Archive for MorganBoecher

EVENT: Three DC Male Students to be Awarded for Commitment to Ending Dating and Sexual Violence

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Washington, DC – On September 22, three male students from the District will be recognized for their commitment to healthy dating relationships and nonviolence at the 12th annual Men of Strength Awards. The fundraiser will take place at the National Press Club from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm and is hosted by Men Can Stop Rape (MCSR), a national D.C.-based nonprofit that mobilizes young men to prevent sexual and domestic violence through outreach and educational programs.

Terrill Wise, Jonathan Wade, and Anwar Muhammad Nur are all participants or graduates of the organization’s Men of Strength Club. Also known as MOST Club, the school-based 22-week curriculum teaches male teens ages 11-18 healthy dating relationship skills and encourages them to show their “strength” in positive ways among their peers. Terrill, Jonathan, and Anwar have all demonstrated an outstanding commitment to being a “man of strength,” serving their communities through volunteer activities, and speaking out about the importance of men’s involvement in stopping violence against women.

Over the past 11 years, the Men of Strength Award has been given to celebrities, legislators, business professionals, athletes, and activists who use their “strength” in positive and various ways. Past honorees have included Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI); former NFL star Joe Ehrmann; former Liz Claiborne, Inc. CEO Paul Charron; and The Vagina Monologues playwright Eve Ensler.

This year the Awards will focus more on Men Can Stop Rape’s growing and targeted outreach to young men in middle school, high school, and college. The organization will debut its new anti-bullying and harassment poster awareness campaign for middle school boys entitled “YMOST: Young Men of Strength.” MCSR will also premiere its new educational film “Use Your Strength” which follows students growth and progress through MOST Club and Men Creating Change, MCSR’s new college program. Departing from the traditional celebrity-hosted event, the evening will be emceed by Rafael Suarez and William Harris, two college students and graduates of MOST Club. Over 250 supporters will enjoy heavy appetizers, cocktails, live musical entertainment, and a live program auction.

Tickets are $100 per person and $150 for couples and can purchased in advance at www.mencanstoprape.org. Tickets can also be purchased at the door for $125 per person and $175 for couples. Proceeds will go towards the Men of Strength Club program which has sites at every public middle school and high school in the District. For more information, visit www.mencanstoprape.org, email awards@ mencanstoprape.org or call (202) 265-6530.

The 2010 Men of Strength Student Honorees:

· Mr. Terrill Wise
Student at Johnson Middle School and a Men of Strength Club member

· Mr. Jonathan Wade
Student at Benjamin Banneker High School and Men of Strength Club member

· Mr. Anwar Muhammad Nur
Graduate of School Without Walls High School and now a senior at Temple University

About Men Can Stop Rape:

Men Can Stop Rape (MCSR) is a national Washington, DC based 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to mobilize men to use their strength for creating cultures free from violence, especially men’s violence against women. Vital Voices (cofounded by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton) recognized us as “one of the most innovative prevention programs in the United States.” MCSR has reached over 2 million youth and professionals with our award-winning youth program the Men of Strength Club, our college program Campus Strength, and our “My Strength” awareness campaign. Learn more about us at www.mencanstoprape.org.

Category: Blog, Co-Sponsored Event, Events /

A Letter Advocating for Disability Rights

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by Laurens R. Hunt

I have been a long time feminist activist. As a person with a disability I have been working closely with disability rights groups to become more involved in feminism. I think that more people with disabilities being involved puts a different face on this movement. My inspiration came from the former National NOW (National Organization for Women) President Patricia Ireland. Ms. Ireland was among one of the first feminists to extensively focus on people with disabilities. My diagnosis is cerebral palsy.

Very often in past generations people with disabilities had not been discussed at all. Going forward I intend to broaden the involvement of women with disabilities. Having more women and men with disabilities involved in the feminist movement will add to strength in numbers for women. Also, having more women and men involved in politics who have disabilities can help shape a better health care system and more realistic portrayals of women who are not exceptionally tall and thin as depicted by countless advertisements. This is equally true of the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Trans-Gender, and Queer Communities.

I am mentioning the LGBTQ Community because I try to educate them about the plight of people with disabilities. The most salient organization is PFLAG (Parents of Friends and Families of Lesbians and Gays). PFLAG has been very active in promoting the Safer Schools Initiative. When I attend their support group meetings I mention the similarity about bullying people with disabilities. I speak with experience for generational reasons. Just 2 weeks ago I turned 37 years old.

Some of the most hostile and vile language was most accepted when I was attending grammar school. In June 1986 I completed the sixth grade. In those days it was considered fashionable and almost en vogue to refer to people with disabilities as “retarded” and “crippled,” but it did not stop there. It was common to refer to a student who wore glasses as “four eyes”. The joke for people with epilepsy was “hold my milk, I want a milkshake”. I experienced another layer of this.

A decade earlier I underwent a nearly life ending ear operation. In August 1976 when I turned 3 years old I had part of my right middle ear removed. The correct medical term is known as mastoid. It is easy to confuse a mastoid removal with tumor growth, which more than thankfully I did not have. Anyone seeing my right ear will know that this part is missing. I have known some students later on in high school refer to this as a car garage. Two years later was my left leg operation also during August in 1978 when I turned 5 years old.

My left heel chord had been lengthened. This was because I had been successfully walking as a toddler, but my left heel was a few inches off the ground. With much more sophisticated studies known over 30 years later the imbalances of ones weight on each leg leads to many kinds of hip and even back problems. Thankfully this was corrected early on when I was very young. Just like my right ear jokes had been made about the way I walk, and that was when I would hear “What are you a cripple (or retard)?” Again many of these epithets came during high school. In later years much of this same treatment emanated not so much from these harsh comments but more from abusive professional decisions.

Nowadays these words are not heard nearly as often. There is extensive outreach in the community of people with disabilities to stamp out the word retarded. I can say that use of the word “retarded” can be accurate when referring to Downs-Syndrome and similar diagnosis. What has become lost is that it is better to stop the use of certain words instead of training people with disabilities to be self-reliant. The job that I currently have working at the Hudson County Government is clerical and considered sheltered employment.

The belief is that people with disabilities cannot function and serve in management. The labor malpractice laws make words such as “retarded” and “cripple” considered as harassment because of their harshness. However, the thinking has changed very little. The people I see with disabilities have clerical and secretarial roles, not managerial and supervisory positions. The gist that I am getting at is that in lieu of the name calling is the job discrimination. I have been denied multiple promotions after having completed a dual MBA from the Baruch CUNY Zicklin School of Business in May 2006. The areas of studies were in Finance and Human Resources Management.

I have been unable to get any cooperation from my local union while being required to pay annual dues of 2 % of my salary. The job that I have has no advancement potential. There are vocational centers, but they are fixated on placing people with disabilities in clerical and secretarial roles. They focus more on promoting their agenda rather than helping place clients. The only exception I will make to some of these observations is that some of the counselors have had disabilities themselves. I did know one vocational worker nearly a decade ago who has cerebral palsy as I do. Still the senior management is operated by people without disabilities.

During this period the Lilly Ledbetter Act has been passed. Lead women’s groups have accurately complained that even now women make less than 80 cents on the dollar compared to men. In fact, in some professions women still make closer to 60 cents on the dollar. For people with disabilities, the percentage tends to often be closer to half of this 60 or 80 cents on the dollar. The rate of unemployment is the highest for people with disabilities during both economic recessions and expansions alike. During the 8 years of Bill Clinton’s Presidency the rate of employment for people with disabilities climaxed at only 25%, and this was considered a good reason to celebrate for many in the non-disabled community who were oblivious to this egregiously low percentage. As most of the voting citizenry knows, this was touted as the United States’ longest peacetime expansion ever.

Another major issue is the media portrayal of people with disabilities. Respective disability rights activists groups tend to be very isolated with low attendance. The issues hence receive less focus and attention, and therefore those of us who have disabilities get less positive and less frequent media coverage. The perception for many of the clients and members in these organizations is that we are feeble, uneducated, uneducable, and non-ambulatory. Therefore it is automatically accepted that we are in need of help and we can’t think for ourselves. This is just as slanderous as the bombardment of emaciated female model photos used in all forms of marketing media for a different set of reasons. This behavioral pattern creates a vicious cycle for two main reasons. Many of the vocational counselors without disabilities inexorably claim they are helping clients in their career goals but in fact are hindering them. What’s worse is that they get angry and defensive when those of us with the disabilities complain and point to the fact that we are being hurt, not helped by these actions.

In conclusion, name calling is always painful. The important life lesson is that actions always speak louder than words. Abusive language is never acceptable, but actions are what have the greatest and longest lasting impact. Because women, people with disabilities, the LBGTQ communities, and people of color know this all too well, we have to command respect and equitable treatment from our elected officials and service agencies. The same thing is true for media representation. Unfortunately this professionalism will not happen without insisting on it. Each one of us is a taxpayer and voter, and we cannot afford to forget that we pay for our public services and the outside media.

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Louise Knight’s JANE ADDAMS: SPIRIT IN ACTION launches this Monday evening at Demos!

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Demos event: live webcast

220 Fifth Avenue, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10001

Jane Addams was a leading statesperson in an era when such possibilities for women were almost nonexistent. Few people today, however, know the full scope of her work as a political progressive. Join us to commemorate the 150th anniversary of her birth, and to celebrate the release of Jane Addams: Spirit in Action.

In this fresh interpretation, the first full biography of Addams in nearly forty years, Louise W. Knight shows Addams’s boldness, creativity, and tenacity as she sought ways to put the ideals of democracy into action. Starting in Chicago as a co-founder of the nation’s first settlement house, Hull House—a community center where people of all classes and ethnicities could gather—Addams became a grassroots organizer and a partner of trade unionists, women, immigrants, and African Americans seeking social justice. In time, she emerged as an all-around progressive leader: an advocate for women’s suffrage; an advisor to presidents; a co-founder of civil rights organizations, including the NAACP; and a leader for international peace.

Knight’s fast-paced narrative traces how one woman worked with others to make a difference in the world, and how her legacy has contributed to the ideals and policies we strive for today.

Click here to RSVP for this event!

Click here for more information on Demos!

Louise W. Knight is a Visiting Scholar in the Gender Studies Program at Northwestern University and a writer and consultant to nonprofits. The author of Citizen: Jane Addams and the Struggle for Democracy, she lives in Evanston, Illinois.

Blanche Wiesen Cook is a bestselling biographer of Eleanor Roosevelt, and Distinguished Professor of History and Women’s Studies at John Jay College.

Category: Blog, Co-Sponsored Event, Events /

Women’s Sexuality Empowerment Apprenticeship: Free Intro Night

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Are you ready to own your sexuality, to reclaim it, heal it and celebrate it? If you are ready to explore and transform your sexuality, join sexuality educator Amy Jo Goddard and some of the former participants of the Women’s Sexuality Empowerment Apprenticeship program for a free introductory night. Amy Jo will help women to assess where they are currently in their own sexuality and lead them in a guided meditation and interactive discussion. There is no obligation to take the program, and you will definitely walk away with some clarity and action steps about your own sexuality.

“I know there is a deep need for safe spaces where women can study and grow their sexuality, so I’ve carefully constructed a framework where women can learn experientially and share with each other aspects of their sexual selves that have been in hiding. I want to see women be truly empowered sexually. I want to see women support each other. I want women to have the intimate relationships they dream of. I want to support women to take the risks required to become their most authentic, fulfilled sexual selves.”

For more info or to sign up, go to:
http://womenssexualityintronight.eventbrite.com/

www.amyjogoddard.com

BIO:
Amy Jo Goddard, M.A. is a sexuality educator & trainer, writer, performing artist and activist. She travels to colleges, universities, communities and conferences teaching workshops and speaking about sexuality and maintains a private sex coaching practice. She is co-author of Lesbian Sex Secrets for Men and is a contributing author of All About Sex: A Family Resource Guide on Sex and Sexuality. Her article about queer performance artists and activism was published in 2007 in the Social Justice Journal and she has been published in numerous other publications including LOFT and Bust Magazine. Amy Jo was host of cherrybomb.com’s web stream program “Fresh Advice,” developing, researching, writing and performing over 60 episodes on women’s sexuality. A professional trainer of sexuality professionals, medical students, college students and youth for fifteen years, she has taught courses relating to sexuality at the City University of New York and the University of California at Santa Barbara. Amy Jo has taught breast and pelvic exams to medical/nursing students for 8 years and she is director/producer of the forthcoming documentary, At Your Cervix, a film that depicts this unusual work. She facilitates the Women’s Sexuality Empowerment Apprenticeship in New York City.

Category: Blog, Co-Sponsored Event, Events /

New York Abortion Access Fund invites you to an emergency fundraiser!

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This week the New York Abortion Access Fund dipped below $1000, less than our average weekly grant total. To replenish the fund and keep our services operating, we are calling an emergency fundraiser for next Thursday, September 16th. Please join us from 6-9pm at Destination Bar for an evening of discounted cocktails, a raffle and silent auction in support of the New York Abortion Access Fund.

Suggested donation: $20 (or more if you can afford it)

When: September 16, 6:00-9:00pm

Where: Destination Bar, 211 Avenue A @ 13th St

Can’t come but support the cause? Donate anyway! Via Facebook Causes or via our website: http://www.nyaaf.org/.

Category: Blog, Co-Sponsored Event, Events /

Help Get Pro-Choice Candidates Elected in this Fall’s Primaries!

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Hi, I’m NARAL Pro-Choice NY’s Fall 2010 Political Intern and I’m excited to work with you all to help elect pro-choice candidates this fall! The Primary Election is fast approaching (September 14, to be exact) and it’s time to kick it into high gear. That’s why I’m issuing a Pro-Choice Primary Challenge.

Here’s the challenge: I’m asking you to commit at least 5 hours to NARAL Pro-Choice New York election activities from now through Primary Day on September 14. The only way to elect the pro-choice leaders we need in New York is to get out there and help take them to victory.

Below is the list of activities that we’ll be holding to educate voters about our endorsed candidates and to get out the pro-choice vote before the Primary. To sign up for specific events, RSVP to Rosie Hoffman at rhoffman@prochoiceny.org. For more information, visit the NARAL Pro-Choice New York website!

NARAL Election Activities:

Saturday, August 28, 11am-4pm – Canvass (Choice of Manhattan or Brooklyn)

Tuesday, August 31, 5-7pm – Subway visibility (Manhattan)

Tuesday, September 7, 6-9pm – Phonebank (NARAL office)

Saturday, September 11, daytime – Canvass and visibility (multiple buroughs)

Sunday, September 12, daytime – Canvass and visibility (multiple buroughs)

Monday, September 13, 6-9pm – Phonebank (NARAL office)

Tuesday, September 14, any time – PRIMARY DAY (volunteer for a campaign)

looking forward to seeing you soon!

Category: Blog, Co-Sponsored Event, Events / Tags: , , , ,

Right Before Frostbite – a poem by Cristina Dominguez

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In the cold
I can
feel
the hole in my
bad
joint
where they drilled
with steal
to recreate
what had been broken

In the cold
I can feel
my way
right through
and it’s painful
but I’m forced to be near it
to keep warm

In the heat
we’re released
from our weakness
run through denial
like a sprinkler in
summer
but in the cold
in winter
when heat is a
luxury
in the cold
there is
a moment
discovery
and right
before we’re numb
what we feel
is real

You taught me
that even when I’m reeling
writhing in the sharp
suffering of my shortcomings
that in falling I went further
than I was before
you taught me not
to store
my strength
not to
score or rank
myself amongst the
achieved
not to grieve
what I’ve lost
or the casts that
I’ve paid in my efforts to
gain
not to think or act
in strength
in vain

Plain and simple
here, near to the parts of me
misnamed as ugly
my dignified delicate delicacies
that are no more fragile than
they are fancy
being weak
is the courage to speak
through the
short-sighted
survival as synonymous
with strength

vulnerability
is the ability
to feel and be
in fear
insecurity
without worrying if someone will
see

in the coldness of the world
there can be the boldness of a will
of one who doesn’t sell out
for the thrill
of being inspiring

but one who basks
in the glow
of her flame
burning low
of the wind
she faces
that almost erases her
bravery

you taught me
how beautiful and true
how little they knew
of living and dying
of surviving and thriving

cascading down a
window that
has seen more rain
now that I’m here
than it has in years
are our tears

failing
isn’t sailing
away
from control

if we are lucky
it is
life is
letting go
but feeling
but being
while we let go

Category: Blog, Cristina Dominguez /

Hey, you. Can I get a smile?: Leah King One-Woman Show

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What if street harassment was a crime? In her multidisciplinary show, writer-performer Leah King examines the distinctly New York experience of the “holla” through four Brooklyn women contemplating a new anti-harassment law. A shy bike mechanic worries that the law will sabotage her ability to meet women; an open mic host and indie rocker explores sexuality in her music career; a poetic 50-something yoga teacher wonders if the days of “hollers” may be behind her; and a sex-blogging burlesque performer dishes on the law during her online talk show. King asks the audience: how do YOU holla?

Sections of the show will be performed and followed by an interactive panel discussion about our societal response to street harassment. For more information, check out http://canigetasmile.tumblr.com/

Can I Get a Smile? premiers Thursday September 16, 2010 at Littlefield (622 Degraw St, Brooklyn). Doors 7pm, Show 7:30pm

Leah King is a multidisciplinary performance artist and youth educator based in Brooklyn, NY, whose work focuses on women’s empowerment, afro-diasporic arts and multicultural identity.As a singer and dancer, Leah has performed with Brown Girls Burlesque, Black Rock Coalition Orchestra and Marc Jacobs, and at venues such as Bowery Poetry Club, Whitney Museum, BAM, B.B. King’s, Le Poisson Rouge, Santos and Galapagos. She has led arts workshops at Rikers Island, Manhattan JCC, Grassroots Media Coalition and numerous educational institutions.

Her one-woman show, Can I Get a Smile?, is funded in part by a grant from the NY Department of Cultural Affairs/Brooklyn Arts Council.

Category: Blog, Co-Sponsored Event, Events /

Women’s Nights at Brooklyn Boulders Rock Gym

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The Women’s Night is held on the 3rd Friday of the month
from 8:00pm to 11:00pm at Brooklyn Boulders
and is open to all women. Total beginners and people who think
they can’t do it are definitely encouraged to come try it 🙂

The Brooklyn Boulders Women’s Night is half price
so people can try it out much more cheaply than usual ($13 for
a day pass with gear or $25 to take a lesson).

Check out the facebook page for more information:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=125506380829218

Brooklyn Boulders
575 Degraw St. (btwn 3rd/4th Aves) Brooklyn, NY

Category: Blog, Co-Sponsored Event /

White Lillies – a poem by Cristina Dominguez

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white lilies
in my room

unusual
alive
but not
awake
the only
light
glowing in
the narrow sliver
of the moonlight
from my window

I can feel them
even if I keep my eyes shut
they are painfully waiting
to forgive that I’ve
cut them down
kept them with me
leave them every day
and have dared
to return
to apologize
to love them

alive
and I’m
bearing
witness to
their life
someday
a wife
will hold them
in her hair
or her hands
they will bear all
but won’t be
as painfully
open
as they are to me
though they are
closed
now

peeking
peering
out
into the ruin
of my well-organized
room in my living
the vulnerability
so vivid
in my strength

I pull the label
off my beer
I don’t want the petals
to ever fall
on another bed
I don’t want a bed of
roses
to rise
aroused
underneath
or cover me
they are suffocating
not invigorating
like white lilies

they are near
but so far away
they are here
but above
looking down
not with pity
or shame
but pain
they have full reign
of my thoughts
and have always had my heart
and I rain
with my sorrow
with my hope
with my love

I never wanted
to collect
or wreck them

just starting
to warm up here
I hope the heat
from my hell
that makes my small
thin
remains
swell up
at least my eyes might
match my thighs
this way

they sway
swish in the
brown bottle
a swig
a swallow
I swear
I can see
hear
they are breathing
out
open
letting go
but I don’t know
if they are
letting me in

Category: Blog, Cristina Dominguez /
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