The Museum of the City of New York

During last week's class trip to the Museum of the City of New York, class 811 visited the Activism Exhibit. We learned about the history of activism in New York City, as well as many ways to act against a cause. There were many examples of people standing against authority or the wrong doings of others. Some were fairly new protests with recent impacts on the city, and others old. I myself, learned many new facts, some on topics that I had prior knowledge of,  and some topics that were totally new to me. I found the exhibit interesting and intriguing.

What I found to be the most interesting was how protests first started four-hundred years ago when New York was New Amsterdam. As a Dutch Colony,  only Christianity was allowed to be practiced in public. People, such as the Quakers, were not allowed to openly express their religion. The city's citizens didn't agree with Peter Stuyvesant and the government and this regulation. Why was the government treating respectful law abiding people who were not hurting anyone so disrespectfully?  As a result of this mistreatment, thirty one non-Quaker citizens signed a petition arguing and questioning the law and  its effects. Through this, the first protesting activists in New York arose. A more recent intriguing fact I learned of was the Stonewall Riots on June 28, 1969. Being gay was not allowed and homosexuals were discriminated against and were labeled as wusses for never having the guts to fight back against the bigoted society. For years, even being in the Stonewall Bar (a gay bar) was punishable by jail time. However, on this night, June 28, 1969, they did fight back. They were joined in this battle with many other activist groups such as the Black Panthers who had their own battles against police brutality just  as the  gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transvestite community did. This was the beginning of gay rights and equality.

I enjoyed the visit to the Museum of the City of New York. It was interesting to learn more about the history of our diverse city. Without this history of activism we would be living in more blind, scary, and unjust times. These activists were right for what they did, they were brave and our city is safer and more complete because of them.