Activism and Academics

The conference entitled "Activism and Academics" consisted of different women speakers and their experiences with just that- Activism and Academics. Each of these women is an educated, accomplished professional. Each of these women is also an activist for many causes of equality, opportunity, and justice. The first speaker was Professor Carol Giardina, who is is a women’s rights activist and has been part of the movement since the 1960s. She is currently part of “Red Stockings” in NYC and focuses on women’s liberation studies. Prof. Giardina mainly spoke about the connection between literature (freedom fighting books) and movements. She claims that books create movements and vise versa- that movements create books. These books needed to be rooted and have evidence from the actual movements and activism it sparks. The next speaker was Dorothy Hodgson, who traveled to South America to do research on women’s studies. There, she interviewed and collaborated with the women and saw how they took action for their cause no matter where they lived, their age, their status, etc. In this, she raised the question “what is an activist?” An activist is anyone who takes a stand and ACTS on it (no matter how small that action is)- it is not enough to just speak on these issues. Next came Vivian Nixon and Professor Patricia Clough. This pair spoke of CLEAR (community leadership education after re-entry), which is an organization that helps people re-enter the community after being incarcerated. These people earn their college degrees and begin careers with the help of mentors. This is a spin-off of an organization, the CCF, that was started especially for women re-entering the community. This was especially interesting because one of the speakers had been a member and is now a leader. She is a great example of the connection between the “academics” and the “activism”.

Kathy Engel and Leslie Cagan spoke about prison, torture and war. They claim that one cannot be a scholar, teacher or learner without being an activist. If one only focuses on the academic, everything they are learning and “doing” is theoretical. Most of the people making decisions about these issues (the higher-ups) are the academics. Though they may know an extensive amount of “theoretical” information, they are NOT the experts on what is actually happening. They should make room to learn from the activists, and then become activists themselves. Dillona Lewis and Professor Mimi Abramoritz spoke specifically on women’s issues in relation to the family. They claim that women have the right to better their situations for themselves and their families. One challenge that poor women face is the welfare laws, which ultimately keep women in a lower position and do not give them the opportunities they may need to break out of the cycle of poverty. Although the speakers addressed women’s issues and the need for “academics and activism”, they interwove other issues of labels, race, gender, age, location, discrimination, oppression, etc. No matter what the issue, there needs to ALWAYS be a connection between academics and activism. This is exactly what we have been talking about all semester- social justice. There are different levels of social justice, like learning, speaking and discussing, but the most authentic and real level to accomplish change is to act- it is the “level 4”- it is the activism. It was comforting to see that even experienced, professional and intelligent women were claiming to have and see the same problems in their work as we do in ours - bridging the content of our classrooms to real life and making it relevant to our students. Ultimately, the goal of our students’ learning it is letting them take a stand and do something that will make the world a better place for them to achieve their goals, no matter who they are.

Oaxaca Teacher Strike

In May of 2006, after a long history of infrastructure problems with the educational system in Oaxaca, Mexico, teachers there decided to go on strike. Although most media there was run by the government and did not support the strike or teachers and did not portray the truth of the situation to the public, one radio station- RADIO PLANTON- did support the teachers and their cause. They explained the situation and had teachers come speak on air. Of course, this did not fair well with the government. The police (run by the government) took over the radio station and arrested those there. This sparked a sort of peaceful revolt by the teachers, mothers, and others in support of their children's education. They began to take over other stations and speak about issues truthfully. They marched and rallied peacefully. However, the government responded violently. The teachers, parents and organizations had been bonded together by the cause, and the government knew that if they pulled apart these groups they could defeat them more easily. They began to tell outright lies about groups to try and do this, but the cause stayed together. The media was showing the public different sides of the argument for the first time. Because of this, the public started to get informed and started to make up their minds on what they thought, instead of the government only telling them one side of the story. People knew things that they had never known before through the media. They would not be satisfied with not knowing again.

This documentary was extremely well made. The story was told in such a way that was truthful, thought provoking and real. It made me feel like i was there. The reason for the documentary was at first to follow the story of the teachers and their struggle to be recognized by the government of Oaxaca. As the documentary continued, it seemed like the focus moved from that toward the media. First how the teachers used it to inform the public, and then how the government had been using the media to stop the public from really knowing the truth about any situation, to trying and suppress thought and opinion of the Oaxacan people. Right after the film, I was annoyed that the documentary went in this direction. I thought that it was another example of how an educational issue was being pushed to the side for another cause. However, the more I thought about it, I realized the media is another form of education. If used the correct way, the media can educate the people of Oaxaca to make their own decisions about their future and what they want to fight for. Also, to gain support for the teachers' cause, the media needs to be in place to support them. So in reality, all of these issues are mingled together. The teachers are still struggling today, but from what I have seen in the documentary of the Oaxacan people and how smart, determined and caring they are, I think they will continue to use the media in a positive way to educate the public on important issues and keep a positive attitude for their cause.