Posts Tagged: activism
Post-Election Activism Crash Course
It’s been a long week. Instead of using this article to get out all of my emotions, I decided to do something else. Many people are re-energized after the election, and are trying to look for ways to get involved in activism. I may be a little salty, that this is what it’s taking, but I also realize that people fight for justice in a variety of ways. Maybe you’ve been doing that in your community, and you’re now looking for another avenue. Outside of smashing the patriarchy on this URGE blog, I also have a day job. I’m a state organizer for a national LGBTQ org that aims to shift the narrative around LGBTQ rights away from marriage equality. I’ve also been in several organizations, participated in a ton… Read more »
Sexual Assault Awareness Month Provides Chance to Stand with Survivors
****Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault**** Today is the first day of April, which means it is the beginning of Sexual Assault Awareness month. Awareness about sexual assault, and most issues in our society, is crucial to the creating action. There is a lot about sexual assault that our society needs to made aware of, and there is no way I can capture it all in one blog post. But, I’ll try to do my best to discuss certain issues that I think really matter. We have to stop with the victim blaming Sexual assault is NEVER a survivor’s fault. They weren’t too drunk or dressed too provocatively; they were taken advantage of and hurt. They were violated, and it is not their fault. If you look at a sexual assault survivor and ask… Read more »
How to Prevent the Great #OHBrainDrain
Ohio has not always been home. Four years ago, when I received my admissions packet from Otterbein University (of Westerville), I was still calling a little white brick house in Southern Kentucky— the house that back-dropped my entire childhood – my home. Today, I was approved for graduation. In four years, my understanding of home has grown, multiplied, and demonstrated a profound capacity for transplantation. I didn’t just put down roots in Columbus. I didn’t just cultivate social and political values. I didn’t just learn how to effect change. I learned that I could enact change. Here, I was certified by the Sexual Assault Response Network of Central Ohio. I marched through the sheets of rain during Columbus Pride, and most recently I stood on the steps of the Ohio… Read more »
10 Things Progressives in Texas Understand
Being a progressive in the south can be hard, especially in Texas. I know that it’s rough feeling like you’re always met with opposition, but we can get through it all AND affect change if we stick together. So I’ve compiled a little list, with the help of some fellow progressives, of the stresses, trials, and joys that we can all understand. You are, more often than not, one of the few (if not the only) members of your family that have progressive views. And we all have that one family member…you know who I’m talking about. We get called names…a lot. Ranging in intensity & creativity. Some of my faves are “dirty hippie,” “damn liberal,” & often some variation on the word “communist.” Wendy Davis is a queen for her famous… Read more »
5 Victories of 2015
2015 has been a turbulent year to say the least. Activists continue to work fearlessly through media attacks and very real violent attacks. There is still work to do, but I want to take a moment here to reflect on some of 2015’s social justice victories for women’s rights, the LGBTQcommunity, and #BlackLivesMatter movement. Transgender Homecoming Queen In a surge of moving supporting of the trans girl they voted in as homecoming queen, high school students in the Kansas City area staged a successful counter protest to the Westboro Baptist Church. Mizzou Mixed results came out the student movement at the University of Missouri. Student activists, joined by some faculty members, were able to oust their racist president, Tim Wolfe. Their success was met by strong opposition from white supremacists,… Read more »
Open Letter from a “Cherokee Princess”
When I was in elementary school, I met a lot of people who claimed to be Cherokee. Every white person I knew, it seemed, had a Cherokee great-grandmother or distant ancestor they heard of who was in a tribe. It was odd, then, that when I first started Indian Education classes it was with only a handful of other students. We had some white kids, others black, but very few people who “looked Indian.” Half of the “full-blooded” natives that ran the program had straight hair and blue eyes- a testament to the interracial history of that particular nation. And though we had a Mohawk student and a Creek girl, our class seemed to focus heavily on Cherokee Immersion, since they had the most infrastructure in that region to do… Read more »
Alabama Continues to Make it Harder to Vote
Thinking of voting in the state of Alabama? Better have a photo ID. And if Governor Robert Bentley has his way, the Alabama Black Belt might find soon be devoid of Driver’s License Offices altogether. In the aftermath of Alabama’s recent budget debate, which carried such controversial decisions as shuffling money from education to fund the prison system and raising taxes on things such as cigarettes, pharmaceuticals and retirement homes, Bentley decided that the worst possible thing he could do would be to raise any direct taxes, especially the state’s extremely low property tax. As a trade-off, Bentley plans to close a number of state parks, something that had been discussed at great length during the budget gridlock earlier this year, as well as 31 driver’s license offices (all conveniently located… Read more »
#ShoutYourAbortion and Questions of Morality
If you’ve been paying attention to the news lately and paying attention to social media, I hope you’ve noticed the sad dilemma of threats from Congress to defund Planned Parenthood. Last week, by a 287-147 vote, the House of Representatives voted to pass a bill that would defund what is said to be the nation’s largest reproductive health provider. Wednesday began the process of one of several planned hearings on the heels of undercover videos from anti-abortion activists who claim Planned Parenthood benefited from the sale of fetal tissue. The hearing, which was entitled “Examining the Horrific Abortion Practices at the Nation’s Largest Abortion Provider,” did not allow any representatives from Planned Parenthood to attend, which was called ‘political theater at its’ worst.’ The bill might die in the Senate… Read more »
Building a More Inclusive Boy Scouts
Joining the Boy Scouts of America can be a tricky thing for someone who identifies as anything other than cisgender and heterosexual, and despite recent changes to their membership requirements, the BSA is still wrangling with conflicting factions within its own organization. Now, some scouts are trying to build a more inclusive organization at the ground level. In 2013, the BSA made national headlines when they openly debated changing membership requirements to allow scouts to join regardless of their sexual orientation. As a compromise measure, the BSA still excluded hiring lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer leaders until last July, when the executive council passed a new guideline stating that scout troops may hire whomever they wish to fill leadership roles. However, troops chartered by a religious organization may still… Read more »
Earth Day and Reproductive Justice
As many of you know, yesterday was Earth Day. Some of us may celebrate by making a pledge to reduce waste, or to avoid driving, or plant a tree. But what isn’t usually on our mind on Earth Day is how Environmental Justice and Reproductive Justice are connected. As RJ advocates, we should look to any opportunity to expand our fight beyond the traditional issues and include other social justice issues that affect our communities. So you might be asking, how does Environmental Justice relate to RJ? The answer lies first in how our environment is linked to our health. Issues such as pollution can directly impact health, including reproductive health. And in addition to that, women and children are often more susceptible to the effects of toxins in the… Read more »
