South Haven News

By Gabriel Moncivais

People work for change when they see unfairness, want more freedom, or hope to make life better. As for women, they fought for equal rights because they were treated unfairly. A woman who dreamed of being free from the rules of marriage, and families worked to end segregation so all children could have equal opportunities to learn the same amount of education. Not just women, but people are motivated to fight for change by the need for fairness, freedom, and hope for a better future.

As for one woman, Elizabeth Stanton, wanted to make a movement and allow other women to have a voice and the right to vote. To support her argument, she took heavy inspiration from the legal document, The Declaration of Independence, and reformed it into her own Declaration of Sentiments. Her speech which was said at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 stating “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal.” This means that back then, women were still treated–according to the government–they were man’s property. 

Nobody wants to be treated as if they were invisible or trapped under a force to where they can’t do anything. As of Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour,” A woman who recently found out that her husband might be dead. After hearing the terrible news, she began to grieve and cry that her husband died, but soon after, she began to be calm and seemed to have an emotion of hope as she said under her breath, “free, free, free.” This woman in the story was feeling free from the chains of marriage and wanted change in her life, become independent and to be equal to everyone else.

Showing how people were wanting to fight for equality and wanting to feel free has expanded not just to women, but to the African American community to take action around 60 years later after “the Story of an Hour.” In 1956, there was a court dispute called Brown v. Board of Education, which was about trying to stop segregation going into schools. The segregation treated anyone of color quite unfairly, giving them worse education than white schools, making the people of color feel inferior as the Supreme Court stated that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal,” according to the legal opinion essay, Brown v. Board of Education: Opinion of the Court. It showed how the need for fairness and justice can inspire people to push for big changes in society.

People are often motivated to fight for change by a desire for fairness, freedom, and a better future. The fight for women’s rights began with a fight to end inequality. A woman’s brief joy at the idea of freedom shows how much people value independence. The fight to end segregation was driven by believing that every child deserves equal opportunities to learn, no matter the color of their skin. These stories and events show that whether the struggle is personal or shared by many, hoping to finally express your voice inspires people to stand up and demand change.