Introduction
The Million Women's March was a protest that was organized on October 25, 1997. The march involved half a million people on Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The theme and purpose of the march were family and unity. The full-day march consisted of prayer, music, and inspirational speeches. Family and unity are very important and the march wanted to show that to the world. Also, they wanted to show what it means to be an African American Woman in America. It was hard being an African American woman at that time because of rights and respect. “After the civil war, black women were discriminated against because of their skin color and because they were female.” As America expanded, women of color continued to bear the double burden of racism and sexism” (Doreen Rappaport, 179). The African American women on the march wanted the overall focus to be on their circumstances, trials, achievements, and success. This sought to bring African American women together to fight for equality. In the fight for equality, black women have always been on the front lines. Although their contributions to the Civil Rights and Women's Movements were sometimes overlooked, their strength, resilience, and courage cannot be overstated. Black women have a unique perspective on the intersection of race and gender, as well as their own experiences of oppression. The women featured in this article are linked by an intricate network of activists from several generations. This march led to African Americans having a stronger mindset and growing mentally. The research question for the extended essay is How did the Million Women's March change the mindset of African Americans? This research question is worthy of investigation because it challenges the existing viewpoints and research of this march on African Americans and even others impacted by this movement. The Million Women's March changed the mindset of African Americans in them having self-determination and focusing on family and unity. Important activists were involved and it impacted many African Americans as a whole.
Who was involved and who was impacted by the march
African American women were involved in the march and two important activists organized this march. Phile Chionseu and Asia Coney were the organizers of the Million Women March of 1997. These are both activists. Phile Chionesu is a grassroots activist who organized the march and she is also the chairwoman for the Million Youth March that occurred in 1998. Another important march that is well known is the Million Youth March. The Million Youth March was held by Phile Chinese and it was a peaceful crowd of about 2,000 people that turned out Saturday for the Million Youth March, a controversial march and rally that ended with violence a year ago. Many African Americans looked up to the words of the Chinese. “The success of the march will depend on all of the black women who attend. Something had to happen for black women” (Phile Chinese). The other activist that organized this march is Asia Coney even though she was not well known she was asked to work on the march with Chionseu. Asia Coney has social media to connect with others and is still helping out in the community. She is president of the Resident Advisory Board. The Resident Advisory Board supplies the residents and the PHA with a forum for sharing information about the Agency's Annual Plan. Specifically, African American women and teenage girls were impacted greatly by the march. Much research has shown that 94 of 1,000 African American teenage girls are victims of violent crime. The purpose and mission of the march were for them to have self-determination. Self-determination is the process by which a person controls their own life. The Million Women March was formed in response to the male-only march, the 1997 women-focused event was developed by a team of Philadelphian women. The march was day-long and the program was full of prayer and music and speeches. People still attended the march despite the cold temperature and the light rain that occurred this October. The people wanted to show this important event and support it. The supporters had flags, hats, and buttons with their march logo to show their support. This march changed the mindset of African American women completely. It helped them come together and share their voice and know about their worth. “This is going to be a historical event,”(Wessita McKinley). Wessita McKinely is the spokeswoman for the Washington-Virginia-Maryland organization, to The Associated Press. “They’re just coming to support their sisters, to see what they can do as a collective effort to better ourselves, our race, our families, and our country.”(Wessita McKinely). The attendees of the march knew that it was going to make a big impact and change the lives of many from just seeing the number of people that were there and spreading the word. To give a brief overview of the event of the march, in 1997, two local grassroots activists, Phile Chioneu and Asia Coney, had the bright idea to organize a march to bring attention to the good, the bad, and the ugly issues that black women were facing at the time. The issues that they believed were ignored by mainstream women's organizations. It was a rainy Saturday, and the march was a day-long event that included multiple speeches, performances, and other things by local community organizers and civil rights activists. Now going into the keynote speakers of the march. The first of many keynote speakers, Representative Maxine Waters, a California Democrat who is president of the Congressional Black Caucus spoke on one of her favorite subjects, the proliferation of drugs in America's inner cities. The second featured speaker was Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. She spoke for 20 minutes on the shared history of African and American women. She pays attention to the need to ''conquer the avarice of globalization that threatens our forests, our water and our flora and fauna.''(Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.)
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Why did this march occur in importance?
But Despite having little star power or preparation, the small idea grew into a massive event. “It drew hundreds of thousands of women to Philadelphia, with estimates ranging from 500,000 to 2.1 million”(Jones, Ashley). They marched from the Liberty Bell to the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Despite its unexpected success, the event did not make headlines again until recently, when a grandmother from Hawaii decided to create the Million Dollar Mile. Despite its random success, the event did not come back until recently, when the grandmother from Hawaii decided to organize the Million Woman March in Washington, D.C. the day after the Inauguration. After some complained that the name deviated from the original event in Philadelphia, organizers changed the name of this year's protest march to the Women's March on Washington. The original Million Woman March took over Philadelphia's streets 20 years ago. The million women's March from 2017 was well known more than the million women's March from 1997 that this paper is based on. This march is more of a community action to achieve a certain goal. The 2017 women's march is based on a political action that took place and the women held a march to state their opinion. A million women's March was a march based on women stating their opinion on a matter. This march focuses on African American matters such as being an African American woman in the 1990s. However, history may repeat itself on Saturday, January 21, when an estimated 20,000 people marched down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to fight for women's rights. The march has great importance in history. March protest is a type of protest or demonstration that generally involves a group of people walking from an assembly point to a destination, usually culminating in a political rally, and often evoking a military march or parade. “The march was envisioned and intended to help bring social and economic development and power throughout the black communities of the United States, as well as to bring hope, empowerment, unity, and sisterhood to women, men, and children of African descent globally regardless of nationality, religion, or economic status”(The New York Times). The march was meant to have a positive impact on everyone in the black community and for them to showcase their power. Unity was one of the main keywords for the march. Unity is the state of being united or joined as a whole. The march was not just a gathering of black women, it was much more. “ Their common goal was the rebuilding of black communities. Chionesu and Coney hoped the march would counteract negative images of African American women in popular culture and the media.”( Black Past) Several important people attended the march including Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, former wife of South African President Nelson Mandela, and California Congresswoman Maxine Waters. Their common goal was the rebuilding of black communities, and having self-empowerment and self-pride. Many people said great things about the march including ''It's exhilarating,'' (Laceilia Scott), a 50-year-old secretary from Baltimore County in Maryland. Based on the New York Times, “The rally brought together women from across the country, some wearing jeans and sweatshirts.
General Aim
It was to bring all African American women together to address issues they have and things that interest them. It allowed everyone to take part and share their voice on the issues. Some of these issues included the economic deterioration of African American communities, the importance of nurturing young children in a positive environment, finding a collective voice in politics and the civil rights movement, and strengthening black families. It was important to spread the message about this march to everyone so the people relied on each other, flyers, mainstream media, articles, black-run media, the internet, and their mouths to spread the word. The leaders of the march Chionesu and Coney hoped the march would counteract negative images of African American women in popular culture and the media. Reflecting on the Million Man March, a well-known march that happened two years earlier than the Million Women March. The Million Women's March did not rely on big names or the celebrities of the civil rights movement to fuel attendance. The march was a success and has been considered a ”social phenomenon” due to the way it was organized and how the women came together. ”The Million Women March continues to inspire African-American women across the nation to work for their improvement as well as that of their communities” (Phile Chinese). They wanted to send a message to the world, “send a bold message to our new administration on their first day in office, and to the world that women’s rights are human rights,”. The general aim for the march was unity and family because it is important for people to stick together especially if they have the same opinions and thoughts of something. The march's aim is to demonstrate gender equality, civil rights, and other challenges faced. The march was sought and intended to help bring social development, even economic development, and power throughout the black communities of the United States, as well as to bring hope, empowerment, unity, and sisterhood to women, men, and children of African descent globally regardless of nationality, religion, or economic status.
My thoughts and why I choose this topic
When we were asked to choose a subject for this extended essay. The topic of History came to mind because it is interesting to learn about the past and what happened during past periods. Learning about African American history and what African American women had to go through. In the past, African Americans struggled to let their voices be heard so they used community action to help with that. Such as protests and rallies. Specifically, they used protests, rallies, and marches to connect with others and share their opinions. I am very interested in African American history and the marches so that's why the Million Women March came to mind. Marches have a big importance and they are to achieve specific goals. Protest marches have a big impact on the community and they work. African American rights and marches go back into history, After the civil war, black women were discriminated against because of their skin color and because they were female. Ida B. Wells was one of a growing number of black southern professionals, who experienced Reconstruction's failure to equalize opportunities for blacks, and saw the gradual person of her people's hard-won liberty. She fought against the growth of Jim Crow Laws, Jim Crow Laws promoting segregation by race on public transportation and in schools, public facilities, and restaurants. Choosing to focus on this specific march because, at the time in Philadelphia, this was one of the largest gatherings of women. The march was seen on C-Span news and the organizer Phile Chionseu was seen giving inspirational speeches. Many recordings of the march were shared on media platforms and articles. Many famous African Americans and activists showed up and took part in the march. Despite having only a few months to carry out their plan, many influential Black women attended, including U.S. Representative Maxine Waters, activist and writer Sista Souljah, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Nelson Mandela's former wife. The women held up signs that stated “Black is Beautiful”, “The black man is awake”, and more. Organizers are correlating their mission with the faces of the African Union - an organization of African nations and interested parties dedicated to advancing the agenda of African people and who are planning a women's empowerment action plan. Chionesu explained, 'So what we're about to present is not something we want to be looked at for one day,'(Phile Chionesu). So she wanted this march to continue to spread after one day. The weekend would include a Declaration of Violations rally on Friday at 5th and at Market Street — a 'speak out' protest to draw attention to human rights violations against black women throughout the diaspora throughout history. It is interesting to see what African Americans went through in the 1990s and the change that is happening around the world. Looking at the images it shows that say “Black is Beautiful”, My Black Is Beautiful was created to celebrate and uplift Black culture, but also to challenge the biases associated with Black culture. From the images, the signs also say “Your rise is our rise ”,“ The black man is wide awake”, and “ Rise up woman ”. There were many people there and many African American women sharing their feelings through speeches, music, and sayings.
Overall Reflection on the March
In conclusion, the Million Women's March changed the mindset of African Americans greatly. It encouraged them to be self-empowered and self-determined. The march was focused on African American women but other races were involved and supported the marches. Overall the purpose of this march was for the family and unity of the black community so they can all come together and share their thoughts. Marches are a way to show community action on a topic or thing. Nearly two decades before, the Million Women's March continues to inspire African-American women across the nation for them to work for their own improvement as well as that of their communities. A million women march focused on the discrimination and how badly African American women were treated in the 1900s. It is important to hear the thoughts of the black community and marches are a good way to show the thoughts. The march’s mission was to bring attention to African American women and their voices. This march was seen in many articles including “The New York Times” and articles from Philadelphia. It had gotten a lot of attention. Marches have a huge impact and get lots of attention from many. Other speakers stated that the march would only have a long-term impact if everyone went home and worked in their own communities. 'This will all be for naught if you return to your communities and do not get involved if you do not put petty jealousies aside if you do not continue to organize and mobilize,' (Leona Smith), the president of the National Union of Homeless. This day will be meaningless.' Overall many will say this march from 1997 was a success and changed the mindset of many to this day. (Phile Chinese). “The way this is designed, we will literally be doing various kinds of activities and events for the entire year.” This time, organizers are planning their mission with the heads of the African Union. The African Union is an organization of African nations and stakeholders dedicated to advancing the agenda of African people planning a women's empowerment agenda for 2020. 'So what we're about to present isn't something we want to be looked at for one day,' The Million Woman March reunion is set to take place on a Sunday, beginning at 5th and Market Street, in front of the President's House memorial. Marchers will make their way to Washington Square, also known as 'Congo Square,' where Africans were held and sold as slaves during the colonial era. This march will continue to bless the hearts of many and for people to see the growth of community action. Women’s marches have been going back for decades but this march stands out because so many people attended and it was one of the well-known African American marches. The Million Women's March changed the mindset of African Americans as a whole. It encouraged them to be self-empowered and self-determined. The march was very significant and had lots of positive feedback from the people that were at the march and the people that had witnessed it. During that time in the Philadelphia news articles, a million Women march was everywhere and was popular. Many say that It was formed in response to the million man march which was a male-only march. Every woman gathered for this day-long march to show their support. Many saw how important this women's march is for history and for black women to state what they felt was wrong with society. They sought the sign of unity which we needed to say “Chicagoan Deborah Echols ”.
The power of the Million Man March concept has been duplicated countless times in America and around the globe “Yet in Philadelphia, a small committee of unknown women activists brought together Black women to address the pressing issues of interest to them”.
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