Thursday, November 26, 2015

Exploration 7- Jessica Stafford

     One thing I learned from watching this documentary is that you are never to young to fight for what you believe in and make a difference in society. Four college students were unhappy with the way they were treated by whites, and with the help of other students they began to fight for change through the sit-ins in Nashville, a greatly segregated city. One quote that stood out to me was what the white kid said when he was describing his reaction to the sit-in. He stated, "I mean, they come in and they sit down and we're not used to them sitting down beside us, because I wasn't raised with them, I never have lived with them and I'm not going to start now." This stood out because it seemed very blunt and negative towards African Americans. This quote also shows how strongly the whites in Nashville complied with segregation. The video shows how successful a small group can be if they work together and encourage others to join them in their fight for change. Rev. C.T. Vivian recalls, "One of the things that stood out in mind, as we walked by a place where there were workers out for the noon hour, white workers and they had never seen anything like this. And here was all the 4,000 people marching down the street, and all you could hear was their feet as we silently moved." This demonstrates the large amount of followers the students got after persevering to make a difference in society.
     This connects to today's society because, although we don't believe it, racial discrimination can still be seen in the present world and people continue to fight for what they believe in. But this issue also extends outside of the idea of discrimination, no matter your age, you should encourage changes that you believe need to be made.
     One effective tactic that was used in the film was boycotting the stores in downtown Nashville. This was effective because of the use of nonviolence a lot of the stores' profits came from people buying Easter outfits but when they stopped shopping at those stores, the merchants were hit hard and realized that they needed to work with the boycotters if they wanted to save their businesses.
    
    

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