Introduction: By Lynn Hunt
I, Ethel Reed, am an African American Women who works overnight in the Emergency Room. I supervisor over 10 workers and I enjoy working. I started out working in the hospital as a clerical worker. Thereafter I moved to their Admitting Department doing Death Certificates and Birth Registry. Then I moved up to supervisor Bed Board the nucleus of the Hospital System. My husband and my son are my gifts from God. I am particularly proud of my son who just graduated with his Bachelors of Science in Accounting. I am a senior at City College Center of Worker Education and its difficulty to leave. I love CWE. Women’s Rights as Human Rights I believe are intriguing facts about Women: I will learn much about myself. Other than learning my family history and Black history, Women’s history is another way to learn about me. I believe in Human Rights for all individuals however I recognize Women rights at my job are disproportionately unfair. I could have never imagined how I was drawn into the perceptions assigned to women. And I never challenged the stereotypes I confronted. I am looking forward to learning in this class.
Introduction: “We hold these truths to be self-evident”
The Declaration of Independence was written with the universal assumption that White Elite men were the only human beings entitled to equal rights, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And universally this was displayed in their attitudes and behavior. The United States Aristocratic men fought Great Britain to become an independent country, autonomy. Thomas Jefferson had written a declaration which failed to give a voice or representation to Women, Blacks, and poor White men. Although the Declaration was continuously revised to provide a better understanding of a Human Being’s Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, the Framers of this declaration were from a particular class and gender. They were unable to understand any grievance from Blacks, Women and poor White men. Of course, Aristocratic White men were unable to have a discussion about why Blacks were unable to obtain Equal Rights during their Life, and unable to obtain Liberty and unable to obtain the Pursuit of Happiness. A conversation about Blacks inclusive in the Declaration of Independence was to threatening. During the time when the doctrine was written: unlimited power was given to Whites and most Blacks were enslaved or tortured. So how could White men who owned slaves have any concern about their autonomy? They were unable to discuss the complicated issues of Blacks subordination. Thomas Jefferson and the Framers who helped with the revision of the declaration overtly acknowledged that Aristocratic White men received a better way of life. They owned property (Black human beings) and at the same time they declared, “All Human Beings are Equal. Autonomy did not include Blacks. A racial caste system existed. In the same way, Women traveled painful paths of discrimination. Women were automatically assigned to domestic work they were not viewed as fellow citizens. Women were unable to escape the crucial role they played in the household. This sexual caste system was in direct opposition to the written doctrine that; All Human Beings were Created Equal with Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. In a similar situation, White men who visibly looked the same without any property were not accepted. The constraints and limitations forced upon Blacks, Women and poor White men dictated their fate in many ways.
Still today, an institutionalized non written system has been drawn into some work places. An urgency to promote men prior to women occurs often. In some cases, women are paid considerably less than Men, although they may perform the same job. Notions about women during child bearing years may or may not dictate when she is promoted. Then in other situations, often men are only hired as a firefighter. Mostly men are hired to work within the Con Edison manholes. Women are hired to work within the office. Discrimination happens within the work place on multiple levels. The constraints and limitations are parallel to many biases in the past.
