One of the major figures in the Civil Rights Movement, the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE), wrote the following about the 1963 March on Washington:
An estimated 250,000 people participated in the 1963 March on Washington, a nonviolent protest to support African Americans’ civil rights and economic equality. Following a procession down Constitution and Independence avenues, attendees gathered in front of the Lincoln Monument for speeches, songs, and prayers 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. The Martin Luther King Jr. “I Have a Dream” speech by Dr. King was one of the march’s most memorable dramatic moments, which were broadcast live on television to millions of viewers.
The march was much larger than previous protests for any cause, and it clearly had an impact on both the passage of civil rights legislation and public opinion across the country. It demonstrated the effectiveness of broad appeal and served as an example for the environmental, feminist, and antiwar movements. However, the 1963 March on Washington was more nuanced than the famous pictures that the majority of Americans associate with it. The march, which served as the pinnacle of the civil rights movement, and the integrationist, nonviolent, liberal form of protest it represented, were followed by more militant, radical, and racially conscious methods.
You’ve come a long way, baby, as the Virginia Slims commercial famously exclaimed. It doesn’t look good in this situation.
We’ve switched from marching to rioting, burning, and… twerking?
After Roe was overturned, we first noticed it in the pro-abortion demonstrations.
Additionally, some strippers decided it was cool to twerk for their rights.
But now, thanks to Rhode Island State Senator Tiara Mack, politics and popular culture have converged. I’m confident that no one missed this popular TikTok video, which was posted by her Senate account.
When the video went viral, Mack got the attention she desired. In response to the Dobbs abortion ruling, she asserted that this was simply her way of expressing her bodily autonomy. To support her claim, she created a series of posters, including “Twerk for Abortion Justice” and “Twerk for Black Girl Magic.”
She was given an op-ed opportunity in Newsweek, where she lamented the “separate rules” that guided her behavior and argued that, because she is queer and Black, her behavior is actually perfectly acceptable.
I’m used to this treatment because I’m a queer Black woman. Though I am aware that there are different social norms for me, that still doesn’t make it acceptable. I choose not to follow them, and while for some people that is liberating, for others it irritates them. In everything I do, I lead with compassion, love, joy, and empathy.
always referring to the various standards. What puzzles me is this. She was easily elected despite these alleged standards (or so she claims). So it would appear that Mack was successful in winning a public office despite the disparate standards. And if these allegedly different standards are so abhorrent, State Senator Mack ought to use her position to work to change them!
Instead, Mack is ferociously promoting legislation that sexualizes children and twerking for support. I don’t have to uphold your standards because they are RACIST, Mack naturally plays the CRT card.
girl. I’m a state senator with an Ivy League education. I’m sorry to break it to you. We don’t respect their decorum. In a system that is meant to enslave us, they can’t respect us.
the same system that let you run for office, get elected, and then humiliate yourself on Tiktok.
What a slap in the face to Black women who don’t offer justifications, who don’t view standards as something that oppresses or empowers, and who uphold those standards out of respect for both themselves and other people.
Now for the catch. Black people had a lot to say about injustice, Jim Crow’s differing standards, and, oh, little things like bombing churches, being physically assaulted when we tried to vote, and lynching in the 1960s. What did we do when the country wasn’t paying attention? In a march.
This was revolutionary in the United States, as CORE emphasized, especially in light of the contrast between the violent response to these marches and the peaceful protests. With sound policies and sound action, we prevailed.
In the struggle to end abortion, the same can be said. Catholics for Life and other organizations decided to march pacifically on the anniversary of the ruling when Roe became the law of the land in January 1973, and they did so for 50 years. Roe was finally overturned thanks to strong voices, effective advocacy and resources for unborn children and the women who carried them, and the adoption of sound state-level legislation.
However, Tiara Mack’s twerking was a standout feature that only briefly captured people’s attention. There was no voice of reason, intelligence, or substance. no real regulations. No movement forward.
Despite her “Ivy League” education, Mack pretty much disproved every objection and criticism when she spoke. Mack has only repeated the Democrat checkbox class’ worn-out talking points. Mack leads with her sexual orientation and race, and any policies she espouses are racial and sexual in nature. It is a similar attempt to normalize behavior that is anything but normal as exposing kids to these Drag Queen spectacles.
Quite a few Black people—especially Black women—who have worked hard to avoid being otherized and sexualized are also contributing to the criticism and pushback against Mack’s destruction of standards and decorum. This has been destroyed by one idiotic TikTok video.
