Students, that is, not Washington University, which still plans to award an honorary degree to anti-feminist Phyllis Schlafly. The students who oppose honoring Schlafly have made a website:
They're raising awareness about some of the reprehensible positions Schlafly has taken with regard to women's place in society. They picketed the chancellor's home. And they're instructing students:
If you are opposed to Washington University’s decision to award Schlafly an honorary doctorate please join us by SILENTLY STANDING and TURNING YOUR BACK when Schlafly is granted her degree.
That was among the actions suggested in comments here! Commencement is in two days, and I hope there's footage of the protest...
AngryBlackBitch has more.
posted 4:00 pm at Feministing
Reader Katherine Chun Eriksen, who is graduating from Washington University in St. Louis this week, wrote us to ask about what action we'd suggest to respond to her school's decision to "honor" Phyllis "Martial Rape Doesn't Exist" Schlafly. Katherine writes,
The "honorary" degree being presented to Phyllis Schlafly has caused quite a stir on campus and we are in the process of trying to decide how to protest the presentation during Commencement. I was wondering if you would be able to help us out by asking your readers to submit ideas for our protest. We would like to maintain the dignity and solemnity of the event while still making our point clear to those in attendance. We are looking for something that cannot be labeled at "juvenile" or "immature".
So we thought we'd take a cue from Feministe Feedback, and pose the question to you, dear readers. Do you have activism suggestions for the feminists at Wash U?
posted 12:12 pm at Feministing
It's May Day. This holiday of sorts has a long history:
At its national convention in Chicago, held in 1884, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions (which later became the American Federation of Labor), proclaimed that "eight hours shall constitute a legal day's labor from and after May 1, 1886." The following year, the FOTLU, backed by many Knights of Labor locals, reiterated their proclamation stating that it would be supported by strikes and demonstrations.
In the past few years, because of the seriously anti-immigrant climate, May 1st has been a day for HUGE immigration rallies and marches. This year these marches are happening again, despite some violence on at a rally last year in Los Angeles.
Many people have been reiterating this for a long time, but in light of recent discussions, I want to make it clear: immigration is a feminist issue. It's a human rights issue. The abuses that have been going on as of late: immigration raids, jails being used as detention centers, families being separated, matter a lot to me, as the child of immigrants and as a feminist.
So in honor of May Day and the immigration rights movement here is some suggested reading:
The Unapologetic Mexican
Why Immigration is a Matter of Reproductive Justice
An Anti-Trafficking Activist's Agenda
ACLU Immigrant rights work
WOC PhD has a good post up with events and a video about immigration myths
This is by no means comprehensive. Please add your links in the comments.
posted 1:44 pm at Feministing
So as you can see I have been MIA again, but I promise I have a really good reason. I just wanted to drop in and say Hi!, but also talk a little bit about what I am doing and why I have been so busy. There have been tons of things I want to write about, but I have been preoccupied.
While you are reading this, I am in the middle of a three day training that I have coordinated for the last two months to support grassroots organizers in their campaign work. As some of you know I work at an organization called the Center for Media Justice where we defend the communications rights of disenfranchised communities. I have put together a training specifically focusing on social justice organizing goals such as youth rights, immigrant rights, gender rights and economic justice, recognizing that many of the communities we seek to empower, do not have access to traditional media.
Through this training and through the work of my organization we hope to build the competency of disenfranchised folks and give them the skills they need to communicate their campaign goals and lead them to victory.
Corporate takeover of mainstream media has had many bad effects on our communities. Blogging is one way that we can get our voices into the mainstream to at least attempt to reframe our issues and speak for ourselves. By supporting organizers in their work and to help them gain the skills they need to access media and get their stories heard is another way we can begin to see justice.
So I will be training for the next three days. If anyone is interested in the work I do or want resources and strategy in your neck of the woods, leave questions in comments or shoot me an email.
I will be back in action next week!
Love ya!
posted 1:35 pm at Feministing
Anyone remember Erin Davies? She's the Albany woman whose Volkswagen Beetle was defaced with "fag" and "u r gay," and instead of fixing her car - she decided to take action. She kept the slurs on the car as a way to start conversations and to raise awareness about queer issues and homophobia.
Well, it seems Davies' car has gotten a new look. Thanks to the folks at Volkswagen, Davies got her car an awesome new paint job. She now takes the Fag Bug across the country, keeping a blog.
Davies says, "Fag Bug has become much more than when it started. And to be able to transform it into something positive, rather than have people look at my car and be upset and hurt, I'd rather they look and see how bright the colors are, see something fun and playful instead of something hurtful." Davies is also has a book and movie in the works. Awesome!
Thanks to Rob for the link.
posted 9:45 am at Feministing
Asian Americans for Obama have worked tirelessly over the last several weeks to try and spread Senator Barack Obama’s appeal to the Asian American voting constituency. In this final pitch email, we will wrap up several posts written by Asian Americans detailing our support for Senator Obama. We hope that you will help spread the word to your blog readers and/or forwarding this email to your friends.
News
Asian Americans: Why We Support Obama
- A Lesson from my Father: Vote for Obama
Obama’s living in Hawaii gave him a historic and an everyday perspective of Asian life. Obama, in describing his family’s arrival in Hawaii in 1959, makes historical reference to the indenturing system that kept Japanese, Chinese and Filipino immigrants stooped sunup to sunset in the sugarcane fields and pineapple plantations of Hawaii. My dad was in Hawaii for a number of months, living with an uncle, before his final leap to America. Obama also vividly recounts that a Japanese American man named Freddy, who ran a small market near his family’s house in Hawaii, would save his family the choicest cuts of aku for sashimi and give him rice candy with edible wrappers. When I was young, I remember the fun of eating the “wrapper” around the rice candy.
- Obama Campaign in Pennsylvania: A Tale of Two Levittowns
”I got my first overtly racist anti-Obama comment today while phoning central Pennsylvania. It was a 62-year-old man, who said, simply, “I’m not voting for the black man.” I moved to end the call, but he continued, “I’ve worked with hundreds of black people.” He meant that as a defense (”Some of them are my best friends!”) but the point was clear. At least he was honest.”
- Working People: The Real Casualties of Hillary’s Finger-Pointing
Hillary uses the same tools of division as many have used on working people in the past when she parses Obama’s statements to justify calling him an “elitist.” [The past actions of her surrogates who have attributed both Obama’s success (a la Ferraro) and inelectability (a la Rendell) solely to his “race” is only further proof of her campaign’s divisive tactics].
- Why I Support Obama as a Sikh American
As a Sikh American whose family settled in America 100 years ago, this election is different than any other my family has seen. This is the first election where I believe the future of my community and country rests on our support of a single presidential candidate: Barack Obama.
Profiling Asian American Volunteers and Staffers for Barack Obama
YouTube Videos
More videos with non-English subtitles can be downloaded at Captioned Media for Obama, all of which were created by volunteers and supporters.
Don’t forget to get out and vote for Obama tomorrow in Pennsylvania’s much-anticipated primaries. And, as always, Asian Americans for Obama, a concerned group of Asian American supporters for Senator Barack Obama will be working tirelessly to help spread Obama’s message within and outside of the Asian American community. For more information, go to Asian Americans for Obama.
This email may be forwarded or reproduced. Any questions should be directed to jenn@reappropriate.com
posted 3:30 am at reappropriate
Senator Daniel Akaka co-authored a proposal earlier this year to call for retirement benefits for thousands of Filipino veterans of WWII. The proposal (part of the larger Veterans Benefits Enhancement Act of 2007, S. 1315) passed the Veterans Affairs Committee but is currently being stymied by Senate Republicans. In a final attempt to keep the bill alive, it will be brought to a vote tomorrow.
Akaka, along with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other supporters, on Thursday filed a motion for cloture, a procedural move that attempts to bring the bill to the floor for debate and an up-or-down vote.
“This legislation will enable Congress to begin to rectify a wrong done to Filipino World War II veterans over 60 years ago,” Akaka said in a statement released through his office. “The United States has a moral obligation to care for those who have served under its flag.”
Reid (D, Nevada) said obstinacy from Republican leadership to move on the bill left him with no other choice.
This move requires that 60 Senators vote to end debate, and ultimately vote in favour of the bill, before the benefits for Filipino veterans can be stripped down. It is imperative that within the next day, you contact your local Senator and strongly urge them to vote in favour of benefits for Filipino veterans tomorrow.
The Veterans Equity Center is urging you to contact your senator tomorrow. Here’s the action they recommend:
Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202)224.3121 or check the online directory, or log on to find list of Senators and their corresponding fax number and contact information.
The message should be simple and clear: “I urge you to support our Filipino World War II veterans and to vote in favor of S. 1315 Veterans Benefit Enhancement Act.”
If you have even just a few minutes tomorrow, please contact your Senator and urge them to support benefits for our underserved Filipino veterans of WWII.
posted 2:01 am at reappropriate
I have acne, my knees are round, my left breast is bigger than the right one, my abs are not flat (and never will be), but surprisingly enough, I’m OK with all of these things. Two years ago, though, I would not have been. I am a girl who has gone from being obese to weighing practically nothing. While I did not necessarily suffer from anorexia, I dangerously flirted with the disorder. I felt as though my entire body was socially inadequate, so in high school I determined that the only way to be accepted was to be skinny like all of the celebrities that were in my home state of California. In a mere year and a half I lost 70 pounds, at the end of it I looked like a skeleton and was in critical health. After years of therapy and seeing a nutritionist, I am finally at a healthy weight. Now as a college freshman in Texas, I try to promote more realistic expectations of the female form through my work with the campus Women’s Center.
At V to the 10th in New Orleans, we had the privilege of attending a panel regarding body issues that was lead by Rosario Dawson (RENT), Kerry Washington (The Last King Of Scotland), Ali Larter (Heros, Legally Blonde), and Amber Tamblyn (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants).
posted 5:58 pm at Feministing
The National Asian American Student Conference (NAASCON) is looking for sponsors for its conference. Check out this email:
National Asian American Student Conference (www.NAASCon.org) is announcing its search for financial sponsors of the 2008 National Conference!* We are currently seeking individual/private, organizational, and/or corporate sponsors at all levels for our upcoming conference on October 17-19, 2008 at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. (Please see attached file for all details!)
NAASCon is an organization created by and for students of Asian descent. This organization aims to serve as a forum for Asian American/Pacific Islander student activists from across the country to compile resources, coordinate campaigns, and build community around shared values of social and economic justice, human rights, and collective decision-making. NAASCon envisions a progressive Asian American student movement that works in solidarity with all oppressed communities to construct a just and equitable society in which human dignity is respected. This conference serves as a national forum, providing a dynamic space where students from every college and university can converge and share ideas, develop relationships, and think critically about the world around us.
Although you may not be located in Atlanta, there are multiple reasons why your involvement as a sponsor can be valuable to you:
By becoming a sponsor of NAASCon, you will:
– *Encourage the leadership and professional development of student leaders*; our goal is to attract 500+ students from colleges and universities across the United States.
– *Help students* with financial need to attend the conference by funding scholarships and subsidizing travel costs.
– *Acknowledge the need for community building and service.*
As an organization/business, you will also:*
– *Obtain various benefits for sponsorship *including placement of your company’s logo on our website(s), advertising space in the conference program/brochures, and recognition at the opening and closing sessions of the event.
– *Support a national conference* that links student communities across the United States; providing promotional exposure on both local (Atlanta) and national levels.
– *Reinforce your company’s/organization’s objective* and reputation as a leader in diversity.
– *Promote your mission, products and services* to the conference participants and respective communities that these students represent.//
The theme is “From Visions to Actions: Let’s Get Our Movements Going,” and with your support, NAASCon can reach its potential and empower student leaders and their communities.
NAASCON is a very large Asian American conference and has historically been a great forum for exploring new ideas within the Asian American community. Please check out the NAASCON website if you are interested in becoming a sponsor.
posted 3:22 pm at reappropriate
(Hat-tip: Angry Asian Man)
On April 9th, Jack Cafferty told Wolf Bitzer on CNN’s Situation Room that the Chinese were the same bunch of “goons and thugs” they had been for the last fifty years. It’s the kind of dumbass racism that Cafferty and his ilk (elitist White male moderate conservative on-air op-eds) have been spouting for years in order to generate ratings. I watched Lou Dobbs last night on my flight, and the bigoted fear-mongering he vocalized was truly breath-taking. Here’s Cafferty’s clip:
I do find Cafferty’s remarks questionable, primarily because they perpetuate an image of Chinese people as evil and predatory — far above and beyond a viable criticism of China and its national policies. However, I am worried that those who are reacting to this issue are basing their anger more out of displeasure that China is being insulted (i.e. Chinese nationalism) than out of genuine belief that the words were racist and discriminatory; after all, some of China’s political practices over the last fifty years could indeed be likened to “bullying”, although no more so than America’s. We must be careful that in our disdain for intolerant words, we don’t sweep under the rug a relevant message.
Some folks online have started a petition to demand an apology from Cafferty and CNN. Follow the link to sign — however keep in mind that the petition offers no indication regarding if or when it will actually be delivered to CNN. As with all petitions, read the text carefully before signing.
posted 4:18 pm at reappropriate
