gender to race to lifestyle. Many fight for their rights using the same tactics, marches and rallies, as well as using the past amendments from other equal rights movements to justify the rights that they fight for.
In the world today there are many still fighting for civil rights, the main group being the LGBT community. The top right photo depicts a rally in support for equal rights for the gay community in the United States. The poster in the bottom of the photo reads of the Equal Protection Clause that was a part of the fourteenth amendment in the US Constitution, which may have first been enacted for equal rights based on race, but is now being called upon to justify equal rights for the gay community. Recently, the Supreme Court has passed a law that allows for gay marriage in the US, but there are still many that oppose this ruling and so the fight for this community continues.
Scotland in the twenty-first century overturned Section 28, which was passed for England, Wales, and Scotland. This was one of the first rulings for the Scottish parliament. Section 28 prohibited the promotion of anything related to homosexuality. The middle left photo shows a rally/march in Scotland to overturn the ruling and allow for equality for this community. Scotland would be the first in the UK to overturn the ruling, but would soon be followed by England and Wales, as people fight for their equal rights in their communities.
The transgender community, a part of the LGBT community, recently has faced numerous violent crimes against member of the community. To help promote the transgender community and educate its population, D.C. has launched an anti-discrimination campaign. The top left photo is just one of the many ads that D.C. has placed throughout the city to let its community learn about who some of these people are.
The Women Suffrage movement fought for the right for women to vote, in the early 20th century. The bottom left photo shows the headquarters for the opposition to the movement, they wished to keep the status quo as it was. The National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage believed that the vote isn’t needed, that it would somehow taint them, and women have already made great strides without the vote so they can still continue make strides without it. With the passing of the 19th amendment the NAOWS would lose its battle and disband, for the men voting believed women could and should have the right to vote.
The bottom right photo shows a time of unrest in the US and especially in Selma, Alabama. The Edmund Pettus Bridge was the place of Bloody Sunday, a day when peaceful protesters were violently attack by police while marching for equal rights. This event lit a fire under President Johnson after photos of the bloodshed were circulated in the news, the outrage from the violence led Johnson to send a voting rights bill to Congress in the coming days.
Sources:
“American Woman Suffrage: Dueling Images.” Web. 28 Nov. 2015. http://cjuliansuffrageexhibit.weebly.com/anti-suffrage.html
“DC launches transgender respect campaign.” The Grio. 17 Sept. 2012. Web. 28 Nov. 2015. http://thegrio.com/2012/09/17/d-c-launches-transgender-respect-campaign/#transgender-campaign-16×9
“Section 28 Timeline.” Guardian News. Web. 28 Nov. 2015. http://www.theguardian.com/politics/homeaffairs/page/0,11026,875944,00.html
“Selma to Montgomery March.” NPS. Web. 28 Nov. 2015. http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/civilrights/al4.htm
good discussion, especially on Section 28. A little brief on the rest.
Each of these five pictures represents what people will do to gain equal, civil, and political rights throughout the past and present decades. With the picture in the top left corner dealing with the Equal Protection Clause, it is part of the fourteenth amendment. The clause went into effect in 1868 that states that no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of laws. This has been important in history by the Plessy and Brown case, the voting rights, and gender, disability, and sexual orientation. Sexual orientation and gender is what is shown in the top left picture above. In 1868, it was set in place to give slaves the same opportunities as white Americans at the time. But, while it was active, the LGBT, a group that it is discriminating against, has been violating their rights because of their homosexual sodomy. In 2015, this was now a thing of the past when the Supreme Court used the clause and the Due Process Clause, to allow gay marriages of couples and that all states and territories must acknowledge this clause and allows them to become married.
The photo in the top right is of a transgender woman. I believe that this is to let DC aware that they are living among the community and are people just like everyone else. It is showing that even though she is a transgender, she likes doing the things that everyday people do. This is very relative because of the change that Bruce Jenner changed to be known now as Caitlyn Jenner. She now has her own TV show and shows the struggle and achievement that she has gained and overcame. There are many discussions about the rights they should have as in public restrooms, which is an open topic. Should a transgender girl be able to use the girl’s restroom or should a transgender guy be able to use the men’s restroom? Soon, I feel like the controversy will be solved and figured out to work in both parties favor.
The bottom left photo is of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, which is where the Selma civil rights confrontation occurred. This happened in 1965 and was part of the Montgomery marches that were part of the Voting Rights Movement in Alabama. It was a way for African-American citizens to show their constitutional rights to vote, in defiance of segregationist repression. These marches were part of MLK and his prominent civil right protest during this time.
With the right middle picture, it is Section 28, which is part of the Local Government Act of 1988. This is amendment states that a local authority shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality or promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship. This was repealed in 2000 because no prosecution was ever brought to this provision.
With the bottom right picture, is the headquarters for the National Association Opposed to Women’s Suffrage. This was because women struggled to gain voting rights until the 1920’s. The whole ordeal about this is that men would no longer be the breadwinner of the house or nation. Voting should not have to deal with that at all and men and women should be equal in households. Really, it was that mean were scared that women would take over their jobs and be the main person in the business and other places.
All of these pictures show a great deal of struggle that people went through to get what they thought was right and what was right in the world. They are very historic to very recent in time which shows that movements are happening around the world all the time to get the rights they deserve.
Good discussion, if a bit brief.
The photo on the top right displays an ad for the social progression of Transgendered citizens in America. It portrays a woman who is listing basic amenities of life that she enjoys partaking in and making a statement that she is a part of DC. This movement helps to gain social acceptance for an extreme minority in the American population, as the transgendered population experiences a whole array of difficulties and prejudice from the general population. This movement helps to recognize them as normal citizens in the collective melting pot known as the United States of America.
The photo beneath this represents something along the same lines, as it is a few citizens protesting the creation of section 28. An act that prohibits local authorities from portraying the homosexual and transgendered people in a positive manner (in the U.K). This photo shows the citizens of the U.K taking a progressive stance against the law to help move along the acceptance and open the minds of the general public.
The photo on the bottom right represents a few citizens voting for women’s voting rights. This being something that is a little less relevant (as it happened a while ago in history), shows how a movement like such can be so iconic and be a hallmark in history. It shows the importance of the past and how we have socially progressed as humans to become more accepting for one another. The ignorance of our ancestors is looked back upon as silly and no one would think twice today about a woman’s right to vote. Photos like such need to be remembered as groundbreaking and important and pushed further into the culture of people to remember.
The image on the bottom left shows the civil rights movement of the 60’s particularly in Selma Alabama. This is one of the iconic venues for the civil rights movement as it is the infamous bridge where civil rights protesters were brutally assaulted by the local police for their actions. The whole ordeal went down as a famous point in the movement altogether and to this day is remembered upon as a tragic event that citizens had to overcome to gain social acceptance and progression.
The photo on the top left portrays protesters fighting against the 14’th amendments sexual orientation bias, in the sense that it truly doesn’t represent people of transgender origin. Once again a population of people being misrepresented by the entity which they live in, as well as a general population not fully being accepting of their existence. Most likely all of this stems from theological standpoints rooted deep within cultures since the beginning of mankind. However as we have come to see today, we no longer utilize the use of slaves, nor disprivilege women the same amenities as men (almost).
As a whole we still have some ways to go in creating an equal world for people of all genders, sex and race, but through the remembrance of the past and media that pushes for such progression we may someday achieve that goal.
Nice discussion, good reflections on the historical importance of changing attitudes.
The upper left photo depicts activists in favor of the Equal Protection Clause. The Equal Protection Clause is a part of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, which, among other things, explicitly prohibits states from violating an individual’s rights of due process and equal protection. Therefore, the State and Federal governments’ power to discriminate in their employment practices by treating employees, former employees, or potential employees unequally due to race, religion, membership in a group, or sex. In regards to civil rights movements in the United States, the clause has been used as a basis for cases such as Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, Reed v. Reed in 1971, and Nixon v. Herndon in 1927.
The upper right photo is a part of a 2012 campaign from the Office of Human Rights of the District of Columbia, affirming the rights of its transgendered citizens. One of the first campaigns of its kind, the ads promote respect for the District’s transgender and gender-non-conforming communities, partially in response to an outbreak of anti-trans violence in the city in recent years, and to raise awareness in both the city and nationally. Transgender rights in the United States is still very much a hot-button topic, with only 18 states explicitly prohibiting discrimination against trans people.
The lower left photo is of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. On March 7th, 1965, approximately 600 voting rights marchers were violently attacked on the bridge by law enforcement and county personnel with nightsticks and tear gas. The incident was seen on national television and 16 marchers were hospitalized while another 50 received emergency treatment. The march resumed on Sunday March 21st, with court protection through Federal District Court Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr. The numbers for the second march were much greater, with an initial 3, 200 that grew into 25,000 strong by the time they reached the capitol on Thursday, March 25th. Five months later, US president Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The middle right photo is of protesters opposed to the Section 28 law that affected Wales, England, and Scotland. The law, which was created in 1988 in response to the growing awareness of HIV/AIDs, stated that a local authority “shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality” or “promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship”. The law faced staunch opposition and was finally repealed in 2003.
The lower right photo is of the headquarters of the National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage (NAOWS). The organization was founded in New York City in 1911 during a convention of state anti-suffrage groups, whose members were known colloquially as “anti-suffragettes”. Led by Josephine Dodge, the NAOWS advocated that suffrage for women would decrease women’s work in communities and their ability to effect societal reforms. The group was active on state and federal levels, and established a newsletter, Woman’s Protest, that was a bellwether of anti-suffrage beliefs. The group moved its headquarters to Washington, D. C. in 1918, where it operated all activities until disbandment after the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920, which guaranteed the right to vote to all American women.
Works Cited:
http://finduslaw.com/us-constitution-5th-14th-amendments
https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/14thamendment.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal_Protection_Clause#Voting_rights
http://ohr.dc.gov/
http://www.buzzfeed.com/chrisgeidner/dc-launches-first-in-the-nation-trans-respect-ad-c#.mw0oLEjj9
http://www.nps.gov/semo/learn/historyculture/edmund-winston-pettus-bridge.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_28
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2003/nov/17/uk.gayrights
http://www.britannica.com/topic/National-Association-Opposed-to-Woman-Suffrage
http://www.archives.gov/historical-docs/document.html?doc=13&title.raw=19th+Amendment+to+the+U.S.+Constitution:+Women%27s+Right+to+Vote
Really good discussion, especially of the struggles of the transgender community.
This collage is a group of photos showing various important civil rights movements ranging anywhere from the early 20th to 21st centuries. They cover topics such as LGBTA rights, women voting rights, and black and white equality.
The top left photo shows a group of people/protesters holding signs in front of the Supreme Court of the United States. These signs read “A right delayed is a right denied”. This quote is from Martin Luther King Jr. Although it was originally used to promote equality between black and white people of the United States, here it is being used to promote equal rights between LGBTA people and the rest of what most would consider “traditional” society. Specifically, the protesters are protesting for equal marriage rights between the LGBTA community and the rest of society.
The top right photo is an advertisement released by the United States government office of human rights, in Washington D.C. (District of Columbia). This advertisement shows a transgender individual stating that “I love wandering through Smithsonian museums, eating on H. Street with friends, and going to shows at Howard Theatre” it also states that “I’m a transgender woman and I’m part of DC”. This advertisement is meant to spur support of the transgender community inside of the Washington D.C. area.
The photograph on the middle right shows a group of protesters in 1998 protesting the Section 28 law in the United Kingdom, and supporting LGBT people’s rights. Section 28 was a law that was passed in 1988 which banned local authorities from portraying homosexuality in a positive light. This law became a very important issue for conservative modernizers in the United Kingdom. The law was eventually abolished be the Labour government in 2003.
The photograph on the bottom left is a photograph from the Selma to Montgomery Alabama march. This march took place on March 7, 1965. The march did not make it all the way to Montgomery Alabama. They were stopped at the Edmund Pettus Bridge (where this photograph was taken) and were forced to turn around and go home. This failure caused Martin Luther King Jr. to come to town and organize another march for Sunday March 21, 1965. This march was significantly larger, containing thousands of supporters. They eventually made it to Montgomery Alabama on March 25. This march really put the civil rights movement into motion, eventually leading to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The final photograph on the bottom right is of a group of people standing outside of the Headquarters of the National Association Opposed to Women Suffrage. Women suffrage was a movement started in the 1800s that wanted to give the women the right to vote. This movement continued up until the 1920s, at which point women gained the right to vote in the United States. This movement had many supports and significant opposition (as demonstrated by this photograph). The people that opposed the suffrage movement were generally men who were afraid of losing power and of women passing/voting for laws that would negatively affect men’s interests.
Citations:
“The Fight for Women’s Suffrage.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 29 Nov. 2015.
Geidner, Chris. “DC Launches First-In-The-Nation Trans Respect Ad Campaign.” BuzzFeed. BuzzFeed, 13 Sept. 2012. Web. 29 Nov. 2015.
Pierce, Andrew. “David Cameron Says Sorry over Section 28 Gay Law.” The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 01 July 2009. Web. 29 Nov. 2015.
“Selma to Montgomery March.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2010. Web. 29 Nov. 2015.
Good discussion.
In the top left of the image is depicted a group of protestors on the steps of a capitol building, holding signs which are in favor of equal rights for the LGBT community. The top sign quotes Martin Luther King Jr., an immensely important figure in the African-American Civil Rights Movement, drawing comparisons of the current LGBT movement to the plight of African Americans in the 1950s and ’60s. The second sign displayed by protestors in the image references the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, which provides: “No State shall … deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” However, in 1868, at the time of its ratification, gay rights, particularly gay marriage for instance was entirely inconceivable. Until recently the decision to allow gay marriage was left up to individual states, creating a patchwork of states which allowed, disallowed, annulled or ignored the unions of LGBT couples. Earlier this year, however, the US Supreme Court in a monumental decision upheld that the right to marriage was a fundamental one, protected by the Due Process Clause of the 14th amendment which is linked then to the Equal Protection Clause.
The top right image is cropped from a series of posters which were part of a campaign by the Office of Human Rights of the District of Columbia which sought to affirm the rights of transgendered citizens. The Transgender and Gender Identity Respect Campaign began in 2012 and plastered the city’s bus shelters with posters like the one pictured. A huge issue with the LGBT community is obviously discrimination, often, however those who do discriminate do so out of ignorance, having never (knowingly) encountered a transgendered person. The ad campaign aimed to increase understanding of and respect for the transgender community and decrease instances of discrimination while increasing the reporting of discrimination to the Office of Human Rights. As the OHR alludes, a real roadblock to non-discrimination of transgendered people is a lack of understanding and respect among the non-transgendered community and in order to decrease instances of discrimination against the transgendered, the people at large must be more understanding and far less judgmental.
The picture at center right displays a group of UK marchers, protesting for LGBT rights and calling for the government to “scrap section 28”. In the late 1980s the United Kingdom amended Local Government Act of 1988 to include Section 28 which stated, “(Government) shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality”. This clause effectively denied a section of the populace from learning about their own sexuality or forming support groups within schools to help those LGBT students socialize and cope with discrimination. Largely described as homophobic and offensive some felt as though the law made second-class citizens of the LGBT community. In 2003 after years of discrimination due to the clause, the section was voted out in the commons. The repeal was met with great fanfare among many, LGBT and otherwise, however some conservative leaders have attempted to maintain the spirit of the legislation in the operation of local schools. As recently as 2013, language from the clause was found to be used in as many as 44 schools in the UK.
At bottom right is an image of the headquarters of the National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage. While black Americans officially gained the right to vote in 1870, it wasn’t for fifty more years that the same constitutional right was extended to women with the passing of the 19th Amendment in 1920. The image shows just how organized a group aimed at disenfranchisement of an entire half of the population can be. The fight for women’s suffrage was a long one, gaining momentum in the late 1800s with the formation of the Women’s Loyal National Leagues and later the National American Woman Suffrage Association under the leadership of social reformist and feminist Susan B. Anthony. The reasons stated by the NAOWS to vote “no” were very rarely well founded and often offensively sexist. Some such reasons were: “Because 80% of the women eligible to vote are married and can only double or annul their husband’s vote”, “Because (it would) place the Government under petticoat rule”, and “because it is unwise to risk the good we have for the evil that may occur.” The organization also issued pamphlets with cleaning tips for women stating, “You do not need a ballot to clean your sink spout.” While this ridiculousness went on for decades, women’s suffrage finally won out and we have luckily avoided the “evils” of a petticoat government.
In the final picture, at bottom left, is an image from one of the three Selma-to-Montgomery Marches aimed at securing and upholding African American voting rights. The first march took place on “Bloody Sunday”, March 7, 1965, and got only as far as the Edmund Pettus Bridge where they were set upon by state and local police in what was a vicious attack aimed at breaking the spirit and disillusioning those involved in the march. It is fitting that such violence and stupidity occur at a landmarked named after Edmund Winston Pettus, a Confederate general, U.S. Senator and Grand Dragon of the Alabama Ku Klux Klan. Another march was held, two days later, this time headed by Martin Luther King, Jr., to honor those who had marched in the first demonstration. A final march was held on March 21, starting in Selma with about 3,200 marchers they marched 12 hours a day to reach the Capitol on March 25. During the march their numbers grew from 3,200 to 25,000. It was these marches among other demonstrations like them that forced President Johnson’s hand and in less than five months he had signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Sources:
http://www.npr.org/2015/06/09/413121172/debate-does-the-equal-protection-clause-require-states-to-license-same-sex-marri
http://osocio.org/message/im-a-transgender-women-and-im-part-of-dc/
http://ohr.dc.gov/transrespect
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2003/nov/17/uk.gayrights
http://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2012/11/vote-no-on-womens-suffrage-bizarre-reasons-for-not-letting-women-vote/264639/
http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/civilrights/al4.htm
http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/civilrights/cost.htm
Very nice response, good discussion of all the images. Nice research.
The top left photo shows protesters for LGBTQA rights under the Equal Protection Clause which is displayed in the 14th Amendment. Various civil rights cases used the 14th Amendment to gain equal protection under the law to aid in taking legal measures to prevent discrimination of marginalized groups. The quote, “A right delayed is a right denied,” has true resonances with the LGBTQA equality movement, as with other civil rights movements, in the case where it emphasizes the idea that members of the LGBTQA community do in fact face discrimination, often on a daily basis, where white heterosexuality cisgendered citizens would not face such kind of equivalent discrimination, forming a dissonance between majority awareness and minority awareness. This discrimination can often be felt in daily routine by members of the marginalized group, particularly in rural areas of the United States, not to mention on a global scale. This quote emphasizes one of King’s theories in the civil rights movement: creating white awareness of the marginalization of blacks, and in this case, attempting to create white heterosexual cisgendered awareness of the LGBTQA experience.
However, the top right picture brings up a very poignant discussion in the fight for LGBTQA rights, and that is often times the transgender group may face a unique challenge in integrating into society, particularly due to a lack of public education of gender and sex diversity as well as pronouns. Hence, within the transgender community, pronouns such as “they” may be used to refer to a single person who may not identify as male or female, or where someone may appear to be male, but may be transitioning and prefer the pronoun “she.” This is something that is simply not widely integrated in American culture, and asking someone directly, “what is your prefered gender pronoun” may not occur to some Americans, when only referring to the transgender situation in the U.S.. This series of D.C. advertisements attempts to share and promote awareness of the transgender experience, and tries to normalize the experience to the average viewer who may not understand trans culture. Part of the fight for LGBTQA rights is attempting to educate the general public on the various way in which gender identity and sexual orientation are experienced, perceived, and approached.
Section 28 was created in the U.K. in 1988 and essentially attempted to prevent the normalization of LGBT culture in public spaces, such as schools. This was an attempt to legally suppress LGBT members of society from integration, and perfectly continues on what I have discussed so far: the white heteronormative experience trumped as the majority has forged a world (similar to the concept of white normatively or supremacy) in which the majority sexuality feels as if, due to a realm of majority sexual orientation, that they are able to determine the norm for society as a whole. When we discussed majoritarianism, we mentioned that a disadvantage of this is that it can quickly lead to the marginalization of minority groups. This is why civil rights movements are so important, but take a very long time to find resolution: the uneducated majority must be reduced in size through education, where the political world must also work through their immense bureaucracy to legally protect minority status through various scales (federal, state, local) and justly enforce the law to continue this protection. Section 28 was eventually repealed in 2000 by the Scottish Parliament and officially removed in 2003 across the U.K..
The image in the lower left refers to the march from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery in 1965. The Edmund Pettus Bridge was the site where the event known as Bloody Sunday occurred, where marchers were brutally met with violence by law enforcement. The marchers were later given clearance at the federal level to cross, and continued marching all the way to Montgomery, AL, where they gained numbers up to 25,000. Shortly thereafter, President Lyndon B. Johnson passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which gave African Americans protection in registering to vote. The attacks by law enforcement on the protesters on Bloody Sunday eerily mirror the modern day police brutality between black citizens and white police officers. The events during the Civil Rights movement of the 60’s were very effective at creating legal equality for African Americans, but today, have not prevented African American communities from being subject to systematic oppression and racism nationwide. This includes in realms such as housing, education, health care, justice, political representation (corrupted through the redrawing of unrepresentative districts), and treatment by law enforcement. Dr. King’s movement took the African American movement for equality very far, but today, we still face many, many issues.
The NAOWS or, Nation Association Opposed to Women’s suffrage was an organization formed in 1911 during the women’s suffrage movement of the early 1900’s. The organization formed due to its speculation that allowing women to vote would somehow decrease “women’s work in communities and their ability to affect societal reforms” which is totally outrageous, as enfranchising women would increase their ability to affect and influence social reform. This formation of an organization based on fear is very reflective of the modern case of widespread fear of changed based on lack of education or miseducation that drives opposition groups of civil rights movements. In this case, I would say that the Litany Against Fear says it best, “Fear is the Mind-Killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.”
Sources:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxiv
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/homeaffairs/page/0,11026,875944,00.html
http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/selma-montgomery-march
http://www.britannica.com/topic/National-Association-Opposed-to-Woman-Suffrage
http://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/the-fight-for-womens-suffrage
Excellent discussion.
Where two or more human beings are sharing the same space and communicating with each other, politics are in play, according to political science1. Due to our nature, even where conditions create an overwhelming imperative for a group of people to have internal unity, differences of opinion in terms of how things should be done – otherwise known as politics – will occur. Minorities within minority groups often struggle for recognition with their peers, or divest into opposition groups, and the competition and rancor between sub-groups has often been fierce over the course of history in social movements9. This is a common theme I observe in the five photos above.
Short Description of the Photos:
The upper left photo is of a Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual protest, possibly in 1993 after the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy was enacted, with applicability to the US Military6. The poster refers to the Equal Protection clause of the US Constitution, which, accompanied by concerns over due process, were the central theme in the protest7. If service members were even found to be likely to have homosexual sex, due to admitting that they were homosexual, they could be dishonorably discharged. This was a toned down version of the original bill, which had harsher measures in it.
The photo underneath this was of the march from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery, Alabama, over the Edmund Pettis Bridge, as a part of protests organized by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference led by Martin Luther King. This particular march was in response to the impossible barriers to registration for black voters, effectively disenfranchising them, and also in response to the murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson specifically14.
The photo on the top right is an ad put out by the city of Washington, D.C., “promoting respect for the District’s transgender and gender-non-conforming communities12,” where “discrimination based on gender identity and expression is illegal13.” It is the first type of ad buy of its kind.
Below that is a protest in Manchester, UK in 1988, by the North West Campaign for Lesbian and Gay Equality (NWCLGE), advocating for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender equality, marching against Section 28. Against the background of the onset of the AIDS epidemic and a conservative government in power, an amendment (section 28) to the Local Government Act of 1988 was made, in which local councils in the UK were banned from promoting homosexuality. This led to a large amount of confusion as to what exactly they were banned from doing, leading to fears that providing services to gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender citizens; speech in the populace generally regarding homosexuality; or groups organizing to support LGBT rights could all be conceivably considered a violation of the law8. “Never Going Underground” was the motto of the NWCLGE. Section 28 actually led to a much greater cohesion amongst the various advocacy groups8.
Finally, on the bottom right, this photo is from the early 1900s, circa 1911-1920, when the National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage was active. This organization was started by Josephine Marshall Jewell Dodge, who felt that the backlash from female suffrage might hamper other reforms for women15.
As context, I should state my own views on the subject of rights for non-traditional sexual and gender orientations. I am an Orthodox Jew, and so I observe the Jewish Laws we are able to observe at this point in history, relevant for my particular role in the Jewish community. That means that when the Torah states to not lie with a man as if with a woman, I understand that to mean that I’m directed by God to not have sex with someone of my same gender. However, nowhere in Jewish Law am I told to behave toward those who do carry out such activities in a way that is hostile or to in any way undermine their rights as human beings or as citizens of our country. Rather, I am obligated as a Jew to treat people in a kind, considerate way whenever it is possible to do so, and this of course applies to anyone who is of a nontraditional sexual orientation. If someone has violated the law regarding homosexual relations, that is between they and God, not between myself and them. It is not my role to be judgmental. As a side note, one of my godmothers was a lesbian, and many friends of our family when I was growing up were gay or lesbian, so I have a fair amount of experience with individuals of these two sexual orientations.
Some say that where there is a political struggle, there is inevitably a power struggle inherent within it. Were the women opposing the enfranchisement of women in 1911 representative of the rare exceptions of women who became powerful in that day in age despite their lack of enfranchisement5, such as Josephine Marshall Jewell Dodge mentioned above, who was a member of a wealthy, diplomatic family and attended Vassar College2? Was their opposition related to the desire to maintain the power base they had built? Was this also a struggle, not just politically between two sub-groups, but over power as well? Or how about the public Betty Friedan – Gloria Steinem antagonism? Was it partially about othering or power, or was it just pragmatics and principles?
Of course, rhetoric and linguistic patterns change markedly over the years, but I have to note the term ‘woman suffrage’ and wonder what the male alternative would have been, perhaps ‘man suffrage?’ The messages communicated by language are powerful ones, so perhaps this subtlety is worth pointing out.
The term ‘woman suffrage’ instead of ‘women’s suffrage’ implies an objectification of the female of the species, as if the women themselves who were opposing suffrage for women still regarded themselves as property of their husbands – in other words, objects. If the issue had been relevant specifically to the Jewish community, perhaps the term ‘Jew Suffrage’ might have been used? In that case, we might accuse the speaker of the term of being a ‘self-hating Jew.’ Were these women ‘self-hating women?’
The National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage promoted talking points regarding their movement consistent with the attempt to prevent backtracking in women’s rights generally by pursuing areas more amenable to the popular national consciousness at the time2. Is this similar to the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual movement at the Stonewall riots and elsewhere striving to present a more digestible front to society at large through the exclusion of transgender people from their movement3,4? However, as the photo in the upper left shows, the slogan used by groups calling for Gay rights was a quote from Martin Luther King, that “a right delayed is a right denied.” So can the LGB side of the movement be accused of delaying and therefore denying rights to the transgender movement? Are they othering them? This is a logical question one might ask, and one which, if the answer is in the affirmative, would support the notion that othering behavior is universal, even amongst the downtrodden, and that political and power struggles are universal, even within marginalized groups.
So why is all of this geographical? Significant injustices and events and significant protests as responses to those injustices seem to be a galvanizing element which enables activists in a broad range of social movements to come together and push toward a common goal, and the causes and effects seem to bounce back and forth around the world, across various milieux, as if time-distance decay through improved communication and transportation has had an accelerating effect upon the diffusion of ideas between central hearths of the LGBT rights movements.
For example, the Gay Liberation Front in the UK was formed, amongst others, as a response to the Stonewall riots in New York, and the Stonewall group in the UK was named after them10. Throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, US and UK groups synergized off of each other to attain various legal landmarks. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference which led the march to Montgomery inspired other civil rights movements across the world, and the suffrage movement in the US was inspired by other successful suffrage movements in countries like the UK, as well as by the Civil Rights movement in the US11.
References:
1. Class notes from Israeli Politics and Society (Course at Interdisciplinary Center of Herzliya, Israel), 2006.
2. http://www.britannica.com/biography/Josephine-Marshall-Jewell-Dodge
3. http://www.autostraddle.com/does-the-gay-agenda-have-room-for-transgender-rights-200539/
4. http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/10/15/are-trans-rights-and-gay-rights-still-allies
5. Davidson, Fiona. Class notes from Political Geography (Course at University of Arkansas). Fall, 2015.
6. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0761909.html
7. http://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1246&context=jcl
8. http://lgbthistorymonth.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/1384014531S28Background.pdf
9. Davidson, Fiona. Class notes from Political Geography (Course at University of Arkansas). Fall, 2015.
10. http://www.stonewall.org.uk/about-us/stonewalls-history
11. https://tavaana.org/en/content/1960s-70s-american-feminist-movement-breaking-down-barriers-women
12. http://www.buzzfeed.com/chrisgeidner/dc-launches-first-in-the-nation-trans-respect-ad-c#.vcrxAEzOz
13. http://www.buzzfeed.com/chrisgeidner/dc-launches-first-in-the-nation-trans-respect-ad-c#.vcrxAEzOz
14. http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/selma-montgomery-march
15. http://www.britannica.com/topic/National-Association-Opposed-to-Woman-Suffrage
Excellent, as always. I particularly like your thoughts on why members of a marginalized group would work against their own interests.
Minority rights and identity politics has been a huge issue in the 20th, and into the 21st century. It started with the woman’s suffrage movement, attempting to get women the right to vote. This had a ton of opposition from both men’s groups and even female groups. Eventually women’s suffrage won and they were allowed to vote.
Out of suffrage, and sometimes coupled with, was the civil rights movement of the 60’s. This was spear headed from two different angles. There was Martin Luther King Jr. on the pacifist and non-violent agenda. His counter-part was Malcom X, who led the Nation of Islam. They held a more of a radical agenda and had no issues using violence. Regardless, later in life Malcom X had a change of heart and denounced violent activities, after going on Hajj to Mecca. Martin Luther King’s agenda eventually won out. His methods of non-violent marches and sit-in’s helped to broadcast the horrific acts demonstrated towards African-Americans in the United States. Martin Luther King helped to set the foundation for African-American identity politics, and he can be attributed to many successes within the Civil Rights movement.
Gay identity politics is one of the newer civil rights movements. It was spurred on by several different kinds of events. The Stonewall riots was one of the major catalysts that made gay politics a legitimate thing. Gay people in New York were getting tired of police harassment and eventually took to the streets to demonstrate. Gay identity politics was also helped to be formed during the AID’s epidemic. It demonstrated the homophobia that existed in the country by labeling AID’s as a “gay disease”, which it isn’t. From there it turned into marriage rights, and that became the forward thrust into gay acceptance in America. By pushing for equal marriage rights, the LGBTQ (plus a hundred other letters) was thrust into the spotlight and arguments were made in favor of the community. DOMA, the defense of marriage act, was repealed as was Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, which barred homosexuals from the military. Ultimately in 2015 gay marriage was legalized throughout the entire country.
The next big civil rights movement that has come out of the LGBT, which is the T in the acronym, is the Transgendered movement. I’d personally say the Media and pop-culture has made this more of a relatable thing than it was previously. Take for instance, Orange is the New Black, one of the main characters is a double minority, a black transgendered woman. She has gone on to become a huge spokesperson for the movement. One of the biggest cultural clashes America faces is an imagined “bathroom” complication. There have been many instances of anti-transgendered cases based on allegations of men in the women’s bathrooms. Many cities have passed ordinances that bar the discrimination of people based on gender identity. Michelle Duggar, famously, replied with a robo-call to a whole city. This is an issue not resolved yet, as with most identity issues, but it is definitely the next civil rights movement to be thrust into the fore light.