Comparing the Indian Freedom Struggle to the Black Panther Movement
During the Indian Freedom Struggle, the Indian people were forced to live with many injustices that were similar to the injustices that Black people faced during Civil rights in America. Some of the struggles both Indians and Blacks faced were unequal and limited public services, along with severe racism. Some important qualities that both struggles used was determination and commitment. Shape and image was used to get support was shape and image and culture around the movement.
In order for a social movement to be successful, the people involved need to be determined and committed to the movement. In the Indian Freedom Struggle, Gandhi was very committed to fight for his peoples’ rights and independence. For instance, Gandhi gave up his position of a lawyer in England, which is very good considering that he was Indian, to go back to India and fight for his peoples rights. This quality can also been seen with the Black Panthers. If the Panthers were not fully committed to their movement, they would not have put in the proper effort and thus would not have succeeded. The other important quality that can be seen in both movements is determination. Without determination the people that were fighting for social justice would not have persevered. If they stopped fighting for civil rights for African Americans after the first try they would never accomplish anything.
A strategy that was used by both social movements was shaping an image. In the Indian Freedom Struggle Gandhi made his own clothes in order to protest the British government. This led to the spinning wheel that was used for making clothes becoming a symbol for the social movement. Having an image helps the social movement become more relatable and gain more supporters. It gives the people something to stand behind and also gives them more power. The Black Panthers also used the strategy shaping an image to their advantage. Their image was the raised fist and also the image of a panther. The raised fist represented unity within the panthers and also showed that they had power. The panther was chosen as an image because it symbolizes strength and fierceness. The Black Panthers chose to have their symbols represent strength because at the time the government thought that African Americans were not capable of liberating themselves. The Panthers showed them wrong by building their image of strength and courage. Without this strategy both movements would not have gotten the support that they needed to achieve social justice for the people.
In conclusion this has inspired me to learn more about World History. I’ve learned about new concepts on race through research for this project. I’ve learned that you need to have determination and commitment to accomplish your goals.