Moses Video

More to Moses

After reading and researching more about Bob Moses I learned a lot about him and his ideology. He wanted blacks of the South and all over the nation learn to vote and go out and actually do it. This was the main goal of his grassroots movements and his whole idea of going door to door. The Freedom Summer he helped organize was all about helping blacks to learn to vote and then registering them to vote so they could take what they learned and actually use it. I learned that he had a specific goal and idea of how blacks could obtain equality and the steps that were necessary to do so. Instead of just having the concept of equality, he wanted blacks to be empowered through voting and then they would become equals. He felt that the main way blacks would become equal and receive equal power was if they had power. Moses knew that this power would come through the ability to vote. My perception changed after more research in that I understood what he was doing. I now could see his vision and how important it and he was. This in turn made me respect Bob Moses even more.

Bob Moses Video

Bob Moses

The historical figure that I am choosing to be re-evaluated in high school text books is Bob Moses. This man was one of the most prominent figures in the Civil Rights movement in Mississippi during the 1960s. He was one of the main leaders and organizers of the grassroots movements to get blacks educated and informed on how to vote and where to go to vote. Without this man such groups as SNCC and COFO may never have reached the level of notoriety that they did accomplish. Also the Civil Rights movement in Mississippi may not have gotten to the attention and may not have been as successful as it was without Bob Moses. This man is important and should be taught more in schools because he was just as important to the Civil Rights movement as other famous figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. Moses also organized major events such as Freedom Summer which was an amazing event that brought blacks and whites together and strengthened the movement tremendously. Bob Moses was played a major role in the Civil Rights movement in several aspects but never received much credit, which is why kids should learn more about him in schools because he is a prominent figure in American history.

Save the Whales Rally

Following Through

Social movements could use social networks as a way of organizing more rallies, marches, protests, and demonstrations as opposed to simply using it as a means of spreading information. Rather than just simply using networks such as Facebook to get your message and word out there, social movement could further and better use these networks as a way to organize actual movements in the public. They could announce when and where to meet and what the plan of the protest will be. By just sending out petitions and occasional reminders to call your senator or something of that sort, social movements are limiting their resources and not utilizing these social networks to their full capacity. The ability to reach people is there through social networks, but they don't set up a foundation for follow-through actions to take place and this is also partly the fault of the social movements as well. To get a full effect of a social movement people can not simply just sign a petition, which movements usually resort to through social networks. These movements could get more follow-through action through the networks by setting up live video chats where people can have discussions and debates. This will help people spread the word while also getting something done beyond just clicking a button.

Social Network Activism

Through Facebook I have experienced several different means of social activism. Many times I have been sent petitions to sign and invitations to join groups for a certain cause. These are the two most common forms of social activism that I have experienced where I have been approached rather than me myself going to join a campaign for an issue I am concerned about. One form of social activism that I participated in that was through the internet was in 10th grade when I helped pass out fliers to help spread the awareness of autism. Other than that I usually ignore most social activist groups or petitions that are sent to me via Facebook. I have signed of few of them online through Facebook such as a petition to legalize marijuana and a petition in November of 2008 to vote no on California's Prop 8. Other than signing these online petitions I didn't follow through on any of them, except for a Save the Whales petition that I signed and then actually attended a rally. The rally was definitely enlightening, but besides listen to people and what they had to say about whale hunting, I didn't feel like I did much for the cause.