ELA Trip Blog

Devon Forrester
Class 810
ELA Trip Blog Post

  After the trip to the Museum of the city of New York, I learned a lot of things about social activism in New York City. For example, I learned about one of the earliest forms of social activism, which was a petition signed by Quakers to allow them to practice their religion in public, although Peter Stuyvesant didn't allow them to. Another thing I learned was how women weren't allowed to vote and how there had been a very long fight to allow them to vote. One thing I found to be surprising was how there are still many fights going on about different topics such as the 9/11 memorial, and bike lanes. Learning that these were examples of social activism made me wonder about other current topics that could be considered as social activism.
  Learning that many religions weren't allowed to practice their religion in public in New Amsterdam  during the Colonial period was very surprising. This was shocking to me, because the 1st amendment includes freedom of religion and people were being persecuted in what later becomes the United States. Also, I felt confused when I saw that social activism takes place in the topic of bike lanes, because I have never noticed anything wrong with bike lanes, which makes me want to research further into the topic. One topic I felt strongly about was segregation in New York City. I felt strongly about this, because I had originally thought that the Jim Crow Laws were only for the South, where there was a higher concentration of slaves. In conclusion, the social activism exhibits conveyed a variety of emotions.