Month: March 2017

NEW YORK ― Leaders of the “Day Without A Woman” strike arrested outside Trump International Hotel on Wednesday were released by police, one by one, later in the evening.

Organizers Tamika Mallory, Carmen Perez and Linda Sarsour, co-chairs of January’s Women’s March on Washington, emerged from a police precinct exhausted but optimistic, greeted by a couple dozen activists who had waited to give them food and support. Police said 13 people were arrested.

Sarsour, the last of the three leaders to be freed, said the mood inside the jail cell was “empowering” and “inspiring.” Mallory, who was released about an hour earlier, said a dozen or so women were singing freedom songs to pass the time.

Sarsour was upset that authorities were still holding fellow Women’s March co-chair Bob Bland, who gave birth just a few months ago and needed to nurse her baby. 

“She’s expressing her milk in the sink, but they won’t let her out,” Sarsour said.

Mallory, Perez and Sarsour said they would wait outside of the precinct until the last woman is released. Members of the group tweeted earlier that they were arrested after blocking traffic.

“I got arrested with some of the strongest women that represent the best that New York City has to offer,” Sarsour said. “I feel empowered, I feel proud of what I did today and I’ve done this many times before. … I hope it sends a message to people that you’ve got to risk it, you’ve got to be bold in this moment.” 

Mallory said that she hopes Wednesday’s strike shows people that President Donald Trump and his administration are “not normal.”

“We will consistently resist and ensure that this entire country is aware that if women are not happy no one will be happy,” Mallory said. 

“The resistance,” she said earlier, “is alive and well,” 

Oh, yes it is. 

Watch the full Facebook live stream with Mallory below. To watch the full Facebook live stream with Sarsour head here. 

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

It’s normal to feel a little wobbly and unsure of yourself after a heartbreak.

That’s the takeaway from graphic designer Melody Hansen’s Instagram account, which features gorgeous, illustrated quote cards that touch on all the emotions you feel when a relationship (or would-be relationship) comes to an end.

The illustrations are inspired by Hansen’s personal experiences and observations.

“They’re personal realizations that have allowed me to grow and heal and if they can bring light to someone else, I share them,” the 26-year-old Toronto-based artist said. “Sometimes the truth hurts, but sharing the pain with someone who can relate makes the pain a little less scary to feel.”

Scroll down to see some of Hansen’s work and be sure to head to her Instagram for more.

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

For Gabourey Sidibe, weight-loss surgery wasn’t about taking the easy way out.

The “Empire” star writes about dealing with depression, anxiety and bulimia before she underwent laproscopic bariatric surgery in May 2016 in her new memoir, This Is Just My Face: Try Not to Stare. 

The actress struggled with her weight for more than a decade before she decided to go under the knife and writes she knew the surgery would mean making real changes to her life. 

“My surgeon said they’d cut my stomach in half. This would limit my hunger and capacity to eat. My brain chemistry would change and I’d want to eat healthier. I’ll take it! My lifelong relationship with food had to change,” she writes in her memoir, due out May 1. 

In an interview with People, the 33-year-old further opened up about her decision to undergo surgery, which she said was tied to the fact that she was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.

“I just didn’t want to worry. I truly didn’t want to worry about all the effects that go along with diabetes. I genuinely [would] worry all the time about losing my toes,” she told the magazine. 

While the surgery was motivated by health concerns, Sidibe is no stranger to body-image issues. She told People she’s learned to embrace her body, no matter what size she may be.

“There’s nothing ugly about me. Anyone trying to convince me that I am — and it’s usually me — is wasting her time,” she told People. “I was in a war with my body for a long time. If I’d started treating it better sooner, I wouldn’t have spent so many years hating myself. But I love my body now.”

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

From Jamaica to South Africa, wherever there’s been racism, patriarchy, or all of the above, there have been women organizing to resist it. 

The crucial activism of black women has historically been overshadowed, not only by their male counterparts but white women as well. 

Movements like those of the Civil Rights era predominantly focused on the men at the movement’s forefront and an overwhelming majority of women’s rights movements (including today’s) are centered on white feminist narratives.

But, nonetheless, black women have persisted.

In honor of International Women’s Day, we’ve highlighted just a few of the protests and movements that have been orchestrated by black women around the globe.

These women didn’t wait for anyone to advocate on their behalf and are reminders that while our plight may be ignored by mainstream narratives, we’ll never be silent in the face of oppression.

Some of the below images may contain graphic material. 

1. The 1956 Women’s March To Pretoria, South Africa

In the summer of 1956, 20,000 women in South Africa organized to protest the country’s introduction of pass laws for women―which required women of African descent to apply for permits to travel in and out of certain urban areas. While pass laws had already been in place for men, extending them to women meant that unemployed women would be kept away from their families as they weren’t granted access to towns in which they didn’t work. 

The Federation of South African Women and the African National Congress Women’s League led a historic march to the Union buildings where they silently awaited the deliverance of their petitions to the Prime Minister’s office. 

The day has since been commemorated in South Africa as Women’s Day. Last year, women celebrated the march’s 60th anniversary (shown above). 

2. Black Women’s March, Brazil

Days before Brazil’s National Day of Black Consciousness in 2015, over 10,000 black women came together for “Marcha das Mulheres Negras.” Women in Brazil marched in resistance to violence, racism and gender inequality. 

3. #BringBackOurGirls, Nigeria

On April 14, 2015, 276 schoolgirls were kidnapped by extremist rebel group Boko Haram from a Chibok boarding school in Borno State, Nigeria, sparking the #BringBackOurGirls campaign. On the 500th day since the kidnapping, women organized a youth march as a plea for rescue attempts to be made by the Nigerian government. To date, the whereabouts of 219 of the girls remain unknown.

4.  Naked Protest at Rhodes University, South Africa

In response to the lack of action being against sexual violence at Rhodes University, in April 2016, topless women gathered on campus grounds to demand school officials be more ardent in their pursuance of reports of rape from students.

5. #StopRacismAtPretoriaGirlsHigh, South Africa

After countless instances of young women at a South Africa high school being told to straighten their natural hair, students at Pretoria High School For Girls took to protest to confront the school’s discriminatory hair policies. 

After one particular photo from a protest (above) went viral in August 2016, the students of Pretoria garnered international attention to the protests and the #StopRacismAtPretoriaGirlsHigh hashtag.

While the school’s hair policies were suspended during an investigation into racial discrimination at the school took place, as of November, the publicization of the investigation’s outcome were postponed. 

6. International Day To Eliminate Violence Against Women Silent Protest, Jamaica

Held on the International Day To Eliminate Violence Against Women, last November, nearly 300 women came together in Jamaica in protest of sexual violence. As part of the United Nations’ #16DaysofActivism, the silent protest ― coordianted by Jamaica AIDS Support For Life ― served as a symbol of the countless rape victims who don’t report what happened to them and resultantly, never tell their story. 

7. Black Lives Matter, USA

Founded by three women in 2013, the Black Lives Matter movement spawned in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman. Since then, the movement has used social media to gain momentum and has hosted innumerable protests within and outside of the United States to challenge state-sanctioned violence. 

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Danielle Bregoli, the 13-year-old who rose to internet fame thanks to an appearance on “The Dr. Phil Show” last year, is reportedly in talks to get a show of her own. The reality show, currently being shopped to several networks, is the culmination of a whirlwind meme-fication that took Danielle from your everyday troubled teenager to the creator of the internet’s favorite catchphrase: “Cash me ousside. Howbow dah?”  

In the original “Dr. Phil” clip from September, Danielle has been brought on the show by her distraught mother, who needs help controlling her unruly daughter. The teen brags about hitting her mother, and stealing cars and credit cards. She’s antagonistic towards Dr. Phil, her mother and the audience. She’s very clearly an insecure young girl who’s overcompensating. 

But at some point during her talk with Dr. Phil, there’s a shift. Danielle goes from being presented as a troubled child to a mere oddity, something to be gawked at and laughed at. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t get that, are you speaking English?” Dr. Phil asks Danielle at one point, after she brags about “takin’ the next bitch car.” 

There are several things happening in this video at once, several things that say a lot about how we as a culture perceive blackness, and perceive young black women in particular. 

Danielle, a white girl, speaks with a distinct accent that draws on AAVE, or African-American Vernacular English. In other words, she talks like a “black girl.” Not every black girl, of course. But her voice, her clothes, her long nails and hoop earrings are all specifically black cultural markers. She is performing blackness, and it’s a performance meant to elicit a very specific reaction from the audience, perhaps unbeknownst to 13-year-old Danielle herself.   

Think of any classic ‘90s episode of “Maury” or “Jerry Springer” that featured black and brown teens with bad attitudes, and Danielle’s behavior is nearly identical.

What isn’t identical, of course, is race. The novelty of the outrageous black teens of daytime talk shows, or more recent black viral stars like Antoine Dodson, “Confused Black Girl,” and Sweet Brown, is inherently different from the novelty of Danielle, and thus her growing fame. 

Danielle’s popularity has everything to do with the fact that she’s a white girl performing blackness, appropriating black slang, black fashion and black mannerisms. And she’s being rewarded for it. Her catchphrase would not have gone viral had she not been using AAVE, had she said instead, “Catch me outside ― how about that?”  

But unlike those black and brown girls before her, Danielle’s trajectory reveals an inherent truth, an inherent double standard. 

Where all those black and Latina girls were given just 15 seconds of infamy, Danielle has managed to parlay her persona into 15 minutes and actual dollars. Since the clip went viral, she’s begun making $30,000 to $40,000 for appearances. She started a “Cashmeousside” hoodie line. And now, she may have a TV show on the way. 

How many black teen girls like Danielle have been able to transform viral infamy into this kind of so-called success? Kayla Newman, the black teen who coined the phrase “on fleek,” was barely credited for her creation ― although it’s arguably way more of a cultural phenomenon than “cash me ousside.” She’s also barely been able to raise money for the makeup and hair company she launched on GoFundMe in February.

Some may argue that the difference between Kayla and Danielle is that Kayla simply didn’t capitalize on her moment fast enough. However, Kayla was barely even given a moment to work with. And she’s also not a skinny white girl ― a far more marketable and far more appealing package for blackness. 

Because on a white girl, “ratchet” or “hood” behavior is hilarious, even a little cute. It isn’t threatening. And since Danielle is white, it presents a way to laugh at blackness without interrogating why it is we laugh at blackness. 

Danielle’s rise to internet stardom is endemic of a society that loves to laugh and gawk at blackness, or the performance of blackness ― especially when it comes in the form of a white girl. That’s not Danielle’s fault, of course. But that she’s finding fame and fortune through this is telling.

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Little girls can have big voices — and an even bigger hunger to resist.

Since March is Women’s History Month, and March 8 marks International Women’s Day, we found photos of girls throughout history who protested all over the globe to stand up for their beliefs and the rights of others’. Though this list certainly doesn’t cover every protest worldwide, it symbolizes how fierce girls can be. 

Check out 46 photos of girls protesting around the world below:

This Women’s History Month, remember that we have the power to make history every day. And in 2017, that feels more urgent than ever. Follow along with HuffPost on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in March using #WeMakeHerstory.

The HuffPost Parents newsletter offers a daily dose of personal stories, helpful advice and comedic takes on what it’s like to raise kids today. Sign up here.

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

For the month of March, HuffPost Women is honoring one historic woman each day on our Facebook page as part of our Women’s History Month campaign #WeMakeHerstory. Illustrator Kimothy Joy partnered with HuffPost to create one beautiful quote card a day to celebrate these groundbreaking women. 

Here are 18 quotes from 18 history-making women. Follow HuffPost Women on Facebook to see the rest. 

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Having a partner who understands the importance of women’s equality and feminism means everything, especially in these politically charged times.

In celebration of International Women’s Day, we rounded up 13 couples who are allies in the fight for women’s equality. 

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Less than a year after noting she “doesn’t agree” with the LGBTQ “lifestyle,” “American Idol” alum La’Porsha Renae made some startling claims about her own sexuality. 

Renae, who lost to Trent Harmon on the final season of “Idol,” responded to a Twitter user’s claims that she was homophobic early Wednesday. The 23-year-old singer quickly denied the accusation. 

But the Mississippi native didn’t stop there. When another Twitter user took issue with Renae deeming that being gay was a “choice,” she responded: 

Another Twitter user pressed her for clarification, to which she replied:

When a Twitter user refuted her claims that sexuality was a choice, Renae noted: 

Renae, who is gearing up for the release of her debut album, “Already All Ready,” had to backpedal last year after making controversial remarks about the LGBTQ community in an interview. 

In a conference call with reporters after her “American Idol” stint wrapped, Renae was asked about Mississippi’s House Bill 1523, a “religious liberty” law that allows people with faith-based objections to deny wedding services to same-sex couples, Billboard reported. 

“I am one of the people who don’t really agree with that lifestyle. I wasn’t brought up that way. It wasn’t how I was raised,” Renae said at the time. The singer went on to disclose that she has “a lot of friends and a lot of people that I love dearly who are gay and homosexual and they’re such sweet, nice people.”

Renae took to Periscope just days later, where she apologized and attempted to clarify her comments. 

“I can understand when I read it back why people were offended and for that I deeply apologize because I wasn’t trying to offend anyone by what I said, I was just trying to honestly answer a question that actually caught me off-guard,” she said in the chat. “It was supposed to be an interview about singing, and it became political and I’m not a political person, at all.”

UPDATE March 8: Renae elaborated on her remarks in an email to The Huffington Post. 

“I decided to be heterosexual because I felt like that’s the life God intended me to live. My response to your skepticism is that many people walk many different strokes of life,” she wrote. “Some people believe they chose homosexuality and some believe they didn’t. Who’s to say one is wrong? It’s not fair to generalize anyone’s sexuality or walk of life.” 

She continued: 

Let people believe what they want to believe about themselves. Life can be a complex thing. It’s not always black or white. I took a journey and became more grounded in my faith, and decided that I wanted to live a heterosexual life. The main point I want people to take away from my Tweets is that we are all shaped by different experiences, and we should all love and respect one another. We don’t have to have the same truths or personal belief systems to love one another and get along. I have homosexual friends and family. I believe in God and Jesus, my christ and savior, yet i have CLOSE friends who are atheists, friends who are Muslims, friends who are Jewish, friends who are transgender and believe God gave them the wrong body… We ALL LOVE ONE ANOTHER… we don’t try to “convert” each other and we don’t CONDEMN each other for how different our walks of life are.

Everyone should have to right to believe in what they believe in and to live their lives the way they feel they want to. Me choosing to be straight does not in any way reflect on my love for homosexuals. I’ve been told that I’m a bigot, a hypocrite, a gay basher, a homophobic. I’m none of those things. I LOVE EVERYONE. ANYONE is welcome to hang out with me and have fun, or sit down with me and talk. I don’t discriminate against anyone. And I don’t condone hating someone or treating them badly because they live differently than I do. I so wish that people knew me for who I really am, but I don’t have that privilege. Social media takes a statement like, “Despite our different beliefs, we should be able to love and respect each other and treat each other with kindness” and turns it into “LaPorsha Renae Hates LGBTQ community.” 

For the latest in LGBTQ culture, don’t miss the Queer Voices newsletter.

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Here are the women you missed.

Cities across the country were awash in red on Wednesday as thousands gathered to show support for International Women’s Day.  

The rallies ― which mobilized men and women in New York, California, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., among other states ― was part of “A Day Without A Woman,” which organizers described as a day of “economic solidarity.” 

Women were encouraged to take the day off and strike to “highlight the economic power and significance that women have in the U.S. and global economies,” Women’s March organizers said. Many people wore red to show their support for the movement. 

The strikes were similar to last month’s A Day Without Immigrants, a nationwide protest against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. 

The strike in New York City began as early as noon, starting in Central Park before moving to Trump International Hotel, and later to Washington Square Park.

Maribeth Whitehouse, 53, a middle school special education teacher in the Bronx, said she took a personal day from work to attend her first-ever strike.

“Attending this strike is something you have to wrestle with as a teacher, because you’re leaving your students for a day. But teachers use many ways to instruct, including teacher modeling,” Whitehouse said. “And today I’m modeling social justice for my students.”

She said she has noticed an uptick in hateful speech among some students ever since Trump was elected. Other kids, she said, came to school after the election in tears because they were afraid of the future.

“They’re worried about their parents being deported, or separated from their relatives,” she said. Some parents have started calling her on the phone for teacher meetings rather than showing up in person because they worry about being taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, she added.

Some of the organizers of the Jan. 21 Women’s March on Washington were arrested outside Trump Hotel in Manhattan after engaging in civil disobedience ― cops had demanded they get off the street, and they refused.

The crowds in Los Angeles and outside San Francisco’s city hall were gargantuan.

“Today you saw such a cross-section of people of all different ages, people of all different colors, people of all different sexual orientations, people of all different socioeconomic statuses,” Shannon Craine of San Francisco told The Huffington Post. “It really doesn’t matter, we’re all here for the same kind of reasons. We all care about women’s rights. … There’s some things we’re just not willing to negotiate about.”

She said she’s been keeping a list of “20 to 30 issues” that she calls Congress about every day. 

“I think they’re just kind of waiting for us to lose interest,” she said. “Steve Bannon even made a comment about how he’s waiting for this to die out due to apathy, and I don’t see that happening. I think a lot of people are very serious about this and not willing to watch their country be destroyed by Trump and his agenda.”

In Chicago, roughly 400 people gathered Wednesday evening at the headquarters of the Chicago Teachers Union. They represented an array of groups: minimum-wage activists Fight for 15, local teachers, health care and transit union members, Planned Parenthood of Illinois, and immigrant rights and anti-racism groups.

Chloe Stratton, 33, said she attended Wednesday’s rally in part to promote transgender inclusion at the events organized by the coalition behind the Women’s March.

Stratton, a trans woman, said she was “terrified and angry” in the wake of Trump’s recent order that rescinded federal protections for transgender students. “It’s even harder for those young students — as you grow older, you learn how to cope with these things. But for a kid, it’s just so hard.”

Despite the actions and remarks by the Trump administration that have raised concerns among many women, a feeling of determination was widespread at the rally.

“He just makes me stronger,” said Stratton, who plans to speak at a women’s rally Sunday in Chicago. “Everything he does just makes me want to fight harder.”

Earlier in the day, Trump tweeted that he has “tremendous respect for women.”

His comments quickly backfired as the internet community reminded him of his hypocrisy.

Trump was also on blast for a now-infamous video in which he advocated for sexually assaulting women and bragged that he tried to have sex with a married woman.

When you’re famous, Trump said, “you can do anything. Grab them by the pussy.”

On Wednesday, women showed they weren’t having it. The processions were partly a show of solidarity against sentiments like Trump’s, as well as a soapbox for women who have gone unheard for far too long.

“When you find your voice, you never want to shut up,” said Bree Washington, 26, in Los Angeles. “I feel like we’ve come full circle ― that we’re still fighting on issues from the ‘60s like equal pay for women. I want to be a part of something bigger than myself, for my grandmothers, for my mother, for myself.”

It would appear even Lady Liberty participated in the strike. The statue went dark for two hours Tuesday night in what the National Park Service called an “unplanned outage” while repair work was done. But we like to think the real reason was out of solidarity for her fellow women.

This article has been updated with more details from rallies.

Sebastian Murdock reported from New York. Antonia Blumberg reported from Los Angeles. Lydia O’Connor reported from San Francisco.

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices