Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Gender Inequality

I was reading the Perman and Taylor readings for today and was suddenly struck by something.  Now I don't consider myself a bra-burning feminist, but I couldn't help but notice that none of people campaigning for civil rights for blacks, made any mention of rights for women.  I know that the fight for women's suffrage would take another war in order to accomplish this.  But when awarding women the right to vote, President Wilson used the service that women did during World War I to justify it.  But what about all of the work that women did during the Civil War?  Without the support of the home front neither side would have had the moral to fight, the South in particular needed this.  So why did it take yet another war where a yet another generation of women endured losing husbands, sons and brothers to slaughter for them to be seen as equals? 

I meant for this blog to be about how the black man failed his white sisters, mothers, wives and daughters but instead I just ranted.  So sorry because I wish that I had answers for my question.  When the State Colored Convention Addresses the People of Alabama with words such as:

"Color can no longer be pleaded for the purpose of curtailing privileges, and every public right, privilege and immunity is enjoyable by every individual member of the public." 

I cannot help but scream, "NO THEY ARE NOT!"  What about the curtailment of privileges based on gender?   I will never truly understand how black men can cry for freedom for themselves and not yet not care about 1/2 the population still being second class citizens.

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