An Indigenous sci-fi thriller, “Night Raiders” brings the painful history of Canada’s residential school system into a war-torn, eerily conceivable future. (This is one in a series of reviews from the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, during which I focused on films directed by women.)
Category: Herstory
Before Roe v. Wade, the “Janes” Gave Desperate Women a Safer Choice (Fall 2018)
There’s a reason most people don’t know about the underground network of nonmedical women in New York City who are volunteering their homes to help women living in states where access to abortion is severely restricted.
It’s the same reason most people living didn’t know about Jane, a group women who in the years before Roe v. Wade used code names and street-corner pickups to arrange as many as 11,000 abortions.
‘The Suffrage Road Trip’: A Tribute to Two Middle-Aged, Lesbian, Immigrant Suffragists
In “We Demand: The Suffrage Road Trip”, middle-aged lesbian Swedish immigrants Ingeborg Kindstedt and Maria Kindberg advocate for women’s suffrage in 1915.
I fell in love with Ingeborg and Maria when I retraced their route in 2015, and was astonished to find they’d gotten so little recognition for all they did—likely because they were older, working class women who spoke accented English.
“The Women at Ground Zero”: Remembering the Women Erased from the 9/11 Story
Brenda Berkman understands better than most the years-long fight it took to ensure women could even join the fire service and secure their spots among the first responders who served on 9/11 at ground zero.
The Story of Iconic Feminist Dorothy Pitman Hughes: “With Her Fist Raised”
Laura Lovett’s new biography of Dorothy Pitman Hughes is a fascinating read for anyone wanting to know more about the iconic feminist, as well as Black feminist organizing and interracial feminist collaboration in the U.S. women’s movement—a history we should know.
Today in Feminist History: Suffragists Flock to National Women’s Rights Convention (September 8, 1852)
The convention will continue two more days, and the struggle will go on for as long as may be necessary. But if future advocates of equality for women have the same dedication as those present today, there is no doubt that Elizabeth Oakes Smith’s prediction of victory will prove true, and those who can say they were among the first to begin the work of winning total equality for women will be especially honored.
Black Feminist in Public: Myriam Chancy Gives Voice to the Voiceless Among Survivors of Haiti’s 2010 Earthquake
Award-winning Haitian-American/Canadian writer and scholar Myriam Chancy’s newest novel, “What Storm, What Thunder,” commemorates the devastating January 12, 2010, earthquake that struck Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince, killing 250,000. The book has taken on new relevancy with the recent August 14 earthquake on the island.
Chancy discusses her new novel, the fate of her birth island, and why more people need to listen to Haiti’s women.
In “Respect,” Jennifer Hudson Goes Beyond Singing and Into Aretha Franklin’s Extraordinary Life
Famously private, Aretha Franklin handpicked singer Jennifer Hudson to portray her in the compelling release by debut film director Liesl Tommy. “Respect,” its flaws notwithstanding, underscores Franklin’s genius.
Women Carry Two-Thirds of Student Loan Debt. How Does the Pay Gap, Plus This Debt, Affect Women Workers?
More than 44 million Americans hold a combined $1.7 trillion in federal student loan debt (and those numbers don’t include privatize student loans). And of that collective debt, women carry two-thirds of it, according to a recent study from the American Association of University Women (AAUW).
Biden wants student loan forgiveness to include targeted student loan cancellation, improving student loan servicing, holding student loan servicers and universities accountable, and improving policies around student loan debt collection. But activists want more: the cancelation of *all* student debt.
The Texas Abortion Ban Is History Revisited
Aspects of Texas’s new six-week abortion law are eerily reminiscent of the Fugitive Slave Acts, which traumatized Black people for fear of being tracked, stalked and charged with violating the codes of slavery.
Texas has stepped into a dangerous zone that not only undermines the constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy—but now calls for the worst in citizen action.