from top right:
Mary Brave Bird (aka Mary Crow Dog), Emma Goldman, Yuri Kochiyama, Shirley Chisholm
Tina Modotti, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Dolores Huerta, Ernestine Rose
Angela Davis, Mother Jones, Lucy Parsons, Harriet Tubman
Ella Baker, Dorothy Day, Claudia Jones, bell hooks
Check back throughout the month as we post more on revolutionary women!
It’s here once again. The day on which we declare ourselves undocumented, unafraid, and unapologetic is just around the corner. –NIYA
This week is National Undocumented Youth Coming Out Week! The National Immigrant Youth Alliance (NIYA)—an undocumented youth-led coalition of groups and individuals committed to achieving equality for all immigrant youth—has put together resources and support for those planning on coming out. NIYA posted this on their website:
We know that coming out as undocumented is not easy. We know because we’ve been there. For many it’s terrifying experience, but it’s also a very empowering and liberating one. And you are not alone! This year, just like every year, hundreds of thousands of DREAMers, just like yourself, are making the decision to come out with you. Together, we are coming out of the shadows….
You can check out NIYA’s the Guide to Coming Out for undocumented youth and find out more about resources for advocacy here.
Also, on Friday, March 16, the New York State Youth Leadership Council will host a rally in Union Square in New York where people will share their stories together. For more information, visit their website.
This Saturday, members of For the Birds will present at Sarah Lawrence College’s 14th Annual Women’s History Conference. This year’s theme is “Women, The Arts, and Activism.” Here is our panel’s info!
Supporting the Scene: Creating and Curating A Feminist Safer Space
Saturday, March 3
4:30–6:30pm
Slonim Living Room
Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY
Feminist collective For the Birds will discuss the ways that gender informs their curatorial and activist practice, and their understanding of “safer spaces,” as well as how their scholarly journeys have been reflected in their own community-building experience.
Find out more about the amazing line-up by visiting the conference’s website. And don’t forget to register! It’s free!
See you there.
Love,
For the Birds
So there are some issues with women’s portrayal in superhero comics, yes? From more sexy than logical costumes to being completely underused/undervalued, female characters often leave something to be desired. To celebrate the anniversary of (the amazing) Gail Simone’s “Women in Refrigerators” – the idea that female comic book characters were often killed or depowered for the sole intent of moving the male plot line along, the Women Write About Comics blog invited people to discuss their ideas about fridging. The editors of the blog rounded up some of their favorite ones and they are a really interesting read! Sue from dcwomenkickingass and and Three Chicks Read Comics Podcast wrote a wonderful post and noted that it’s easy to pinpoint those moments that make you uncomfortable but sometimes harder to find ones that make you say “YES!” In efforts to find and collect those good moments, she created a new blog This! Moments for Women!, a tumblr with mainly reader suggestions of anything from just examples of well rounded characters to women kicking ass, of course. All of these blogs and podcasts are rad examples of keeping the discussion of women in comics and woman AND comics alive and well. And not in a refrigerator.
I’m reposting this from OutHistory.org, though it was sent to me by the NYU Gender & Sexuality Studies e-mail list. It’s a great resource if you don’t already subscribe, I highly suggest it for staying on top of a huge variety of critical race and gender lectures and events in the NYC area.
In addition to the recommended features listed below, be sure to search OutHistory.org for other “African American”, “Afro”, and “Black” history entries.
African American LGBTQ History Timeline: 19th Century
Bronzeville, Chicago
- Cabello, Tristan. Queer Bronzeville : An Overview
Brown, Addie, and Rebecca Primus
- Addie Brown and Rebecca Primus: “No kisses is like youres,” 1859-1868
- The love letters of two 19th-century Black women.
Clay, James
- See section on the murder of Clay in John D’Emilio: drag and street fairy life; Chicago, 1965-1970
Creoli, Jan
Equiano, Olaudah
Gunn, Sakia
- Brief biography of the a fifteen-year-old Aggressive-identified African-American from Newark, New Jersey, who was fatally stabbed on the morning of May 11th, 2003.
Hansberry, Lorraine
Harris, Sherry
- “In 1991 I made history by becoming the first openly gay African American lesbian to be elected to public office in the country.”
Hines, Florence, Male Impersonator
- Help OutHistory create a timeline and annotated bibliography on the life and career of this performer.
Holsaert, Faith S.: “Chosen Girl,” 2003
- An evocative story about a young white girl’s perception of an interracial intimacy between her mother and a Black woman friend, set in Greenwich Village in the 1950s.
“Homosexuals being punished”: Canon City, Colorado, photograph, 1900-1910
- Photoograph: Black men, in straw hats and perhaps in dresses, at the State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado, push wheelbarrows, each with a large rock. Continue reading
As feminists we are all too aware of the baggage of Valentine’s Day.
Seriously.
But here is one way we can try to turn patriarchal sour lemons into lemonade.
Black and Pink has called for multi city Valentine’s Day card parties for queer prisoners. Express some love for our community by letting those currently incarcerated know they are in our hearts. Join in by attending a party or hosting your own.
You can also show support by purchasing your Valentine a card made by an imprisoned queer/trans artist .
Sick of all the football talk? Perhaps you should check out this great show hosted by Permanent Wave tonight at Big Snow Buffalo Lodge. And if you can’t make it tonight, here’s a list of their additional upcoming shows:
Sunday, February 5
Allison Weiss, Traveling (Bloomington, mem. Good Luck/One Reason), Swearin’, Early Riser @ Big Snow
All ages, 8pm, $7
RSVP
Thursday, Feburary 23
Benefit for Sister Somalia w/WOJCIK, The Roulettes, Sandy and the Rats, Mancie @ Death by Audio
All ages, 8pm, $7
RSVP
Saturday, March 3
Amy Klein and the Blue Star Band, Bad Credit No Credit, more TBA @ the Hive
Saturday, March 24
Violent Vickie, Plastiq Passion, Koneko @ Lit Lounge
Sunday, April 8
Teen matinee w/Claire’s Diary, Supercute + more TBA @ Public Assembly
**TRIGGER WARNING**
Really looking forward to the release of this documentary. As a survivor I always experience a great deal of healing when someone breaks the silence. Here’s to ending sexual assault and all the shame that surrounds it.
“Secret Survivors is an interview-based theater project by NYC-based theater company, Ping Chong & Company, featuring adult survivors of child sexual abuse telling their personal stories on stage. To expand the impact of the theater production, we are creating a documentary and toolkit to accompany the live presentation so that we can reach thousands of individuals around the country who are working to end child sexual abuse.”
For more information visit: www.secretsurvivors.org
This week Racialicious posted a piece about a black trans woman who has been arrested and charged with 2nd degree murder after she and her friends were violently attacked by a group of white people who were yelling racist and transphobic epithets. A woman smashed a glass into CeCe’s face and, according to Racialicious,
A fight ensued between the adults and the young people after this initial attack and one of the attackers, Dean Schmitz, was fatally stabbed.
As if it were not sufficiently tragic that a group of young people were subjected to such severe violence and that Dean Schmitz lost his life, police arriving at the scene arrested CeCe, denied her adequate medical treatment, interrogated her for hours, and placed her in solitary confinement. In the aftermath of being attacked, she was not treated with care, but launched into another nightmare. The only person arrested that night, she has since been charged with two counts of 2nd degree murder. Hennepin County Attorney Michael Freeman has the power to drop these charges, a choice he made in multiple other clear instances of self-defense this year, but he has not yet done so.
CeCe’s story is a portrait of the United States Criminal Justice System. Her story is what is meant when we are told that transgender people, especially transgender women of color, experience disproportionate rates of police harassment, profiling, and abuse. She is living one of the stories rolled into statistics like: trans people are ten to fifteen times more likely to be incarcerated than cisgender (not transgender) people, or nearly half of African American transgender people have spent time in jail or prison.
Please take a moment to read the full Racialicious article here, and visit http://supportcece.wordpress.com/ to get updates on the case. To tell Michael Freeman you support dropping the charges against CeCe, call 612-348-5561 or email citizeninfo@co.hennepin.mn.us
The folks at Dream Activist have launched a campaign to stop the deportation of Yanelli Hernandez. Yanelli came to the United States as a 13-year-old and is set to be deported TOMORROW, TUESDAY, JANUARY 31! Yanelli almost took her life while being held in detention by ICE and what she needs is treatment. According to Dream Activist:
Yanelli’s case is urgent, we only have until Tuesday to stop her deportation. Yanelli came to the United States all by herself when she was 13, this means that, if deported, she won’t have anyone to support her.
We need your help to get Yanelli out, she needs to be at home with her family receiving treatment. Things are not looking good for her, ICE has already moved her to a different location. . . the last stop for detainees before they are deported. We pretty much have 1 day to stop Yanelli’s deportation.
Please make a phone call to John Morton, Director of ICE :1-800-394-5855 or 202-732-3000 or 1-800-821-9358
Dream Activist has provided a script to use if you need it:
Hello I am calling to ask that Yanelli Hernadez (A# 205 012 525) be allowed to stay in the U.S. where she needs treatment. Yanelli is suffering from depression; she has attempted to take her own life twice and should not be deported. This is wrong.