Month: March 2017

Cecily Strong wants all women to know who they’re up against in the fight for equal pay. Apparently, it’s men like Colin Jost.

During Friday night’s “Stand for Rights: A Benefit for the ACLU,” Strong riffed on the gender pay gap, which isn’t really funny if you think about it.

“Women still make just 78 cents for every dollar earned by men,” the “Saturday Night Live” star reminded the audience, looking at Jost and adding, “For example, this man.”

“If current trends continue, women will not see equal pay for another 117 years,” Strong continued. “And by that point, currency will probably be something called Tinder bucks.”

Strong helped out during Friday’s telethon by chatting with people online in an effort to get them to donate to the American Civil Liberties Union. During her segment with Jost, she pointed out just how vulnerable women are in the workforce. 

“Women are legally protected from discrimination in the work place when they get pregnant. That’s simple, right?” she said. “Unfortunately, pregnancy can still put a women’s job at risk.”

She then introduced a short documentary about a pregnant delivery driver who was forced to take unpaid leave after her doctor advised her not to lift heavy items ― a requirement for her job.

“So men, give all you can,” Strong told viewers. “Women, give 78 percent of that.”

Ready to give? Text POWER to 20222 to donate $10 to the ACLU. The ACLU will call to explain other actions you can take to help. (Terms here.) You can also support “Stand for Rights: A Benefit for the ACLU” by heading to the ACLU website.

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

White women love Tina Fey, but Tina Fey isn’t too happy with white women, especially the ones who voted for Donald Trump. 

During “Stand for Rights: A Benefit for the ACLU” on Friday night, Fey sat down with New York Civil Liberties Union executive director Donna Lieberman and ACLU deputy legal director Louise Melling for a conversation about the battle for women’s rights and the responsibility each of us have to fight for protections that might not directly impact our lives. 

After the election, exit polls revealed that a majority of white women ― 53 percent, to be exact ― supported Trump in the election, compared to the 43 percent who voted for Hillary Clinton.

 “A lot of this election was turned by white, college-educated women who now would maybe like to forget about this election and go back to watching HGTV,” Fey said. “I would want to urge them to like, ‘You can’t look away’ because it doesn’t affect you this minute, but it’s going to affect you eventually.”

“Again, open two windows. Do watch HGTV,” she added. “[Don’t] turn attention away from what is happening.”

After questioning Lieberman and Melling about the current state of reproductive rights, Fey expanded her plea to all white women, including herself, to exercise compassion and empathy toward at-risk groups in Trump’s America. 

“I personally will make my own pledge as a college-educated white woman to not look away,” she said, “to not pretend that things are happening now won’t eventually affect me if we don’t put a stop to it.” 

Ready to give? Text POWER to 20222 to donate $10 to the ACLU. The ACLU will call to explain other actions you can take to help. (Terms here.) You can also support “Stand for Rights: A Benefit for the ACLU” by heading to the ACLU website. 

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Michael Moore appeared at “Stand for Rights: A Benefit for the ACLU” on Friday night, and discussed his time interacting with the non-profit back when he was a teenager.

After his segment on the livestream event, The Huffington Post caught up with Moore backstage, where the filmmaker elaborated on the various anti-Donald Trump statements he’s made recently.

“We’re already past the point, probably, of reversing what climate change has done to this planet,” Moore told HuffPost. “Some say we’re on the precipice, some say we’re too late, some say we’re going to be too late very soon.”

Pointedly, Moore continued:

For him to tear up every single regulation instituted by President Obama on climate change and for him to say that that will no longer be a concern when they make their decisions, is not just a fuck you to the rest of this world, but it’s a declaration of war against the actual planet.

The documentary filmmaker has been vocal about resisting President Trump and contributing to future progress. 

Ready to give? Text POWER to 20222 to donate $10 to the ACLU. The ACLU will call to explain other actions you can take to help. (Terms here.) You can also support “Stand for Rights: A Benefit for the ACLU” by heading to the ACLU website.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Chelsea Clinton delivered a clear message to all those watching “Stand for Rights: A Benefit for the ACLU” on Friday night: she’s not giving up and we shouldn’t either.

Introduced as the “alternate universe current first daughter of the United States,” Clinton stopped by the event to bring attention to voter suppression and the various efforts lawmakers utilize to prevent from certain groups from making it to the polls. 

“The right to vote is the bedrock of our democracy,” Clinton said. “It gives us, each and every citizen, a voice in how our government works. Sadly, this fundamental right is under attack all across the country. Dozens of states have passed laws in recent years making it harder to vote. These laws disproportionately affect minority groups, the poor and the elderly. Millions have been disenfranchised by voter ID laws alone.”

To drive her point home, Clinton then introduced viewers to Ruthelle Frank, a Wisconsin resident who’s been voting since 1948 without an official birth certificate. However, Frank has been barred from voting since 2011 because of a lack of proper ID, one of the many ways citizens are kept away from the voting booth. Five years ago, The ACLU partnered with Frank to fight the voter ID law, but the case is still being appealed in courts. 

After the clip, Clinton ended her donation ask with a powerful plea to Americans to never give up the fight. 

“Well, Ruthelle isn’t giving up and the ACLU isn’t giving up. I’m not giving up.  I hope that none of you are giving up because we know that our right to vote is fundamental precious and worth fighting for,” she added. “And we know that we need the ACLU to be part of leading this fight on all of our behalf, so if you believe that please, please put that belief into action and give.”

Since her mother Hillary Clinton lost the election, rumors have swirled that Chelsea might run for public office. The former first daughter addressed the speculation about her political future in an interview with Variety published Wednesday.

“I really am constantly surprised by the stories of me running for, fill in the blank — Congress, Senate, City Council, the presidency,” Clinton said. “I really find this all rather hysterical, because I’ve been asked this question a lot throughout my life, and the answer has never changed.”

In the meantime, Clinton will be working on her children’s picture book titled She Persisted featuring the stories of powerful women throughout history like Harriet Tubman, Maria Tallchief, Claudette Colvin, Oprah Winfrey and Sonia Sotomayor.

Ready to give? Text POWER to 20222 to donate $10 to the ACLU. The ACLU will call to explain other actions you can take to help. (Terms here.) You can also support “Stand for Rights: A Benefit for the ACLU” by heading to the ACLU website. 

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

If there’s anyone who could compel Americans to stand up and fight for human rights, it’s “America’s sweetheart” Tom Hanks.

As the de facto host of “Stand for Rights: A Benefit for the ACLU” on Friday night, Hanks kicked off the evening on a lighter note with an off-the-cuff and “kooky” opening to encourage viewers to get in formation. 

The Oscar winner decided to distill the ACLU’s mission into emojis and slang to appeal to the internet-friendly millennials surfing at home because he’s got it like that.

“ICYMI, when our constitutional rights go MIA, the ACLU, aka the USA’s BFF, will be there ASAP    ,” Hanks said.

After welcoming celebrities like Tracy Morgan, Nia Vardalos and Zosia Mamet to the party, he turned his attention to the struggles facing immigrants in President Donald Trump’s America by asking the stars about their personal experiences. 

Considering Hanks wasn’t shy about voicing his political beliefs over the election season ― this is the man responsible for the most brutal Trump analogy after all ― it’s no surprise he was asked to open the event. Days after Trump was elected, Hanks delivered a powerful speech about America’s resilience. 

“We are going to be all right, because we constantly get to tell the whole world who we are,” he said.  “We constantly get to define ourselves as Americans. We do have the greatest country in the world. We may move at a slow pace, but we do have the greatest country in the world, because we are always moving towards a more perfect Union. That journey never ceases. It never stops.”

Ready to give? Text POWER to 20222 to donate $10 to the ACLU. The ACLU will call to explain other actions you can take to help. (Terms here.) You can also support “Stand for Rights: A Benefit for the ACLU” by heading to the ACLU website. 

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

President Donald Trump, who has been publicly accused of sexual assault by more than 15 women and was caught on tape boasting he could grab women “by the pussy” without their consent, has officially proclaimed April 2017 to be National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.  

In 2009, Barack Obama became the first president to officially proclaim April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, although activists had recognized the month as a time to boost awareness of sexual violence for several decades. Since 2009, a proclamation has been released each year by the White House. But 2017 brings us the first year that a president who has been accused of committing sexual assault has issued such a proclamation.

“At the heart of our country is the emphatic belief that every person has unique and infinite value,” reads the beginning of Trump’s statement. “We dedicate each April to raising awareness about sexual abuse and recommitting ourselves to fighting it. Women, children, and men have inherent dignity that should never be violated.”

The statement goes on to affirm a commitment to reducing and ending sexual violence, calling on all Americans “to support survivors of sexual assault and work together to prevent these crimes in their communities.”

The Trump administration’s first Sexual Assault Awareness Month proclamation hits many of the same general notes that Obama’s statement did in 2016 ― with a few notable changes.

The 2017 proclamation removes any references to military sexual assault and adds a line on the importance of fighting “against the scourge of child pornography and its pernicious effects.” 

Most strikingly, the proclamation removes almost all references to rape culture, though Trump does acknowledge that “research has demonstrated the effectiveness of changing social norms that accept or allow indifference to sexual violence.”

In its first paragraph, Obama’s 2016 statement called on Americans to “stand up and speak out to change the culture that questions the actions of victims, rather than those of their attackers,” later “reaffirm[ing] our commitment to shift the attitudes that allow sexual assault to go unanswered and unpunished.” 

There are no such allusions to a culture of victim-blaming in Trump’s 2017 statement.

Trump is currently facing a defamation suit filed by former “Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos, who has accused Trump of kissing and groping her without her consent in 2007, a year after she had appeared on his reality TV show.

Read Trump’s full proclamation below:

At the heart of our country is the emphatic belief that every person has unique and infinite value. We dedicate each April to raising awareness about sexual abuse and recommitting ourselves to fighting it. Women, children, and men have inherent dignity that should never be violated.

According to the Department of Justice, on average there are more than 300,000 instances of rape or other sexual assault that afflict our neighbors and loved ones every year. Behind these painful statistics are real people whose lives are profoundly affected, at times shattered, and who are invariably in need of our help, commitment, and protection.

As we recognize National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, we are reminded that we all share the responsibility to reduce and ultimately end sexual violence. As a Nation, we must develop meaningful strategies to eliminate these crimes, including increasing awareness of the problem in our communities, creating systems that protect vulnerable groups, and sharing successful prevention strategies.

My Administration, including the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services, will do everything in its power to protect women, children, and men from sexual violence. This includes supporting victims, preventing future abuse, and prosecuting offenders to the full extent of the law. I have already directed the Attorney General to create a task force on crime reduction and public safety. This task force will develop strategies to reduce crime and propose new legislation to fill gaps in existing laws.

Prevention means reducing the prevalence of sexual violence on our streets, in our homes, and in our schools and institutions. Recent research has demonstrated the effectiveness of changing social norms that accept or allow indifference to sexual violence. This can be done by engaging young people to step in and provide peer leadership against condoning violence, and by mobilizing men and boys as allies in preventing sexual and relationship violence. Our families, schools, and communities must encourage respect for women and children, who are the vast majority of victims, and promote healthy personal relationships. We must never give up the fight against the scourge of child pornography and its pernicious effects on both direct victims and the broader culture. We recommit ourselves this month to establishing a culture of respect and appreciation for the dignity of every human being.

There is tremendous work to be done. Together, we can and must protect our loved ones, families, campuses, and communities from the devastating and pervasive effects of sexual assault. In the face of sexual violence, we must commit to providing meaningful support and services for victims and survivors in the United States and around the world.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 2017 as National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. I urge all Americans, families, law enforcement, health care providers, community and faith-based organizations, and private organizations to support survivors of sexual assault and work together to prevent these crimes in their communities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand seventeen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-first.

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Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

The Pussycats might be on the move. 

The CW’s “Riverdale” hasn’t even finished its first season, but breakout star Ashleigh Murray already has her eye on a bright and leopard-spotted future for Josie and her bandmates, Melody and Val. 

The homegrown rock band is pretty much the equivalent of Destiny’s Child in the “Archie” universe (even teen redheads solving mysteries go to concerts sometimes, OK?) and are clearly destined for bigger and better things than the Riverdale High football halftime show. For the record, they slayed that one, too. 

“I would absolutely do a spinoff,” Murray told The Huffington Post during a recent Build Series interview. “I want to bring Josie to New York. I want her to have her first big city experience.”

Although “Riverdale” ditches everything that might be familiar to older generations of Archie readers for CW “regulation hotties” and major “Twin Peaks” vibes, a “Josie and the Pussycats” spinoff would actually stay true to the comic-book origins.

Josie made her first appearance in 1962 with Archie’s Pals ‘n’ Gals alongside Melody and Pepper, who was later replaced by Val. The girl group received their own cover seven years later and were a mainstay on comic-book store shelves until 1982. 

An animated series following the group’s misadventures also aired 16 episodes in the early 1970s and was later reconceptualized as “Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space.” Yes, space.

“There have been discussions and wishful thinking,” Murray added about the potential of a spinoff. “I’ve been quoted saying that I didn’t want to, but it was solely because I didn’t want to live without the [cast]. They’re my family now. We talk all the time. I love them. To start this journey and then be pulled into another place, I know that’s what happens, but I don’t want to not be in school with Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge. But I’ll do it.” 

Watch Murray’s full Build Series interview below. 

Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Mahershala Ali, Amy Poehler and a whole host of other stars are teaming up for Stand for Rights: A Benefit for the ACLU. Join us at 7 p.m. Eastern on Friday, March 31, on Facebook Live. 

You can support the ACLU right away. Text POWER to 20222 to give $10 to the ACLU. The ACLU will call you to explain other actions you can take to help. Visit www.hmgf.org/t for terms. #StandForRights2017

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Remember when you were just a wee human, when a simple game like Super Mario Bros. could distract and amuse you for hours and the White House wasn’t a daily s**t show?

This administration really has become a challenge to describe, so let’s do it using something we actually like: Nintendo games. 

We perused our collection and tried to find the Nintendo games that would be the best fit for the members of Donald Trump’s cabinet.

Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tom Hanks, Tracy Morgan, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Moore, Padma Lakshmi and a whole host of other stars are teaming up for Stand for Rights: A Benefit for the ACLU. Donate now and join us at 7 p.m. Eastern on Friday, March 31 on Facebook Live. #standforrights2017 

You can support the ACLU right away. Text POWER to 20222 to give $10 to the ACLU. The ACLU will call you to explain other actions you can take to help. Visit www.hmgf.org/t for terms. #StandForRights2017

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

WATCH Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tom Hanks, Jon Hamm, Tracy Morgan, Padma Lakshmi, Amy Poehler and more of your favorite celebrities team up to entertain you during #StandForRights, a Facebook Live telethon to support the American Civil Liberties Union.

Expect incredible performances, hilarious skits and plenty of hijinks. Best of all, it’s for a great cause. 

“[It is] the collective will and tireless actions of ‘we the people’ that serve as a bulwark against unconstitutional and wrong-headed policies and executive orders,” ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero said in a statement. “By supporting our work through this telethon, we can fight even harder to defend the rights guaranteed by our Constitution.”

Stand for Rights is produced by Friend of a Friend Productions, in partnership with The Huffington Post, Funny Or Die and Maggie Vision.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

WATCH Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tom Hanks, Jon Hamm, Tracy Morgan, Padma Lakshmi, Amy Poehler and more of your favorite celebrities team up to entertain you during #StandForRights, a Facebook Live telethon to support the American Civil Liberties Union.

Expect incredible performances, hilarious skits and plenty of hijinks. Best of all, it’s for a great cause. 

“[It is] the collective will and tireless actions of ‘we the people’ that serve as a bulwark against unconstitutional and wrong-headed policies and executive orders,” ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero said in a statement. “By supporting our work through this telethon, we can fight even harder to defend the rights guaranteed by our Constitution.”

Stand for Rights is produced by Friend of a Friend Productions, in partnership with The Huffington Post, Funny Or Die and Maggie Vision.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices