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Millions of people across the United States marched on Saturday in what may become the biggest single-day demonstration in this country’s history. And when they woke up on Sunday morning, many wondered: What’s next?

Historically, marches don’t start movements so much as they grow and support them, according to Carol Chetkovich, a professor of public policy at Mills College and author of “From the Ground Up, Grassroots Organizations Making Social Change.” “What a massive demonstration like Saturday’s can do,” she said, “is energize people who have not been active or not as active as they might be.” 

Here are six concrete ways to keep your post-march momentum going:

#1: Sign up for e-mail updates from your local legislators.  

Heed Barack Obama’s advice in his farewell address and engage with the government in your town or city. “People need to get involved with local politics,” echoed Chetkovich. “Find an issue or a candidate, work for them, and then stay onboard.”

It’s OK to start simple. Look up who is in charge where you live. Who sits on your local city council or board of supervisors? Who is your mayor? Who is your local rep? Then sign up for updates. Many local legislators have e-mail newsletters, Chetkovich said, which are a great (and easy) way to stay informed about issues in your area, as well as to learn about local meetings you should attend. Then attend them.

#2: Support groups that are already fighting for the issues you care about with time and resources.

So many of the issues people were marching for on Saturday already have organizations committed to protecting them. So pick an issue you care about, find a local or national organization that focuses on that issue, then volunteer and donate whatever resources you can. “There are many, many social change organizations in communities all across the country,” Chetkovich said. “We need to support those groups.”

#3: Have a conversation with someone who disagrees with you—and keep that conversation going.

First, a caveat: “reaching across the aisle” is by no means a necessity for promoting social change. If, for example, you’re a sexual assault survivor who has been re-traumatized by the election of President Donald Trump, no one is arguing you must reach out to those who supported him in order for real change to happen. “If that’s the space you’re in, this is not the time for you to try and do that,” Chetkovich said. “But there are a lot of people who are not in that kind of extremely vulnerable space who can engage in these kinds of dialogues.” She mentioned groups the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation as a good resource for guiding those efforts. 

#4: Consider 10 Actions in 100 Days.

Over the weekend, organizers of the Women’s March on Washington launched their own specific plan for next steps, releasing a new action every 10 days during President Trump’s first 100 days in office. “Now is not the time to hang up our marching shoes it’s time to get our friends, family and community together and make history,” the march website urges.

The first action calls for marchers to send a postcard to their senators describing the issues that are most important to them. “Pour your heart out on any issue that you care about, whether it’s ending gender-based violence, reproductive rights and women’s health, LGBTQIA rights, worker’s rights, civil rights, immigrant rights, religious freedom, environmental justice or anything else,” the group urges, adding that people should share their postcards on their social media accounts to help keep enthusiasm going. 

#5: Call Congress daily.

At Watch Us Run, HuffPost Women’s inauguration day event, activist and filmmaker Michael Moore offered his tips for resisting President Trump’s agenda: Call Congress daily. Here’s where to find your representative, and here’s where to find your senators. Make it part of you daily routine, Moore said, to the point where it becomes as second-nature as brushing your teeth. (Watch his full blueprint for resistance here.)

#6: Continue to demonstrate.

Marches and demonstrations will continue to happen. On Tuesday, January 24, for example, activists across the country are set to host a set of “Stop Trump’s #SwampCabinet” rallies in 35 states across the country. Anti-Trump rallies have been planned for April 15 ― tax day ― to pressure the president into releasing his tax returns.

“Demonstrations are a central strategy of movements,” said Chetkovich. “They can grow and sustain movements, and they can also put the opposition on notice. They signal that there a lot of people who hold certain values and beliefs.”

In other words, don’t hang up your marching shoes just yet. 

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

The many, many people who marched for women’s rights this weekend have several things in common: they have faith in the power of resistance, they understand that “feminist issues” are progressive issues, they believe “Gender Justice is Racial Justice is Economic Justice.”

And they also know how to make a good protest sign.

Amateur and professional photographers memorialized many of the smart, compelling and even hilarious signage found in marches across the country (and across the globe). But upon seeing some of the poster art left purposefully in front of government buildings and Trump towers, some across the internet wondered whether or not anyone ― or any organization ― had plans to collect and archive the physical Women’s March signs.

Thankfully, as The New Yorker reported, museums, libraries and galleries around the world are indeed collecting your signs in an effort to remember the historic marches that took place a day after the inauguration of President Donald Trump. 

Among them is the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, which sent curatorial team members to collect art left over from protests on Inauguration Day and the day after in Washington, D.C.

Last year, the New York Historical Society opted to preserve some of the “Subway Therapy” post-it notes that appeared in NYC Metro stations not long after Trump’s election. We have reached out to the Society to see if they are planning to archive posters from New York’s Women’s March, but have yet to hear back.

Below is a breakdown of sign collecting efforts we’ve discovered on Twitter. If your state or country isn’t included in this list, we suggest reaching out to your local history museum, art gallery or library to see if they are starting a collection of their own. If they are, let us know! And we’ll add them here.

California:

Colorado:

Illinois:

Indiana:

Iowa:

Kansas:

Maine

Michigan:

North Carolina:

Pennsylvania:

Canada:

U.K.:

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

It was 1986, and New Edition needed a slam dunk.

The all-male singing collective from Boston housing projects was on its way to becoming a true supergroup — but only if its remaining members could convene and create the album that Jheryl Busby knew they had in them. Busby, who began his career at Stax Records and became president of Motown, was then president of black music at MCA Records.

New Edition, founded in the Orchard Park Projects in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood in 1978, was down to four members: Ricky Bell, Ronnie DeVoe, Michael Bivins, and lead singer Ralph Tresvant. Bobby Brown had been voted out of the group in 1985 due to his on-and-off stage antics, and he was prepping for his second solo album, the instantly classic Don’t Be Cruel.

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a ruling that found Texas had discriminated against black and Latino voters when it passed a restrictive voter ID law that couldn’t be enforced during the November election.

But in an unusual statement accompanying the one-line denial, Chief Justice John Roberts signaled that Texas may have a better shot before the high court after the case progresses some more in the lower courts.

“Petitioners may raise either or both issues again after entry of final judgment,” Roberts wrote, referring to the two legal prongs of the case, which remains pending before a federal judge in Texas. “The issues will be better suited for certiorari review at that time.”

The law has remained stuck in the courts for years, and Roberts’ signal about its future may be the most ominous yet. The case has reached the justices several times, and in 2014 they allowed the voter ID law to take effect for the midterm elections.

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When an appeals court ruled last summer that Texas violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965, it sent the case back to a federal judge so that the state, the Department of Justice and voting rights plaintiffs could address whether the voter ID law was passed with the intent to discriminate against certain voters.

A hearing on the latter issue was scheduled for Tuesday, but newly installed lawyers at the DOJ asked for a delay in the case hours after President Donald Trump was sworn into office ― presumably so that the government may change positions in the dispute and side with Texas. That request was granted, and the hearing is now scheduled for Feb. 28.

In a statement, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) expressed disappointment that the Supreme Court didn’t agree to hear the case, but seemed heartened by Roberts’ suggestion that the state’s odds may improve once the litigation runs its course up the appeal chain.

“Texas enacted a common sense voter ID law to safeguard the integrity of our elections, and we will continue to fight for the law in the district court, the Fifth Circuit, and if necessary, the Supreme Court again,” Paxton said.

Roberts’ statement can also be read as a sign that he and the rest of the court would rather hear a case of this magnitude with a ninth justice appointed. Trump is poised to make his choice to fill the seat of the late Justice Antonin Scalia in the coming days or weeks.

Roberts led a five-justice majority in 2013 to strike down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act that required states and localities with a history of discrimination to run any changes to its voting laws by the DOJ.

With that requirement gone, state legislatures approved a slew of new voter ID laws, and voting advocates and the DOJ had to turn to the courts to litigate these electoral changes individually. These groups hailed the Supreme Court’s decision to not hear the case Monday, even as they look forward to the ongoing court battle ahead — this time, fighting the Trump administration.

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Does birth order have any bearing on how your love life plays out? A little, experts say. 

“Early experiences do lay down the foundation for how we act throughout our lives and romantic lives,” said Linda Blair, a psychologist and the author of Birth Order: What Your Position in the Family Really Tells You About Your Character. 

“Of course, when it comes to human psychology, there are no ‘universal’ rules, nor are there characteristics that are true for everyone,” the Telegraph columnist said. 

As Blair noted, how you were raised and whether your parents split up or stayed together have greater influence on your adult relationships than birth order ― and any match can go the distance if partners respect and communicate with one another.

But as any older child/youngest child couple can tell you, your birth order does play a role in how you give and receive love. Below, Blair and other experts on birth order offer a few examples.

Oldest children tend to be intelligent and responsible high-achievers. When they grow up and fall in love, these positive traits usually serve them well, Blair said. 

“They’re organized and responsible, nurturing and good at caring for others,” she said. “In a relationship, you can depend on first borns to push themselves hard and be self-critical.” 

Those are all good qualities to bring to the table, but there are downsides to loving a first born, too, said Michael Grose, a parenting expert and the author of Why First Borns Rule the World and Last Borns Want to Change It.

“First borns can be perfectionists ― they love to be control,” he said. “Their low risk-taking ways can drive youngest-born risk takers and middle-born flexible types insane.”

If compromise is the cornerstone of a good relationship, middle children have a leg up on other birth order types. They’re natural-born peacemakers, said Linda Campbell, a professor of counseling and human development at the University of Georgia.

“Middle children learn to become adaptable and are often very diplomatic and good at negotiating because of their dealings with older and younger children,” Campbell said. “Fairness is very important to them.” 

If you’re a middle child, it’s especially important to speak up when something is bothering you in your adult relationships. 

“Sometimes, middle children can be easily swayed by the opinions of others,” Blair said. “They’re realistic about their own abilities, but may not be so certain about what they want out of life.”

Youngest children are often attention seekers, risk takers and charmers. In relationships, youngest children tend to be playful and spontaneous and they’re easy to be around, Campbell said. 

“Early on, they learn to read people and interact with everyone else who’s older in the family,” she said. “They are usually very successful interpersonally.”

On the negative side, they often expect others to make decisions for them and can be a little too flighty for some partners.

“Youngest children can be infuriating for first-born partners just because they’re masters and mistresses of charm,” Grose said. “They can take quite a bit of looking after. On the bright side, youngest children are more likely to loosen up a serious-natured first-born child.” 

Growing up, only children never had to compete for their parents’ attention. They’re  conventional, responsible and dependable but because the spotlight was always on them, only children can sometimes be needy and demanding in love, Grose said. 

“They’ve grown up being the center of attention and have always had most of their emotional and physical needs met,” he explained. 

According to Campbell, the best match for an only child is probably an oldest child since “they both value being responsible and reliable.”

Relationships with a youngest born may be a little more rocky, she said. 

“An only child who partners with a youngest may grow frustrated because they are used to an adult world and might see the spontaneity of the youngest as foolish,” she said. “They just have to be patient.” 

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Initial estimates show that at least 3 million Americans took part in the Women’s March around the country this past Saturday. Out of those 3 million, we may have found one of our favorites. 

Mary, an 87-year-old hospice patient, was wheeled into the Women’s March in Seattle, Washington by her grandson. Described as “the matriarch” of the family by her grandson, Mary explained to Seattle news station KING 5 that she prayed she would live to attend the march.

“I asked him please let me live until this march because it was so important to me for me to model what I feel is right for my family,” Mary said. “Can’t ask for more than that.”

Watch the full interview below and try not to cry. 

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Jessica Williams is using the vital lesson she learned from her mom when she was a kid to fight against President Donald Trump.

The comedian shared this lesson in a powerful speech at the women’s march in Park City, Utah during a break from the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday. Williams, who introduced herself as the descendant of slaves, recalled the time when she wasn’t doing her homework in middle school. As a result, her report card was full of C’s.

The former “The Daily Show” correspondent’s mom asked her about her grades after a parent-teacher conference. She replied, “Really, when you think about it, C’s are average. And really is it that bad to be average?” 

Fire flashed in her mom’s eyes, Williams said. She told her daughter to come upstairs show she could “show you f*****g average.”

 Williams recalled her mom’s rendition of the “twice as good” speech black kids hear from their parents:

“She said, ‘You listen to me because this is the only time we’re going to have this conversation. You come from me and because you look like me—because you think like me and you talk like me and you sound like me and you have my skin—you are never allowed to be average. There are people out there who do not look like you that will get more than you have for doing average work. There are people who are the opposite of you that will actively fight to make sure you don’t have s**t. So you listen to me: You never, ever walk up in my house again talking about it’s OK to be average.’”

Her mom proceeded to revoke William’s phone, computer and TV privileges. Her mom told her that an “average black kid” wouldn’t have these items in her room. 

She used that experience inspire marginalized communities in Trump’s America. “[I]f you are a minority today, we can all take away something from that ass whoopin’ that I got from my mom because we have to fight,” she said. “We can not slack because right now we have a president who is anti-Muslim, anti-Latino, anti-gay, anti-black, anti-woman, anti-Native American, and anti-natives.”

She said this election was a “wake-up call” for America to realize the Civil Rights Movement was a thing of the past. She directly called out proposals to cut Planned Parenthood funding as a racist, sexist act.

“There is a rush to cut funding to Planned Parenthood. And it’s not like sometimes I feel like I can grab racism and I can get it, but racism isn’t as overt as it used to be,” she said. “It’s coded language. It hides. It’s fear. It’s disgusting. The racism comes in saying the first thing we want to do is defund Planned Parenthood. The first thing we want to do is cut Obamacare without a replacement plan. Those affect minorities and women in low-income housing. That is a war on women. That is a war on black women.”

Williams ended her speech by letting the crowd know she stands with them ― she hopes they stand with her, too.

Read Williams’ entire speech on The Root.

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

America Ferrera feels she has a responsibility to use her platform for social change.

The actress, who gave an impassioned speech at Saturday’s Women’s March on Washington, described what inspired her powerful words and the role of artists within the current political climate during a video interview with the Los Angeles Times.

“I said what I was feeling in my heart and I felt it was most important, really, to send a message to one another, which was that we’re in this together, [in] your feelings of concerns, you’re not alone,” Ferrera told the newspaper during the 2017 Sundance Festival on Sunday. 

During times of political uncertainty, artists have always had a certain responsibility to use their platform, Ferrera said

“I think the purpose of art is the same at all time,” the actress said. “But I think that in times like these ― times of real, real questioning and reflection and concern ― it becomes that much clearer that our role in society is to connect, is to represent. I think right now everyone is hyperaware and hypersensitive, everything that we say and do is being watched. I think that’s true all the time, we’re just aware of it right now because of the heightened circumstances.”

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Police fatally shot an armed Pittsburgh man inside his home Sunday as officers responded to a call about a burglary in progress, authorities said.

Christopher Thompkins’ ex-wife, Brenda Richmond, said the nightmare began around 4 a.m. when the couple woke to a stranger standing in their bedroom.

“I opened my eyes and a man was standing there above us,” Richmond, 51, who had reconciled with her ex-husband years ago, told the Pittsburg Post-Gazette.

Richmond said Thompkins, 57, asked for her handgun, which was licensed to her. The burglar fled their room, but she said Thompkins became concerned for his elderly mother who was sleeping downstairs. 

“He was just saying, ‘My mom, my mom,’” she told The Tribune Review. “That’s all he was worrying about.”

Thompkins hurried down their home’s staircase where police, in a statement released Monday, said he opened fire at two officers who were attempting to enter the home after receiving a call about a possible burglary in progress. The officers returned fire, shooting Thompkins.

Richmond said that she wasn’t aware that a security alarm had been tripped, alerting local police. She later called 911 herself after climbing out onto her house’s roof, she told the Post-Gazette.

Suspect Juan Brian Jetter-Clark, 23, was taken into custody at the scene for criminal trespass, police said.

“They shot the wrong guy,” Richmond told the Tribune. “He didn’t want to hurt no cops. He was trying to save his mother.”

Speaking to the Post-Gazette, she said she realizes that officers were just trying to do their job.

“They saw somebody shooting, they shoot,” she said. Still, she said she wishes that “the protocol can be made better.”

According to the Post-Gazette, Thompkins spent 10 years in prison for the shooting death of another man during a domestic dispute involving Richmond. The couple was married at the time of the 1994 shooting but had been separated for a month.

Richmond said Thompkins “was not the same man today that he was back then.”

In a statement, police said that the two officers involved have been placed on administrative leave. 

“There is an ongoing investigation with oversight of the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office. Additional information will be released by the Bureau at the appropriate time,” the statement said.

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Fashion industry satire “Zoolander 2” led nominations on Monday for the annual Razzie Awards, a list of the year’s worst films that includes performances by past Oscar winners Robert De Niro, Ben Affleck and Julia Roberts.

The tongue-in-cheek Razzies, created in 1980, serve as an antidote to Hollywood’s Oscars ceremony. Winners of the year’s worst films – if they turn up – are given a gold, spray-painted trophy at a ceremony held on the eve of the Academy Awards in February.

“Zoolander 2,” a sequel that was 15 years in the making and which bombed at the box office, received eight Razzie nominations, including for its director and star Ben Stiller, as well as co-stars Owen Wilson and Will Ferrell.

Affleck earned a nomination for his role in comic book hero movie “Batman v Superman; Dawn of Justice,” which also was a Razzie pick for worst film, sequel and screenplay.

Although slammed by critics, audiences embraced the movie, which went on to take in some $873 million at the global box office.

Other worst picture Razzie nominees were the De Niro comedy “Dirty Grandpa”; action movie “Independence Day: Resurgence,” starring Liam Hemsworth and Jeff Goldblum; fantasy adventure “Gods of Egypt,” and the documentary “Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party.”

Roberts was nominated worst actress for her role in the romantic comedy “Mother’s Day,” in which the dark-haired actress grabbed attention for wearing a distracting ginger bob wig.

Johnny Depp and his “vomitously vibrant costume” from “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” was among the worst screen combo contenders, along with what Razzie organizers dubbed “the entire cast of once respected actors” from “Collateral Beauty,” which starred Will Smith, Helen Mirren, Edward Norton and Kate Winslet.

Nominees and winners of the Razzies are voted for online by around 1,000 Razzie members from 24 countries, who sign up on line and pay a $40 membership fee. The winners will be announced on Feb. 25.

See below for the full list of this year’s Razzie nominees.

WORST PICTURE
”Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”
“Dirty Grandpa”
”Gods of Egypt”
”Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party”
”Independence Day: Resurgence”
”Zoolander No. 2”

WORST ACTOR
Ben Affleck, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”  
Gerard Butler, “Gods of Egypt & London Has Fallen”
Henry Cavill, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”
Robert  de Niro, “Dirty Grandpa”
Dinesh D’Souza, “Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party”
Ben Stiller, “Zoolander No. 2”

WORST ACTRESS
Megan Fox, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows”
Tyler Perry, “BOO! A Medea Halloween”
Julia Roberts, “Mother’s Day “
Becky Turner, “Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party”
Naomi Watts, “Divergent Series: Allegiant” & “Shut-In”
Shailene Woodley, “Divergent Series: Allegiant”

WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Julianne Hough, “Dirty Grandpa” 
Kate Hudson, “Mother’s Day” 
Aubrey Plaza, “Dirty Grandpa” 
Jane Seymour, “Fifty Shades of Black”
Sela Ward, “Independence Day: Resurgence” 
Kristen Wiig, “Zoolander No. 2”

WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Nicolas Cage, “Snowden”
Johnny Depp, “Alice Through the Looking Glass”
Will Ferrell, “Zoolander No. 2”
Jesse Eisenberg, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”
Jared Leto, “Suicide Squad”
Owen Wilson, “Zoolander No. 2”

WORST SCREEN COMBO
Ben Affleck & His BFF (Baddest Foe Forever) Henry Cavill, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”
Any 2 Egyptian Gods or Mortals, “Gods of Egypt”
Johnny Depp & His Vomitously Vibrant Costume, “Alice Through the Looking Glass”
The Entire Cast of Once Respected Actors, “Collateral Beauty”
Tyler Perry & That Same Old Worn Out Wig, “BOO! A Medea Halloween”
Ben Stiller and His BFF (Barely Funny Friend) Owen Wilson, “Zoolander No. 2”

WORST DIRECTOR
Dinesh D’Souza and Bruce Schooley, “Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party”
Roland Emmerich, “Independence Day: Resurgence”
Tyler Perry,” BOO! A Medea Halloween”
Alex Proyas, “Gods of Egypt”
Zack Snyder, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”
Ben Stiller, “Zoolander  No. 2”

WORST PREQUEL, REMAKE, RIP-OFF  or SEQUEL
”Alice Through the Looking Glass”
”Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: Dawn of Justice”  
“Fifty Shades of Black”
”Independence Day: Resurgence”
”Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows”
”Zoolander No. 2”

WORST SCREENPLAY
”Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”
”Dirty Grandpa”
”Gods of Egypt”
”Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party”
”Independence Day: Resurgence”
”Suicide Squad”

— 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