For the Greater Good

Retell

Lily's Big Day
Gail Collins

Gail Collins piece tells of women who went up against big businesses, unions and laws to start to change the way women are treated and paid in the work places.  These women dealt with long hard fights that were trying and tiring for themselves and their families. 

Lily Ledbetter worked in a tire factory as a plant supervisor.  As she was getting close to her retirement, someone showed her how much more money men doing the same job were making.  She went to court to fight.  She lost in a 5-4 decision in the Supreme Court.  However, in fighting for what is right, Gail Collins says, "She's now part of a long line of working women who went to court and changed a little bit of the world in fights that often brought them minimal personal benefit." (Rosenblum and Travis, 2012, p. 489)

Collins briefly discusses other women's journey to equality with men.  Eulalie Cooper, a flight attendant who was fired for being married. Patricia Lorance, a factory worker who found out the union and her employer " . . . secretly agreed to new seniority rules that discriminated against the women who had been promoted in the post-Civil Rights Act era of the 1970s." (Rosenblum and Travis, 2012, p. 489) And, Lorena Weeks, who helped change the way companies kept women out of high paying jobs by saying they weren't qualified like men were.

These women worked hard to change the world for other women.  They worked for the greater good.

The Other Movement That Rosa Parks Inspired: By Sitting Down, She Made Room for the Disabled
Charles Wilson

Charles Wilson's piece talks about how Rosa Park's 1955 refusal to move for a white man, empowered the disabled community to work together to change the public transit system once again.

In 1984, the city of Chicago decided not to equip the 363 new buses they purchased with wheelchair lifts.  About twelve wheelchair bound women and men, moved their chairs in front of a bus and didn't move. This same thing was happening all across America.  However, even after the buses were equipped with lifts, the lifts were not maintained. 

There are disabled people in America today, who sit outside in freezing temperatures waiting for a bus with working lifts to come by.  These Americans are being fired from jobs because they aren't getting there on time, they are missing medical appointments, they are being left out of outings with friends because they don't always make it.

"None of this should be happening in America.  "Rosa Parks could get on the bus to protest," says Roger McCarville, a veteran in Detroit who once chained himself to a bus.  "We still can't get on the bus."  A true tribute to Parks would be to ensure that every American can. (Rosenblum and Travis, 2012, p. 492)

Recall/React

My reaction to these pieces was a sadness mixed with pride.  It is unbelievable to me, that in America at this time, we could possibly have people waiting for a bus in any type of weather for hours.  I understand that money is tight.  But let find a way to accommodate all of our citizens.  Maybe instead of buying 400 new unequipped buses, 300 equipped buses could be purchased.  As for not fixing the lifts, I am sure there are mechanics looking for jobs that could be hired to do maintenance.  I find in sad that in a time when big companies are getting richer and richer, and they are hiring lawyers to "legally" get out of paying taxes, we have these problems.  America needs to find its heart and morality.

I am proud to be a woman.  I am more proud when I read of strong women likes those in Gail Collin's piece.  It reminds me that I need to introduce more of these everyday heroes to my classes.  I need to show that one person, standing up for what is right, can make a huge difference in our world.

Rethink

My rethinking here is how I allow little inequalities to go all the time.  I do it, I believe, because I was taught to never make waves.  I needed to be a good girl and do things the right way.  Well, that is not the way it should be.  I should have been encouraged to stand up for my rights as well as the rights of others.  I am so very thankful for people like Rosa Parks and Lily Ledbetter.  My life is better because of them.  My task is to find out what I can do to make the lives of future girls and women better.