The two topics I am considering for my unit one speech and essay are the words “I Can’t Breathe” and the Rosie the Riveter poster.
If these three words are said, I am positive you will be filled with many different emotions, anger, frustration, or fear. “I Can’t Breathe,” said by now-deceased George Floyd in 2020, helped fuel the Black Lives Matter peaceful protests that flooded many streets in America this past year. 
These three words were said when Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, kneeled on George Floyd’s, an African-American, neck for almost TEN minutes. Floyd died even after begging for his life and not resisting the punishment he was unrightfully given. Floyd was suspected of buying a pack of cigarettes with a counterfeit 20 dollar bill. Why were the officers arresting him? Floyd was a bigger guy; he worked security and also had a record. In America, if you are a Person of Color (POC), once you have a record, you don’t have much of a chance when in the presents of white cops. POC have been dealing with problems like this forever… literally. 2020 created such an unstable political atmosphere that the words “I Can’t Breathe” pushed the two parties further apart.
Rosie the Riveter was a symbol for women to enter the workforce during World War II. She was portrayed as a fierce woman rolling up her sleeves getting ready to work, saying, “We Can Do It!”She is letting all women know that they too can join the workforce and
take over a man’s job while fighting in the war. Rosie was a civic advertisement to convince women that now that all the men are off at war, they are strong enough to work until the men come back to take their jobs back.
Both topics are so important and prominent in our lives in many different ways. I don’t think you could go wrong with either one of them.
George Floyd’s murder is one of those events where years from now, people will look back and declare it a major turning point in history. It was so emotion-provoking that everyone had an opinion on it. I remember becoming physically ill my first time hearing about it and watching the video. I think this may be a stronger topic just for the impact it had on each and every single person, regardless of how different some people’s reactions were. I especially like that you are choosing to focus on “I Can’t Breathe” rather than just the murder. I feel those words are symbolic for the systemic racism that has suffocated people of color for all of these years. Our society has drastically changed since this day, I would love to see how you explore the influence of George Floyd and BLM (especially because of how many people have treated Black Lives Matter as a trend, stopping their research and activism once the Instagram infographics were no longer on their feed). Great topic, such a great way to continue to educate yourself and others.
Rosie the Riveter holds a very special place in my feminist heart (haha). I think she was a symbol of so much more than what many people view on the surface. This topic would be amazing, especially if you took the route of seeing how many different facets of feminism she impacted. If you are looking to take a more modern lens, you could talk about her presence in Women’s Marches signs and how her message is timeless. Women’s rights have gotten more attention lately, but we have not become a fully equitable society in regards to gender. You could explore how Rosie helped us, as women, get our foot in the door for work opportunities, and then reflect how we still have work to do in order to achieve the things we deserve in the workplace (ex: closing the wage gap, eliminating sexual harassment in the workplace, etc.)
Like I said, regardless of what you choose, I’m sure everyone would be more than interested, especially reading it in your words, where you clearly feel so passionately about these topics. I’m excited to see where you take this!!! 🙂
While both of these topics would make for an interesting paper, I think exploring the impact of “I can’t breathe” and protests on America would be slightly more interesting as it’s more relevant and somehow controversial. I liked how you started that paragraph, and I agree that the words “I can’t breathe” cause different emotions/reactions from everyone. POC being treated unfairly by law enforcement is a problem that has lasted in America for a while and is still occurring and yet, not everyone agrees on it. The thing that annoys me the most is how some people try to point out what the victim did wrong to excuse the officer’s actions instead of acknowledging that there’s always a non-violent solution and the entire situation most likely wouldn’t have happened had it been a white person.
I also think Rosie the Riveter would be an interesting subject, especially with the context of WWII and the need to produce things for the soldiers fighting the warfront. It’s also amazing to see the impact a simple poster has had on America, she’s still a source of inspiration to many women today.