What began as a simple Facebook post quickly turned into one of America’s largest demonstrations. The Women’s March On Washington—a gathering of hundreds of thousands of people in Washington D.C., nationwide, and around the world—occurred on Saturday after the inauguration of the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump. The ralliers came with a clear message to send to President Trump and the new administration about the rights of women and other civil rights matters. This march, although labeled “Women’s March…,” was very diverse and featured individuals from many walks of life, people of different races and ethnicities, different sexual orientations, different backgrounds, varying ages, from children to adults, all coming together as one collective voice. This outcome is from the unfaltering efforts of Linda Sarsour, Carmen Perez, and Tamika Mallory, the forerunners of the protest.

Here is their mission statement: “We stand together in solidarity with our partners and children for the protection of our rights, our safety, our health, and our families – recognizing that our vibrant and diverse communities are the strength of our country.”

Politicians, activists, and celebrities alike, spoke at the event on Saturday expressing their strong feelings of opposition towards this new administration. Many ralliers at the march believe that there was an unpleasant, unwelcoming attitude against women during the previous election. Several vocal participants didn’t feel like their voices were heard and that issues they felt deeply about weren’t being addressed accordingly. Protesters fear that women’s rights and other civil rights are in danger under a Donald Trump presidency. Some of those rights accommodate reproductive rights, immigrant rights, LGBTQIA rights, workers rights, etc. Many pink hats were worn in response to the misogyny and sexism that played a role in Trump’s Presidential campaign with the motive to “make a unique collective visual statement which will help activists be better heard.”

From their website: “Women’s rights are human rights, regardless of a woman’s race, ethnicity, religion, immigration status, sexual identity, gender expression, economic status, age or disability.”

https://www.womensmarch.com/

Hi, for this blog prompt I wanted to address an issue that lingers my mind in my day-to-day routine. That issue is the police brutality, more particularly regarding black individuals. This is a problem that spans across the entire nation. Occasionally, there would be a news article reporting on the death of an individual by the cause of excessive force by the police. Often times I’d think to myself, “that was unnecessary” or “this could have been avoided.” And yes I do believe that a majority of these reports wouldn’t exist if *people were more careful and less confrontational.

As a young African-American man, there has never been a time where I had felt like I wouldn’t be negatively impacted by the stereotypes that are ingrained into our society by the media. In the portrayal of black people (particularly black men) in media, we’re often represented as thugs, drug addicts, and gang members. Certainly, there are individuals who are involved in these kinds of activities, but these individuals do not represent the group as a whole.

I’d also like to mention that there are a great number police officers out there who do their job accordingly. These officers risk so much every day for their citizens who may otherwise take them for granted. Unfortunately, these people have also been overshadowed by the actions of a smaller group of officers who take the spotlight, clouding our perception of the very people who are sworn to protect us. There are corrupted police officers out there who are prejudiced and racially profile individuals. They can outright abuse their authority as police through intimidation and excessive force.

The constant news reports of brutality from police can be angering to some and be desensitizing to others. Movements such as Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter have formed as a result to end the conflict, but fear has been instilled in the minds of many people involved whether cop or civilian and I worry that a stream of bitterness and hate will ensue between these two groups. In my opinion, think people ought to just learn to love each other unconditionally. Ideally, with that love coming to a mutual understanding, then there wouldn’t be any judgment based on the color of your skin or whether your wear a badge.

I’ll leave off with this quote: “Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress.” -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

*Note: the post’s headline says “…Tips For Black Men…”, but I honestly think this could be beneficial to anyone.

Greetings everyone! My full name is Emmanuel Matthew Clark. I’m currently 18 years young, and I’m a student here at Georgia State Perimeter College. I was born here in Georgia and pretty much lived here in the greater Atlanta area my whole life. I’m a Computer Science major, and I chose this route because I’ve always been fascinated by technology and its advancements through innovation. While I’m still not exactly sure what career choice I should make in the near future, I’m confident that whatever I decide on that it’s going to be something I love with a passion.

I chose to continue my education here at Perimeter because of its affordability and convenience. One thing I can appreciate about this campus other than distance is its sheer diversity. With that in mind, I’m totally looking forward working with and getting to know my classmates. I was never really much of a writer nor the type of guy to record my thoughts in a journal, so I feel like I’m encroaching on some unfamiliar territory here. On top of that, it has been quite some time since I’ve taken any English related course so bear with me. All-in-all, I’m excited to be here, and I’m looking forward to learning in this class.

Welcome to your brand new blog at sites@gsu.edu!

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