Reminiscence on being freedom's daughters...

When we think of leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, we think of Fredrick Douglass, Martin Luther King Jr., Jesse Jackson, or Malcolm X. But what about the other half that demonstrated leadership which eventually lead to an infamous, life-changing bus boycott, anti-lynching crusades, establishing schools, voting rights, etc.

After reading Freedom's daughters: the unsung heroines of the civil rights movement, I learned that women like Mary Church Terrell and Irene West who were well into their 70s and 80s both made a difference, whether it be in a big or small way. No matter the age or circumstance, women like Ida B. Wells and Rosa Parks stepped out of their comfort zone and contributed their great efforts to the movement. Those that boycotted the bus and walked the walk made a difference by demonstrating through unpredictable weather and unpredictable reactions.

Women like Harriet Tubman who risked their lives every day at the battlefront in order to bring freedom and equality to others are the heroes that need recognition. Even women like Eleanor Roosevelt were certainly allies of the movement and each had their own idea of what had to be done in order to improve women’s civil rights.

It’s important to note these women did what they did for many reasons, one of which is because we still live in a hierarchal, dominating society. Without the works of those that lead the battle of racism, sexism, and the many other -isms out there, we'd remain marginalized, even more so than today.

Men, women, and children alike need to know what our foremothers did to contribute to where we are today. Although conflicts still exist, it’s nowhere near the conflicts that were once between the white mistresses and black female slaves. White mistresses lived in fear of their husbands. When black female slaves were raped by the white husband, the wife couldn' do anything but pretend like everything was okay. Any questioning would be out of the question. Those who were raped would have to face being a victim and face the perpetrator everyday.

When we speak of history, we usually talk about events like it is done and over. It is as if the problems are solved now. But there still is a clash between women and men, black women and white women, liberals and conservatives, homophobes and LGBTQ, and the list goes on.
When men remained silent, Rosa Parks stood her ground in the front of the bus and changed history. While Franklin D. Roosevelt was afraid to speak out about racism, Eleanor Roosevelt was active in the NAACP and was open to talk about civil rights.

Are there still freedom daughters today? Those that act as "bridge women?" I think so because there is still work to be done. I have friends who are currently freedom daughters. My friends who are working to hard to be in politics to make changes legislatively, my friends who encourage me to continue standing up for myself as an Asian-American women, my friends who tell me I have options for my future because I’m driven, and my friends who support me through thick and thin. These are my freedom daughters.

My way of being a freedom daughter is to lead people to be more socially conscious by bringing up new and interesting points up and correcting derogatory terms. Using my radio show to expose socially conscious music and talking about current events is another way that I can be a freedom daughter. Although my work isn’t as radically activist as some, I think a little work can still go a long ways.

So how can you be a freedom daughter or son?