Speaker Series

The Speaker Session stressed on the idea of speaking out and acting on a cause one feels passionate about. Back in her day, students were given less of a voice because those who weren't professionals weren't valued. Even with these differences, she came to the conclusion that our generations were pretty similar because both generations have a certain thing in common: they both brought certain things to the culture of America. This was through different types of music and the spark of the African American rights, Chicano rights, and Asian American rights movements during her generation that affected the education rights, local rights, and national rights. As well, they were the only generation to stop a war with massive relocations. However, our generation sparked its own movement as it was the only generation  to bring such change as it brought Obama, Occupy WallStreet, and Arab Spring.

She also proposed that wherever there is oppression there is resistance. Although a generation may feel that they start a resistance, there were always those who were setting up the resistance. Those who are resisting are standing on the shoulders of those who stood before them and somewhere those resistors have precedent. During her time in SNCC as well as fighting for equal rights she found the importance of lessons from people at the margins for those who are privileged. One of the hardest things she had to face was knowing that going to the South for SNCC and fighting for the Civil Rights Movement had the possibility of killing her future, but her and many others faced with risk because they were just tired of constraints. It showed an important thing: as it all began to reach throughout the country, they had something in common, resistance against constraints. 

During her stay in the South she realized that it was not about the help they gave others, but it was about others teaching them about the real world and as well about themselves if they didn’t complete these tasks for the SNCC cause. They had to remember to be humble and respectful with the idea that “if you have come to help us go home. If you have come to help us because your freedom is intertwined into my freedom then stay.” Therefore, she realized that she would have to learn from these people and go in humbly by going to them instead of them to you. She realized that she had to just keep working until she created a base of people who felt nurtured where she could take the next step and make a social change.