Ruth Bader Ginsberg, born on March 15, 1933 in Brooklyn, NY, initially attended Harvard Law school but later transferred to Columbia Law school due to her husband’s job in New York. Throughout her time in law school, she encountered discrimination and sexism from her professors and male classmates. Ginsberg boldly confronted one of her professors…
Category: Reading Summaries
Story of Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman was born in Maryland in 1819 and was originally named Araminta Ross. She changed her name to Harriet in honor of her mother, Harriet Green, who worked as a cook, and her father, Benjamin Ross, who was a logger. Tubman had eight siblings who were all separated during slavery. At the age of…
The Yellow Paper by Charlotte Gilman
Charlotte Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper is an autobiographical piece that sheds light on the oppression of women by men and society during that era. The story’s central theme revolves around the limited roles of women in society, and the narrator highlights this issue. The author’s decision to not name the main character emphasizes that she…
Malala Yousafzai
Malala Yousafzai, a remarkable individual from Pakistan, dedicated her teenage years to advocating for girls’ education rights. Raised by an educator and school founder, Malala possessed a deep passion for learning and aspired to follow in her father’s footsteps as a teacher. Alongside her studies in English and Urdu, Malala embarked on a transformative journey…
Brown v. Board of Education in simple terms
Before the Brown case in 1954, African American children had been attending schools with subpar facilities for a long time. These schools often lacked essential resources and relied on outdated textbooks. To address this issue, African American leaders, educators, and organizations like the NAACP joined forces to advocate for a better education system for these…
Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit
In the book Men Explain Things to Me, Solnit makes significant claims about women being raped and murdered by men. The book starts with simple yet a great example of “mansplaining” where Solnit have a conversation with this ignorant man who goes on about this great book that was published without realizing that he’s talking…
Can we use derogatory slang to refer to women?
We are all familiar with some of the most commonly used derogatory terms such as the “b word, slut or whore” that carry similar meanings. The origin of the B-word can be traced back to the 15th century, where it referred to a female dog. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, the B-word is defined…
Who was Frederick Douglass?
Frederick Douglass played a significant role as a leader in the human rights movement against slavery. Born in Maryland around 1818, Douglass was a slave who lost his mother at the age of ten. He was later selected to work and reside in the home of plantation owners after living with his maternal grandmother. In…
Who was Malcolm X?
Malcolm X, a prominent figure in the Civil Rights Movement, was an African American leader who advocated for self-defense and encouraged fellow African Americans to defend themselves against white hostility. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Malcolm grew up in a family of eight siblings. His father, Earl Little, was a vocal minister, civil rights activist, and…
No Cure For this Pandemic
The fear of Black men in public spaces is a pandemic that may never be addressed with a vaccine. It is crucial to discuss the racism that we encounter in our daily lives, particularly within South Asian communities who often hold stereotypes about Black people in the U.S. If South Asian Americans truly want to…