Voices Unheard

https://docs.google.com/document/d/17PKriDK_udCZGb4WXGo5mW2RDP1zKaJhlNfMT0FHlHo/edit?usp=sharing

There is a saying, “History is written by the victors.” In short, it means that stories are told by those who have the power. However, everyone knows there’s never just one side to a story. There are sides and voices that we don’t hear because groups are too scared or weak to speak up. In some cases they do try to share their stories but are ignored or disregarded because people are more comfortable believing their preconceived notions. I myself have been part of a couple of groups whose voices are unheard, and I understand the frustration of feeling like no one cares or is even listening.

One unheard voice is that of Black Americans, specifically those living below the poverty line. Growing up in my little town in Queens, I had the opportunity to be around many diverse different groups and learn about their cultures. While I grew up rather fortunate, especially in comparison to those around me, many of the people in my town did not have much money. They lived in small apartments off of government assistance. Many needed food stamps and most of the children at my school received free lunch. While many people might dismiss my town as “ghetto” and accuse the folks living there of being “lazy” or “mooching off their tax dollars,” they don’t acknowledge why  Black Americans are living below the poverty line in disproportionate amounts. In 2018, the percentage of African Americans living below the poverty line was more than double that of white Americans.  20.8% of Black Americans are below the poverty line as opposed to only 8.1% of white Americans being below the poverty line (Center For American Progress). Now, many Americans are aware that a large percentage of African Americans are under the poverty line, but what they aren’t aware of is why. This is because wealthy or middle class white people are often the ones giving their input on why they think these Black Americans are struggling to make money. They will often attribute it to being lazy, or expecting handouts or to being in gangs. While these wealthy white people can not be expected to understand the struggle of being judged by one’s race, they should also not be the ones speaking on behalf of that race. What they don’t know and don’t speak about is the fact that many Black children are born into poverty “Almost half of black boys and girls are in households in the bottom fifth of the income distribution, compared to just over one in ten white children” (Winship et al). When you are born into poverty, it is very hard to climb your way out of it. This is why many young Black people, especially young Black men, turn to gangs and drug dealing. Their voices and struggles go unheard because they are trapped in a system that is working against them. Many white people who grew up poor and have earned their riches are also quick to judge because they believe “If I can do it, why can’t you?” However, they have not gone through that triumph as a person of color and they have not been immediately judged based on something they can’t change. Even when Black Americans do break this cycle, for example, America’s first Black woman billionaire Oprah Winfrey, they address how hard it was to do so as a person of color. They are often immediately viewed as a criminal or as unprofessional. Unfortunately many young Black Americans stay trapped in this cycle of being born into poverty and having their children born into poverty, and this is why their stories go untold. I understand why it may be easy to assume these people are poor because they’re not trying, especially if you have lived a life of privilege. But when you’ve lived by their side like I have, watched them work day and night to support their families, you realize they are anything but lazy.    

Another group whose voices I often see silenced are women. I myself have personally experienced this. While we are far from the days of expecting females to just cook, clean and care for the children, some effects of that still remain. There are still people around from those days. Older men specifically, who are not used to or comfortable with women speaking out. While these men may not be the majority, many of them are in positions of power. This in turn could make women afraid to speak out, especially in places like the workplace. For example, while her boss may see her male counterparts as strong willed for disagreeing with him, when she does it, a woman is often seen as bossy or stubborn. Women speaking out has a much more negative connotation. This can leave women biting their tongue and not saying anything at all. This has happened to me at my own school. I ran for my entire middle and high school career. I was in the top 20 runners in my county every year in high school and was even one of the top five runners in my division for my spring track event, the 400m hurdles. However, this did not stop my track coach from assuming I knew less than the boys.  When the boys would make suggestions, they were seriously considered. However, when I made a suggestion the same exact way, I was brushed aside as unruly or not smart enough to make those kinds of decisions. Despite having run for as long as, if not longer, than most of the boys, I had not earned the same respect. It made me afraid to speak up.   This happens on a much larger scale as well, specifically with our president, who happens to be an old male. President Trump was born in 1946, meaning at least into his early 20s he was living in the era of “men do the work and women stay home, take care of the house and look pretty.” And judging from his slogan “Make America Great Again” it’s evident that he wants to go back to those times. So it’s no surprise that he would undermine a movement that gives women a platform to speak out about horrible things that have happened to them. I am talking about him undermining the “#MeToo” movement by suggesting that everyone is expected to believe all women and that some could be lying so we just shouldn’t believe any of them. It is men in positions of power like him that are the reason women’s voices go unheard.

As we progress as a nation, more and more of the voices are getting a platform. However, that doesn’t mean we don’t have a long way to go. We can all do our part by not making assumptions and letting people tell their own story rather than telling it for them.

  

 

Work Cited 

Center For American Progress. “Basic Statistics.” Web. 03 Sept. 2020.

Clark, Carol Lea. Praxis: A Brief Rhetoric. Southlake, TX: Fountainhead, 2018. Print.

Faludi, Susan. “‘Believe All Women’ Is a Right-Wing Trap.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 18 May 2020. Web. 03 Sept. 2020.

Saner, Emine. “Oprah Winfrey: From Poverty to America’s First Black Billionaire … to #Oprah2020?” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 12 Jan. 2018. Web. 03 Sept. 2020.

Winship, Scott, Richard V. Reeves, and Katherine Guyot. “The Inheritance of Black Poverty: It’s All about the Men.” Brookings. Brookings, 29 Apr. 2019. Web. 03 Sept. 2020.