Tag Archives: Republican

Feminism …

03/18/2025 Nativegrl77 4 Comments

Image is from Google internet womens_day_2013GOOGLE

Feminism

by The Thinker-Writer, January 31, 2010

The belief that women are and should be treated as potential intellectual equals and social equals to men. These people can be male or female human beings, although the ideology is commonly (and perhaps falsely) associated mainly with women. The basic idea of Feminism revolves around the principle that just because human bodies are designed to perform certain procreative functions, biological elements need not dictate intellectual and social functions, capabilities, and rights. Feminism also, by its nature, embraces the belief that all people are entitled to freedom and liberty within reason–including equal civil rights–and that discrimination should not be made based on gender, sexual orientation, skin color, ethnicity, religion, culture, or lifestyle. Feminists–and all persons interested in civil equality and intellectuality–are dedicated to fighting the ignorance that says people are controlled by and limited to their biology.

Feminism is the belief that people are entitled to the same civil rights and liberties and can be intellectual equals regardless of gender. However, you should still hold the door for a feminist; this is known as respect or politeness and need have nothing whatever to do with gender discrimination.

By The Thinker-Writer, January 31, 2010

***********************************************************

So, why did I go to the urban dictionary for a definition of Feminism?

I saw the article above and thought, nah, that wasn’t what I was taught as a young child…

Then

I got my Cosmo in the mail and while the fashions are fun, some gaudy, others worthy of a second look or two, but most are out of my price and age range, but when I see hair and beauty products, well now, that is a whole different response entirely. As I was thumbing through one of many magazines, which is another bad habit, an article about feminism popped up and yes folks are questioning Beyoncé among others with headlines such as, “can you be Sexy and a Feminist? ” or as Cosmo asks,

“Can you be a Sexy Feminist? It was a quick read and in all honesty, I don’t spend a lot of my time dissecting labels, but I will say that being a feminist used to be defined as a woman who didn’t appreciate men, some said, they despised them. Honestly, there was a time when Women were advised not to question the gender roles of men & women, and when that barrier fell, women realized it was time to demand equal access to education. While so-called hardcore feminists suggested being a companion, forget about being happily married, lest we acquiesce simply because we are women. I don’t subscribe to hating on men, I like men on several levels, that includes my dad, my kid’s father, my son, a couple of teachers, and a couple of bosses who happened to be male.

As a side note on a political level, current Republican men are the bane of our (women) existence in my opinion.

So, getting back to Feminism, when it comes to being an active participant in what seemingly is the opposite side of equality and justice for everyone. I have to admit, I have danced to fabulous music that had one or more negatives like sexual assault, and misogynistic and chauvinistic words. It’s definitely not something I ever used to think about while dancing, and as an adult, I found it upsetting when what was being said became clear; generally, this kind of talk would get a whole different response if these words were being exchanged through a conversation at work, a bar or one on one. In this 21st Century, we hear more Women with edgy lyrics and to find out that a story or two based on reality inadvertently comes to light … so, the choice to listen and buy is up to you.

However, it does appear that the word feminism or being a feminist in this 21st century society is ever-changing and ever-evolving to bring about a belief in equality and the rights for everyone in all its forms and genders. I see the urban dictionary as a place run not only by a younger group of folks, but who use it, research it, and discuss the “stuff” they post. I admit to not referring to the urban dictionary that much, but I found the post in the process of searching out what younger folks felt about the comments on who is or can be a feminist, it caught my eye. As you read on, Cosmo asked stars like Lady Gaga, Lana Del Rey, and Taylor Swift just to name a few, but when Pharrell was asked he stated, “I don’t think it’s possible for me to be (a feminist). I’m a man, but I do support feminists.”

Anyway, an article worth reading in Cosmo in September 2014

~~ Nativegrl77

What do you think?

Is being a feminist gender-specific?

The answer is yes, in the 1800s, as the root of feminism they used to define women, was fem, being that of the female feminine persuasion, so Pharrell among others probably used the definitions as their guide … though in this 21st Century like and while we are coming out of the nightmare that was the era of trump … The dictionary defines a Feminist as a person who believes in Equal Rights for Women. We need more 21st Century thoughts and people action.

~ Recent Post

Wisconsin…

03/16/2025 Nativegrl77

For Black folks, collective bargaining means equality in the workplace.

Now, this basic right is under attack in Wisconsin — and across the country.

Support the workers who are fighting back.

There was once a time in this country when Black folks would work 12-hour days for less money than their White co-workers who worked only eight. The key to leveling the playing field for Black workers was collective bargaining — and now Republicans around the country are attacking this basic right.

The right of workers to negotiate as a group for better wages, benefits and working conditions has been important for everyone, but it’s been especially meaningful for Black Americans. Before we could collectively bargain, we had little control over our working conditions and no protection from racial discrimination in the workplace.

That’s why it’s critical that we stand with the workers in Wisconsin, Ohio, New Jersey, and everywhere else collective bargaining is coming under attack. Please join us in sending a message of support to all those fighting this battle on the front lines. It takes only a moment:

http://act.colorofchange.org/go/778?akid=1932.1174326.mkhRBj&t=3

In Memphis in 1968, Black sanitation workers worked in dangerous, inhumane conditions under abusive White supervisors for little pay. After two workers were crushed to death by a malfunctioning city garbage truck, the city’s Black sanitation workers sought to unionize. They demanded better wages, safer working conditions, and the right to collectively bargain for these things. They took to the streets of Memphis bearing signs that read, “I am a man.” During the strike, police attacked and jailed Black workers for peaceful protest. Months later, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who said that “all labor has dignity,” joined these workers on the front lines. He was assassinated while leading the effort to win collective bargaining rights for these workers.1

Collective bargaining has helped Black workers vulnerable to workplace discrimination win needed on-the-job protections. “Black workers have an interest in unions as all workers do, because they give them power in the labor market to improve working conditions, and allow them due process and fairness on the job,” says labor scholar Stephen Pitts. “Any sort of institution that allows due process procedures and reduces arbitrary behavior in decision making is positive for black folks.”2

More than just protection from discrimination, collective bargaining has won Black workers fairness in pay and advancement, access to health insurance and retirement savings, and basic worker safety protections.3 This is especially true for Black public-sector workers. Twenty-five percent of all Black college graduates work in the public sector, and government work is second only to health and education services in concentration of Black workers.4 As scholar Michael Honey points out, “The one toe-hold many black and minority workers (and especially women among them) still have in the economy is in unionized public employment.5

Now, Republicans in state legislatures around the country are attacking public employees’ collective bargaining rights. The battle began in Wisconsin, when Republican Governor Scott Walker offered a bill that would strip public employees of their collective bargaining rights. In response, thousands of regular people filled the state capitol in protest — with many camping out there for days or even weeks. To stop the bill and force Republicans to negotiate, 14 Democratic state senators left Wisconsin, (preventing Republicans from voting on the bill). Despite the overwhelming public opposition to the bill, Republicans were eventually able to pass the law using procedural tricks late last week.6 But the protesters in Wisconsin drew the world’s attention to this fight, and exposed the attack on collective bargaining rights as hugely unpopular and politically motivated. And right now they’re working to hold Republicans accountable in powerful ways.

Wisconsin is one of many states where collective bargaining is under attack. Republicans in Ohio just passed a law similar to Wisconsin’s, and states from Indiana to New jersey are prepared to follow suit.

Republicans say that their effort to roll back collective bargaining rights is necessary to curb spending in times of economic hardship, but that just doesn’t square with the facts. In no state are public employees’ salaries or pension benefits a major cause of their current financial problems.7 The Republican efforts are part of a strategy to attack public employees’ unions, which overwhelmingly give money to Democratic interests. Without the strength of the unions, many expect that President Obama and other Democrats will have a tougher time raising funds for the 2012 election.8

DePaul University law professor Terry Smith says that, “Dismantling bargaining rights will disproportionately affect African Americans.”9 This right has played a vitally important role in Black Americans’ move into the middle class. For Republicans, the economic well-being of Black folks (and all workers) is only collateral damage in a political battle. It’s shameful.

That’s why it’s important that we stand with the brave workers around the country fighting to preserve the right to collectively bargain in their states. They’re on the front lines, and your message of support will help them keep going even as circumstances get tougher. Please join us in telling these workers that you stand with them, and then ask your friends and family to do the same.

http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/workers

Thanks and Peace,

— James, Gabriel, William, Dani, Matt, Natasha and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team

March 15th, 2011

Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU — your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don’t share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way. You can contribute here:

http://act.colorofchange.org/go/205?akid=1932.1174326.mkhRBj&t=6

References:

1. “How Unions Helped Bring Economic Justice to Black Workers,” AlterNet, 2-25-2011

http://act.colorofchange.org/go/785?akid=1932.1174326.mkhRBj&t=8

2. See Reference 1

3. “Gutting Unions Hurts the Black Middle Class,” The Root, 3-11-2011

http://act.colorofchange.org/go/779?akid=1932.1174326.mkhRBj&t=10

4. “Black Workers Central to National Union Battle,” ColorLines, 3-1-2011

http://act.colorofchange.org/go/780?akid=1932.1174326.mkhRBj&t=12

5. “It’s 1968 All Over Again and King’s Fight for Unions Is Still Essential,”

http://act.colorofchange.org/go/781?akid=1932.1174326.mkhRBj&t=14

6. “Wisconsin Union Law to Take Effect on March 26,” Wall Street Journal, 3-14-2011

http://act.colorofchange.org/go/782?akid=1932.1174326.mkhRBj&t=16

7.“Unions aren’t to blame for Wisconsin’s budget,” The Washington Post, 2-18-2011

http://act.colorofchange.org/go/783?akid=1932.1174326.mkhRBj&t=18

8. “WI Senate GOP Leader Admits On-Air That His Goal Is To Defund Labor Unions, Hurt Obama’s Reelection Chances,” Think Progress, 3-9-2011

http://act.colorofchange.org/go/784?akid=1932.1174326.mkhRBj&t=20

9. See Reference 3

Black History, ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

African Americans in Full Color – in memory of Black History – a repost

02/23/2025 Nativegrl77 1 Comment

Lonnie Bunch, museum director, historian, lecturer, and author, is proud to present A Page from Our American Story, a regular on-line series for Museum supporters. It will showcase individuals and events in the African American experience, placing these stories in the context of a larger story — our American story.A Page From Our American Story

In the first half of the twentieth century, Americans became fascinated with photo journalism. Pictures were literally “worth a thousand words” as full-color magazines and tabloid newspapers became the rage.

Publications targeted to African American audiences that featured illustrations and photographs began appearing in the early 1900s. One of the earliest to effectively use illustrations and photography was The Crisis, the official publication of the NAACP. Seeking to educate and inform its readers with scholarly articles, the covers of the journal and its entertainment section were designed to appeal to the masses of African Americans.

In the 1930s, we see pictorial magazines such as Abbott’s Monthly, published by Robert Sengstacke Abbott, the founder of the Chicago Defender newspaper, and Flash, which billed itself as a “weekly newspicture magazine.” Published in Washington, D.C., Flash contained a mixture of news, gossip and advertisements and articles on racial issues, providing an overview of the highs and the lows of Black life in the 1930’s.

In 1942, African American businessman John H. Johnson founded the Johnson Publishing Company, a corporation that would go on to publish the well-known magazines Ebony, Jet, Tan, and Ebony Jr. The magazines promoted African American achievements and affirmative black imagery in popular culture, which appealed to readers … and to advertisers. Mr. Johnson was a savvy businessman and used the statistics of a rising black middle class to persuade companies and businesses that it was in their economic “self-interest” to advertise in his magazines to reach African American consumers.

With the success of the Johnson Publishing Company’s magazines, other magazines targeted to African Americans quickly came on the scene. For example, in 1947 Horace J. Blackwell published Negro Achievements, a magazine highlighting African American success articles and featuring reader-submitted true confessions stories. After Blackwell died in 1949, a white businessman named George Levitan bought the company and renamed the publication Sepia. This publication featured columns by writer John Howard Griffin, a white man who darkened his skin and wrote about his treatment in the segregated South, that eventually became the best-selling book Black Like Me.

Whether featuring positive images of African Americans, inspiration stories, news features or commentaries on racism, the rise of African American magazines defied long-held racial stereotypes through rich storytelling, in-depth reporting, and stunning photography.

Due to a variety of economic, editorial, and other factors, most of these magazines have ceased being published. Yet today some African American magazines are still a thriving part of popular culture. Johnson Publishing Company’s Ebony and its digital sites reach nearly 72% of African Americans and have a following of over 20.4 million people.

All the best,

Lonnie Bunch
Director

P.S. We can only reach our $250 million goal with your help. I hope you will consider making a donation or becoming a Charter Member today.

To read past Our American Stories, visit our archives.

~ my 2cents ..., ~ pop culture

a sport not many focus on … Golf & Women of Colour – reminder – Black History

02/17/2025 Nativegrl77

So, I’m flipping through my newest 2015 Essence from back to front because of the horoscope section and as I’m looking I see a section called “trending topics” reporting that the USTA just appointed former tennis player Katrina Adams, President, CEO and chairman of the board and the first African American to fill the role. So, more things have changed in the World of Sports in which women of colour historically have not dominated. While flipping through my 2014 issue of Essence with various fashions it was became obvious that this is not just about fashion, though the title gave me that impression and had to share given the history. In fact, it is about a Woman named Renee Powell and some young Women who were introduced to her and who have chosen her as their mentor. Now, the surprise to most would be that these brightly fashionable women are people of colour and that the article is about golf or as they say, “One of America’s favourite pastimes.” In fact my family lived just a few blocks away from a golf course and while golf wasn’t my choice the history of golf was well known in our house, including a couple of good along with the bad and the really ugly stories of racism. It is a sad day to know that the practice is still alive and well, though tiger woods did shatter the glass ceiling some. The art of discrimination is subtle these days, while the stories of’ the good ‘olé boys club were worse, golf is a work in progress. The article tells us about the ups and downs of Powell’s life and daily experiences as a young girl to becoming one of four African-American women qualifying for golf’s top pro-circuit … The LPGA Tour that included Althea Gibson, LaRee Pearl Sugg, Shasta Avery Hardt and Renee Powell. Their legacy on the links is gone into in depth. They list the youngest pro at 17, four others including the niece of tiger woods who also has a great story, but what is even more exciting is that after Powell retired she now owns her own golf club, is the golf pro. She also teaches and mentors a new generation of girls/women of colour who love the game and are willing to take it as far as they can. Golfing is not cheap, so, if you have an opportunity to donate to your area’s youth sports club or make time to teach train and expose kids of colour to golf … do it!

Oh and the article on Golf is in Essence and was written by Connie Aitcheson

and … it’s in “Trending Topics” the February issue of Essence

Black History, ~ Culture & History

Carter Woodson ~ American historian

02/12/2025 Nativegrl77 1 Comment

Carter G. Woodson

To commemorate and celebrate the contributions to our nation made by people of African descent, American historian Carter G. Woodson established Black History Week. The first celebration occurred on Feb. 12, 1926. For many years, the second week of February was set aside for this celebration to coincide with the birthdays of abolitionist/editor Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. In 1976, as part of the nation’s bicentennial, the week was expanded to a month. Since then, U.S. presidents have proclaimed February as National African-American History Month.

In the fall of 1870, a handful of students made their way through the northwest quadrant of the nation’s capital, and through the doors of D.C.’s “Preparatory High School for Colored Youth,” the country’s first public high school for African American children. The students and teachers who graced its hallways would be heard through the years in the halls of Congress, in the highest ranks of the United States military, at the heart of our civil rights movement, and in the upper echelons of medical and scientific study.

One such voice was that of Carter G. Woodson; a journalist, author, historian, and co-founder of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH). It was through his work with the ASNLH that Woodson spearheaded the celebration of “Negro History Week” in America, which served as the precursor to Black History Month, which was officially recognized by President Gerald Ford in 1976. Woodson taught us that, “those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history.”

Find out more about Carter G. Woodson.