It’s been 19 years since the 9/11 attacks forever changed the social and political fabric of the U.S.. On the anniversary of the attacks, feminists are mourning the tragedy, while also reflecting on our current convergence of crises, including racial injustice and a pandemic that has taken 50 times the number of lives lost in the 9/11 attacks—while receiving only a fraction of the government attention and response that the attacks received.
Tag: Racial Justice
Scholar Strike Aims to Highlight Racial Injustice Through Digital Teach-In
As part of an inaugural Scholar Strike, U.S. professors are withdrawing from classrooms to engage in accessible, digital education surrounding anti-Blackness and police brutality on Sept. 8 and 9.
While Praising the NBA Strike, Don’t Forget How WNBA Players Paved The Way
Headlines last week portrayed NBA players as the activist leaders in the sports world and reduced WNBA players to mere followers of their male counterparts’ actions.
But on the whole, the WNBA has consistently and collectively been on the forefront of social justice issues for years now.
Women’s leadership—particularly Black women’s leadership—in the WNBA is too often left out of headlines about activism in professional sports.
“We know what it was like to stand up, even against public opinion.”
Homeboy Industries Offers Hope For Women and Men Caught Up in Criminal Justice System
As many people start to reimagine criminal justice and public safety, Homeboy Industries, an LA-based nonprofit, is setting a powerful example of what the justice system could look like if rehabilitation was prioritized over mass incarceration.
57 Years Later, Thousands Protest Racial Injustice at 2020 March on Washington
Exactly 57 years after the first March on Washington and 65 years after the murder of Emmett Till, demonstrators are coming together once more to protest against police brutality and racial discrimination.
“Bad Dads” and the Policing of Black Parenthood
Abby Johnson, notable anti-abortion advocate and recent RNC speaker, said that it would be “smart” for a police officer to racially profile her Black adopted son, and says over-incarceration of Black men is the result of “bad dads.”
Like the “welfare queen” myth, the “bad dad” stereotype is based on the stereotyping of Black people as lazy and unfit—and it’s a stereotype not grounded in fact.
But aside from her statistical misinterpretations, Johnson’s statements raise questions about her own position as a (racist) white parent raising a Black child, and the ways in which interracial adoption can negatively affect a child.
Conventional Ignorance: Belva Davis Confronts Violent Racism at the 1964 RNC
At the very outset of what would become an award-winning career as a TV journalist, Belva Davis confronted violent racism at the 1964 Republican National Convention, at which conservative Arizona senator Barry Goldwater was nominated for the presidency. Her memory of that daunting experience reminds us that we’ve been through change followed by backlash before.
“Day one of the convention had been tense but orderly. … Day two was starting to spin out of control.”
Want To Honor the 19th Amendment? 9 Ways To Stand Up For Women of Color
In the lead up to the November elections and beyond, with a BIPOC woman as a vice presidential candidate for the first time in history, it’s important to carry on the work of the suffragists. To continue their legacies, but also create a new movement of true equality, here are nine actions to take.
We Heart: Ida B. Wells, Suffragists to be Honored in Photo Mosaic at D.C.’s Union Station
“Our Story: Portraits of Change” is an interactive photo mosaic and art installation depicting a portrait of suffragist and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells—on display in Union Station in Washington, D.C., from August 24-28.
Paying for All We Get
For centuries, a bitter aphorism has defined the Black experience in America: Blacks in this country “may not get all they pay for in this world,” Frederick Douglass noted, “but they must certainly pay for all they get.”
If we aren’t careful, recent progress made on issues of racial justice will be quelled by white supremacy once again.
“Arguably forming the largest movement in American history, marchers in the streets roused the conscience of the nation and defied America to reckon with, and pull up, its racist roots… Maybe, just maybe, we will finally strike a fatal blow to the heart of racism and white supremacy.”