Tag Archives: Domestic violence

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

TBI Gala May 15 Honoring The First Couple of NYC


2014 Annual Celebration & Award Reception

Honoring The Black Institute’s Couple of the Year

Mayor Bill de Blasio & First Lady Chirlane McCray

Also honoring

Ana Castro, Founder L.A.T.I.S.M. (Latinos in Tech Innovation & Social Media)

Cheryl McKissack, President & CEO, McKissack & McKissack

Stephen Hawkins, Executive Director, Amnesty International USA

Community Resources for Justice

Music by Grammy Winner DJ Hex Hector

Host Committee (In-formation): Stuart Appelbaum RWDSU, Rev. A.R. Bernard, Hector Figueroa 32BJ SEIU, George Gresham 1199SEIU, Ed Lynch UFCW, Bob Master CWA District 1, Mike Mulgrew UFT, Peter Patch & Linda Kane, Larry Park NYSTLA, Eugene Schneur & Mo Vaugh OMNI New York and Doug Wigdor

The Black Institute Board: Selvin Bushay, Stephen Chukwumba, James Heyliger, Vince Morgan, Ademola Oyefeso, Martha Stark, Carmen Wallace and Jacquelyn Williams

For more information or to purchase ticktes please click here, call 212 871 6899 or email events@theblackinstitute.org

 

The Black Institute
http://www.theblackinstitute.org/

 

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Take the pledge. Reduce your meat consumption!

Looking for a healthy alternative to meat? For every Earth Day Sampler Pack, Paleta will donate a dollar to plant a tree through EDN’s Canopy Project.

earthdaylogoDid you know that the meat industry is responsible for about 20% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions? That’s more than the entire transportation sector! The production and distribution of meat doesn’t just consume a lot of energy and cause greenhouse gas emissions, it also requires a huge amount of water—up to 2,500 gallons to produce just one pound of beef. Take the pledge to reduce your meat consumption today! And the problem is getting worse. Over the last 10 years alone, global meat consumption has increased by 20%. So what can we do to help solve this problem? It’s simple—eat less meat! In terms of greenhouse gas emissions, eating just one less burger a week for a year is the equivalent of skipping 320 miles of driving. Join us in pledging to not eat meat one day a week. Thanks for your support. -The Earth Day Network Team

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

The law that let her abuser go


By Fallon Williams
Brookline, Massachusetts

Honor Jennifer Martel: Protect Victims of Abuse

27-year-old Jennifer Martel was a caring mom to a little girl. Working her way through college, Jennifer hoped to become an elementary school teacher. Jennifer’s boyfriend had a long history of criminal activity, including domestic violence, yet was released on his own recognizance after smashing Jennifer’s head into a mirror Tuesday, Aug. 13. Just two nights later, he was found covered in blood after stabbing Jennifer to death in the presence of their four-year-old daughter and neighbors.

While Massachusetts is at the forefront of the war against domestic violence, the recent murder of Jennifer Martel highlights a gaping flaw in the current system. Under M.G.L. 276 sec. 58A, offenders can be released on their own recognizance, without any bail set, within 24 hours of an assault. An emergency restraining ordered was issued against Jennifer’s assailant, but since Jennifer did not appear in court the day after she was attacked, her assailant was released without bail on his on recognizance.

When I heard about Jennifer’s murder, I was moved to create this petition. It seems senseless that this beautiful, caring young woman is gone. Something must be done to ensure this never happens again. As a child, I was a victim of domestic violence and witnessed the abuse of my birth-mother as well. Luckily, my father was able to remove me from the situation. Most children are not so lucky.

Females murdered by a current or former partner account for 30% of homicides against women each year. In many instances of intimate partner homicide, domestic violence is a precursor to murder. More often than not, victims of domestic violence do not take action against their abusers for a number of reasons, including fear of retaliation. Known abusers should not be allowed to walk free without bail within 24 hours of a repeat offense. Special concern should be warranted when there is a child in the home, as well.

I am asking for your signature on this petition, in order to prompt the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to close the loophole that allows repeat, violent offenders to be released without immediate consequence, putting their victims and the public at risk.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

War on Women, Shutdown Edition


How the GOP Shutdown is Hurting Women

As we discussed yesterday, the GOP shutdown is causing pain from coast to coast. Today ThinkProgress took a closer look how the shutdown is hurting women:

1. Federal Workers’ Pay

Women make up an estimated 43 percent of the federal workplace — but they’re disproportionately represented in the types of clerical jobs that are likely to get furloughed. Women who work for the federal government still tend to be overrepresented in administrative, human resource, and assistant-level jobs, and compared to men, they’re more likely to be bringing home smaller paychecks in the first place. There have been concerns that the workers who are currently furloughed may not receive back pay.

2. Nutrition For Low-Income Mothers And Infants

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) hasn’t gotten any federal money since the government shut down October 1. Nearly 9 million low-income mothers and their children around the country rely on the program to afford food and formula. At first, all states except for North Carolina were providing benefits, and the state has since reversed course and will join the rest. But that will only last so long. Some states may only be able to cover the benefits for a few weeks or so. If the government remains shut into November, as Republicans are now proposing, some states may halt benefits to some of their neediest residents.

3. Rape Kits

If the government shutdown stretches on into November, it could eventually halt rape kits in Washington, DC. It’s just one of the many ways that the shutdown disproportionately impacts the nation’s capital, whose budget is under federal control. The two groups responsible for rape kits in DC anticipate running out of local and federal funds after this month. Rape kit processing is already notoriously sluggish across the country, an issue that can make navigating the court system even more difficult for victims of sexual assault — particularly since forensic evidence of rape quickly degrades.

4. College Sexual Assault Investigations

The federal investigations into U.S. colleges’ notoriously problematic sexual assault policies have been put on hold during the shutdown. When students or staff allege that their university is breaking federal law by under-reporting rapes or dissuading victims from coming forward, the case is handled by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. But those cases aren’t considered to be essential during the shutdown, so they’re all on hold until the government re-opens. That means federal officials aren’t in contact with the college students who filed formal complaints, and can’t conduct follow-up visits for the universities whose cases have recently been settled.

5. Domestic Violence Programs

Programs that offer shelter and support services to victims of domestic violence aren’t able to draw down any of their federal funding so long as the government remains closed. While some have other sources of funding to fall back on, others, particularly small, rural programs, could quickly face the possibility of shutting down their operations. Some are considering layoffs. Most have already faced severely reduced government funding, with 80 percent reporting a drop last year. Programs had already warned that the budget cuts from sequestration could lead to more homicides of women who are denied services.

6. Child Care And Head Start

Working moms are going to be put in a bind the longer the shutdown lasts. Twenty-three Head Start programs across the country were expecting federal money in October, and without it some have faced the need to close classrooms. More than 7,000 children in six states lost access, but since then wealthy philanthropists have offered the national organization enough money to keep it open for now. But the longer the shutdown lasts, more programs will face the same challenge. When a classroom shuts down, not only does a child lose access to preschool, but some parents are forced to quit their jobs because they have no where to leave their kids. The same problem will face working mothers if child care subsidies dry up during the shutdown. All federal money has been cut off since last Tuesday, and while states should have prior year funding to fall back on to cover the costs in the meantime, those funds may have been depleted by sequestration, a drop in welfare funding, and the ending of stimulus money.

BOTTOM LINE: Enough is enough. The longer the GOP keeps the government closed, the more Americans, including women, and our economy will suffer. It’s time for Speaker Boehner to allow a vote on a clean funding bill to end this shutdown crisis and re-open the entire government.