More Than A Magazine, A Movement
Almost 50 years after its founding, Ms. is continuing its commitment to inclusive feminism with a new series called Front and Center—featuring pieces written by the women of the Magnolia Mother’s Trust. The program provides more than 100 Black mothers living in extreme poverty in Jackson, Miss., a guaranteed income of $1,000 a month for a year.
Beginning Thursday, you’ll hear first-hand about their struggles, their children, their work, their relationships and their dreams for the future.
On the cusp of Women’s History Month and to round out Black History Month, we share portraits of some of the innumerable Black women who have worked hard for the rights we now hold dear, who have shared their artistic talents, and who have helped to nurture this experiment in democracy that is still a work in progress.
Reparations for slavery are an essential component of making the U.S. more equitable, says Maureen Fadem, basing her arguments on Toni Morrison’s classic novel, Beloved.”
Currently, 30 state legislatures are controlled by Republicans, and in 16 of these, Republicans hold a veto-proof supermajority. Republicans are using this unchecked power to propose and pass an incredible amount of anti-abortion legislation.
South Carolina state Sen. Mia McLeod, Ohio Rep. Erica Crawley and Kentucky Rep. Attica Scott break down the tools and steps feminists must take to fight back.
Dr. King described family planning as “a special and urgent concern.”
The contrasts between the conversations taking place in the public sphere now versus then are striking. Dr. King would likely be horrified by the state’s oversized role in determining how and when women can control their reproductive health.
Walking in the footsteps of Shirley Chisholm, the women on Higher Heights’ Chisholm 2020 list range from our first Black woman Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris, to Adrienne A. Jones, the first woman and African American to serve as presiding officer in the Maryland General Assembly.
Feminist film critic Aviva Dove-Viebahn offers her take on the new holiday film “Happiest Season”:
“Am I unfair in blaming Clea DuVall for her movie’s missed opportunities, for telling an opportunistic story that resembles the ones we’ve been told over and over for decades now?”
After a summer where the U.S. confronted systemic racism, a flood of promises regarding justice came from state governments. This set the stage for Kadija Ismail and Kimberly Boateng, two young Black teens, to finally have their school renamed in honor of activist and Representative John R. Lewis, in a state with the second most Confederate-named schools in the U.S.
“People often assume what is best for Black girls without directly asking us for our own input on the topic.”
We REIGN Inc’s summer advocacy program is creating a space where Black girls’ voices and policy priorities matter.
“Democrats who supported the Hyde Amendment and have repeatedly traded Black women’s rights for political expediency need to listen to us now.”
