Stay Woke & Mighty Times

Stay Woke & Mighty Times

Watching both of these documentaries you can't help but notice many similarities. Although time has passed these movements have very similar messages. 

The first would be the impact that young people have on these movements. In "Stay Woke", you see young people using the tools available to them to make the the movement come alive. They use social media to broadcast the message. People from all over are aware of what is going on and are able to participate and share their voice. In "Mighty Times", the young people use what was available to them at the time to spread their message, the radio. 

The second similarity I noticed is the violence that is occurring towards black lives in both videos. You see injustice today the same way it was years ago. It makes you realize that although people think "we have come so far", there is still a lot of work to be done to end this violence. 

The next similarity would be the message to restrain from violence. Although understandably not easy when you are being attacked to restrain, both movements wanted their messages to be known that they were peaceful. In "Stay Woke", the few people that were acting outside the expectations for what the movement was were targeted by the media. The media focused on the negatives and blew them up to portray this as a hate group. The message gets misunderstood. As one of the actors speaks about, it is to be expected. Watching "Mighty Times", it is clear why that is expected. 

Both documentaries make you aware that it is just ordinary people fighting for what they believe is right. A quote from "Stay Woke" that stood out to me was "Now that you have become aware, you need to stay aware." It is easy to get caught up in the excitement of protest, what is important is to spread the message after the protests are done. Although it is not still in the headlines and the top stories on the news everyday, it is important to stay aware and do your best to help change and support a movement of equal rights.

As educators we have a job to do and that is to be aware of the world we live in and to teach acceptance to our students. I found the Black Lives Matter Website a helpful tool to educate myself about the movement. Particularly the What We Believe page. It is easy to get caught up in the media and have messages be misinterpreted, which is why it is important to become aware and stay aware. These documentaries show the power of young people, which is why our job is so important to instill these values and inspire change.

 


Comments

  1. UnknownJune 19, 2018 at 5:39 AM

    I enjoyed reading this post. The youth movement is present in many issues in today's society, including the gun debate and immigration as two major issues right now. Unfortunately, if they are not organized they will fade. It was interesting to see the organization form by the end of the BLM documentary. In Mighty Times, the organization was obvious.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Elif SevincJune 19, 2018 at 8:31 PM

    Although the attention to BLM movement seems to have been fading away, it has become a model for organizing and demanding social and political change. It is said that the movement is more policy focused now rather than protesting in the streets.

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