The 1960s was a high time for the Civil Rights Movement when many prominent activists rose to fame. We have all heard names like Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X, but a lesser-known activist who fought for not only African-American rights but also Asian rights was Grace Lee. Boggs.
Growing up in New York, Boggs lived a lower-middle-class life, as her father was a Chinese immigrant from Guangdong, China who worked as a restaurant businessman. Despite her poor upbringing, Boggs displayed brilliance at a young age and enrolled at Barnard University at just sixteen years old. But, even after getting a doctorate in philosophy at Bryn Mawr, Boggs found that no university would hire her, a Chinese-American woman, to teach political thought or ethics.
At the age of 100, Boggs died in her sleep in her Detroit home. But, her legacy continues to live on. While most activists during her younger years focused primarily on African American rights, Boggs brought Asian- American rights to a new light. She continues to inspire Asian and Pacific Islander women through her courage, activism, and dedication.
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I think this is a very informative post as it highlights the racial tensions going on during the 1960s. The conditions for non-whites during this period of time were very poor. Regarding African-Americans, they had half the chance of completing high school, one-third the chance of completing college, and a third of a chance entering a profession compared to white citizens. Additionally, the average income was about half the amount of white families being $9,919 compared to $17,259. Just like how universities would not hire Boggs, many African-Americans were excluded from neighborhoods, businesses, and unions. Overall, the conditions were terrible for minority groups during the 1960s which helped inspire the Civil Rights Movement.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtid=2&psid=3323
https://www.nytimes.com/1983/07/18/us/income-gap-between-races-wide-as-in-1960-study-finds.html
After reading your post, I was interested in learning more about Detroit Summer. After seeing the success of the Mississippi Summer Project (aka Freedom Summer), Boggs attempted to recreate a similar program for youth in Detroit that would be as successful as the one in Mississippi. Since the start of the program, youth have been engaged in numerous activities that help their community, such as cleaning streets, repurposing abandoned lots, and creating and coordinating public art in the city’s neglected and decrepit areas. Grace Lee Boggs’s legacy continues to live on through other civic engagement groups such as Back Alley Bikes, Detroit Future, and the Detroit Asian Youth Project, and her experiences continue to inspire and encourage youth into becoming leaders and activists within their communities.
ReplyDeletehttp://boggscenter.org/html/detroit_summer.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_Summer