Wright Mills, founder of the sociological imagination which means seeing things socially and how they interact and influence each other rather than just from our perspective, emphasizes the importance of seeing the connection between social structure and individual experience. One way we can think about this is to recognize how what we often experience as personal problems, such as “not having enough money to pay the bills, are actually public problems.” So how do activists come into play? it starts with one person, who realizes how much of a public issue it is and wants to bring these issues to the government so that there can be a change. Then you see groups of people who have a similar mindset to the activist and want the issue addressed, so they start protesting, through social media, on the streets, through their work, etc... and so it becomes not just activism but sociological imagination itself. A perfect example of a social issue would also be Colin Kaepernick and his protest to not show pride in the flag or the country of the United States for the oppression on blacks or just people of color. Of course, Kaepernick goes into detail explaining that his protest was in response to the persistent racism and brutality that Black people experience, both from the police and government inaction. Kaepernick would be considered an activist who defends racial discrimination and just like him there are others like LeBron
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