Makers
A couple weeks ago I stumbled upon Makers, a site devoted to telling the stories of powerful ladies and documenting the women’s lib movement from past to present. Tonight on PBS, the documentary version of Makers: Women Who Make America is set to air (sneak peek here) and you know who will be watching? Me. And hopefully thousands of other young people (of every gender) who will be beyond inspired and empowered by this viewing. Oh, and it’s narrated by Meryl Streep. *swoon* Check out some of my fave stories from the Makers site below (click on images to be taken to site):
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Kids’ State Dinner
First Lady Michelle Obama hosted the first ever Kids’ “State Dinner,” at the White House, Aug. 20, 2012. 54 kids representing all U.S. states, three territories and the District of Columbia attended the luncheon featuring a selection of healthy recipes from the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge. The Challenge was created in support of the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative, which aims to help solve the problem of childhood obesity within a generation.
Hold it. WHAT!? A Kids’ State Dinner!? A luncheon for little ones!? This may just be the CUTEST thing I’ve witnessed this month (and that’s saying something as I was introduced to this here video last week)!
“THIS IS WHAT A FLASHMOB LOOKS LIKE!”
As promised, I’m posting the pictures from the Friday (October 28) march to City Hall with Angela Davis. What an incredible night! First, we saw Davis speak at Penn, which was kickass, beautiful, and inspirational, and then we marched with her and hundreds of others to Occupy Philly. We took over both car lanes (by the way, I’ve never been at the front of a march before so watching this process was super cool), cutting off all (albeit minimimal) nighttime traffic on Market Street. This is what a flash mob looks like:
When we arrived at the Occupation, Davis (by this time we were calling her Angela, “Dude, Angela’s right behind you, snap a picture!” but it feels awkward to do so now) spoke to us about the movement, about staying grounded, and about the General Strike in Oakland which took place last Wednesday.
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SlutWalks
In August, Philly held its first SlutWalk. ”A SlutWalk?” you ask. Yes, friend, a SlutWalk. I too had never heard of this “girl power” march until my housemate announced that she found it controversial. Though I like to think of myself as somewhat “with it” when it comes to present-day feminist actions, it turns out I was a little behind the times. According to trusty-source Wikipedia, SlutWalks began in Toronto, Canada, after a constable suggested that “women should avoid dressing like sluts” in order to stay safe. In response, co-founders of the march-movement Sonya Barnett and Heather Jarvis decided to reclaim the word and spread the message that wearing revealing clothing never justifies abuse. Over 3,000 women joined them in their march on the Toronto police headquarters in July of this year. Since then, SlutWalks have gone global. No matter your feelings about SlutWalks, whether you find them empowering or merely “pornification of protest,” you have to admit that some of these images are truly powerful. Click on the links below to see where they were taken.
Read more about SlutWalks here.
♥ Kylin
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U.N. Events
Tensions are running high at the UN today as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas submits his country’s bid for statehood. For more info on today’s happenings check out live written coverage over at The Telegraph.
Click on a photo number to visit the Telegraph image gallery : 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6.
♥ Kylin
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Troy Davis
Troy Davis is scheduled for execution tonight (Wednesday) at 7pm. Troy has requested a polygraph test, which has been denied as of this posting, and his attorneys are filing an appeal. We’ll see what happens next. This is Troy’s fourth death warrant.
No matter your position on capital punishment, this is not a case that should face the death penalty. There are far too many shaky details surrounding the crime and the trial. To learn more, listen to this morning’s Democracy Now! episode here (related episodes here). Today’s episode also spends some quality time focusing on restorative justice, a very powerful alternative to penal and capital punishment.
Democracy Now! will also be broadcasting live from Jackson, Georgia, at 6-8pm tonight (EST). Please tune in. I will be listening.
If you would like to attend a vigil tonight, check this Amnesty International list for a location near you. My thoughts are with the family and friends of Troy Davis and the family of fallen officer MacPhail.
♥ Kylin
