Posts Tagged: activism
Welcome to The Great Resignation: The US’ Newest Labor Movement
The social contract between employees and their employers is being rewritten right before our eyes. The social contract is the agreement between you and your employer about expectations around exertion, time, and labor. The pandemic has triggered a rippled effect that has changed the trajectory of a growing list of some of the most important aspects of our lives here in the United States. The workplace has been the target of a seismic shift in culture as workers from a plethora of industries call it a quits. In April of this year, the number of individuals quitting their jobs rose to a record-breaking 4 million people and continued to grow every month after that, starting the trend that has now been dubbed “The Great Resignation.” The freedom that remote work… Read more »
Fighting for Liberation in the Midst of Oppression
I have been told that just because I don’t see results immediately doesn’t mean I should be quick to give up; that the results will come someday, and when that day comes, I will be thankful for my perseverance. I’ve held this belief with me in most things I do, and I’ve found it to be somewhat favorable in terms of my career, relationships, and self. Of course, I know when I’m at my limit and when it’s time for me to let go; but for the most part, this saying has helped me push through some of my darkest hours and allows me to maintain a glimpse of hope. With this being said, it is becoming increasingly harder to maintain this hope as it pertains to activism and the… Read more »
American Individualism Will be The Detriment of Us All
Speaking from an American’s point of view, I think most of us can agree that 2020 has been a complete shit show. To try and even articulate the amount of BS that has occurred in this country, let alone across the globe, would require a mountain of words that I don’t have the energy to process at the moment. Like many others, I am drained out and need a serious break that I doubt any of us will be seeing anytime soon, which only adds to the frustration and exhaustion. However, as my mom has always told me: everything does come with its lesson, and in the year 2020, I’ve realized just how individualistic the American culture/society is. Now, I’m not just waking up with this astute observation; deep down,… Read more »
Tolerance is NOT Acceptance, Yes You Are Still Homo/Transphobic
I had a discussion with a family member of mine about a week ago, where we discussed queer identities and the journey towards acceptance of LGBTQ+ individuals in our global society. We went back and forth for what seemed like hours when, in reality, it was only about 20 minutes. At first, the conversation was fine, and we seemed to be on the same page for most of it. However, it wasn’t until they repeated a sentence I’ve heard way too many times in my 21 years of life, a sentence that infuriates me to my core: “I don’t have to support the LGBTQ+ community in order to accept them.” From there, the conversation went downhill, and as our voices continued to increase in volume, I decided to hang up… Read more »
Welcome Alabama State University!
It’s official: Our first HBCU (historically black college or university) chapter is up and running! We are so excite to see what ASU students do in the coming semesters to encourage their peers to fight for reproductive rights nationwide. Check out some of their student members, reppin’ URGE so, so well!
Organizing Around Public Transportation
As school starts up, my attention has been turned towards public transportation. Since I am a college student without a car, that means I have to take the bus to school. Well, more like two busses to get there and two to get back. For my area, public transportation means the bus system, paratransit (for those with disabilities that prevent them from using typical routes), and a few trolleys covering the center of the city. Right now I’m navigating the city while living at the corner of “you need a job to get experience, but they won’t hire you without experience” and “you need a car to get a job, but you need a job to get a car.” So when I saw this video from Patriot Act about public transportation, it… Read more »
7 Ways to Make Your Activism More Inclusive of Activists with Disabilities
In April, I broke my ankle which severely limited my normal activity and opened my eyes to how ableist the world is. That includes activist spaces. Yes—even yours. It was a temporary disability, but I also was diagnosed with a long term (invisible) disability two years ago. I’ve also had a chronic disease since childhood that sometimes makes activists and social spaces inaccessible to me. I am a chapter leader for URGE ATL, the Atlanta City Activist Network for URGE and participate in reproductive justice work with other organizations in Atlanta. This means I have experienced what people have done right by disabled people and what they can improve on. So, here is a list of ways folks can make their activist spaces more inclusive of disabled activists. 1. Recognize that… Read more »
A Reflection On The Midterm Elections
The midterm elections were a tough time for anyone invested in seeing progress for reproductive rights. While most were focused on candidates, wins in the House of Representatives and the Senate, many narrowly missed reproductive rights amendments that passed that set states back years in regards to protecting the safety of those seeking effective reproductive rights legislation. Alabama and West Virginia both rolled back the rights of so many on November 6th. West Virginia’s Amendment 1, which blatantly states that “Nothing in this constitution secures or protects a right to an abortion or requires the funding of an abortion,” will roll back any and all state funding to abortion providers in the state in the future. Alabama’s Amendment 2 goes one step further by saying explicitly to “declare and otherwise… Read more »
Now More Than Ever, Local Action Matters
On April 10th, Neil Gorsuch became an associate justice on the United States Supreme Court. With his nomination came the death of the Senate, due to the elimination of rules that maintained the checks and balances of our government. His confirmation is a signal of how the three branches of government are going to operate for the next four years. If we’ve learned anything over these past 100 days, it is that for every regulation or protection is taken away, another executive order is signed that negatively impacts our communities and the ones we love. We have to utilize our knowledge and privileges to combat against these wide sweeping injustices. We have seen this begin — from the federal judges in Hawaii that overturned the travel ban and the cities… Read more »
When the Hashtag becomes the Mic
Social media has been used in a variety of ways to connect a vast amount of people to the current news, whether it be accurate, satire, or false. This knowledge is then broken down into little tidbits of tweets, posts, or stories across major platforms. In this context, hashtags have become the tools of keyboard courage and the microphone for keyboard warriors. Although hashtags work to see others’ contribution to the world’s view, it removes the identity of words, language, and photos. By and by, social media becomes a double edged sword that discredits issues of oppression and privilege and discriminate against other users unknowingly. Unintentionally, hashtags make one experience the universal experience while making the other facets of what defines that experience invisible. An array of experiences shouldn’t be… Read more »
