Tag Archives: Washington D.C

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Equal Pay Day – April 17 – AAUW


AAUW Releases State-By-State Rankings for Equal Pay Day
D.C. Has Best Ranking, Wyoming Worst
 
WASHINGTON – With the release of The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap, the American Association of University Women (AAUW) unveiled new state-by-state equal pay rankings. Updated for the national observance of Equal Pay Day, which marks how far into the current year women must work to match what their male counterparts earned last year, The Simple Truth charts the wage gap in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
 
The wage gap is narrowest in the nation’s capital, where women have the best earning’s ratio — 91 cents, on average, for every dollar earned by their male counterparts. The state with the worst earnings ratio is Wyoming, where women make 64 percent of men’s earnings. The national average puts women at just 77 percent.
 
The wage gap costs working women and their families tens of thousands of dollars in lost wages and directly affects women’s retirement security. These numbers are worse for women of color, and The Simple Truth examines racial and ethnic breakdowns. White and Asian women earn, respectively, 82 percent and 88 percent of white men’s earnings. African American and Hispanic women earn much less — just 70 percent and 61 percent of what white men earn, on average.
 
“Equal Pay Day, which this year falls on April 17, is an unfortunate reminder of how far we have to go to reach true pay equality. The wage gap hasn’t moved significantly in nearly a decade, and at this rate, we’ll be marking Equal Pay Day for the next 60 years,” said AAUW Executive Director Linda D. Hallman, CAE.
 
In addition to the release of The Simple Truth, AAUW branches across the nation will mark Equal Pay Day by holding rallies, wearing red to symbolize how women’s wages are in the red, handing out Pay Day candy bars, and hosting bake sales with discounts for women.
 
“The gender pay gap is unlikely to go away on its own. Our publications and tools will empower our advocacy on behalf of women and their families,” said Catherine Hill, AAUW director of research. “The Simple Truth is a useful resource for women, the media, and society at large as we work to address this stubborn inequality.”
 
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The American Association of University Women (AAUW) advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research. Since 1881, AAUW has been one of the nation’s leading voices promoting education and equity for women and girls. AAUW has a nationwide network of more than 100,000 members and donors, 1,000 branches, and 600 college/university institutional partners. Since AAUW’s founding 130 years ago, members have examined and taken positions on the fundamental issues of the day — educational, social, economic, and political. AAUW’s commitment to educational equity is reflected in its public policy advocacy, community programs, leadership development, conventions and conferences, national partnerships, and international connections.
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Angry Black Woman ? … Shonda Rhimes


There is nothing “angry” about strong, intelligent, successful Black women. NShinda Demand the New York Times retract Alessandra Stanley’s “angry Black women” rant.

Take Action

 

An outrageous New York Times op-ed published today by Alessandra Stanley, steeped in racially inflammatory language, dismisses TV writer and producer Shonda Rhimes and her many complex Black women heroines — labeling them “angry Black women.”1

Join us in demanding an apology and the retraction of Alessandra Stanley’s harmful op-ed immediately.

From the op-ed’s opening line — “When Shonda Rhimes writes her autobiography, it should be called ‘How to Get Away With Being an Angry Black Woman’” — Stanley wildly misreads the heroines at the center of much of Rhimes’ work on shows like “Scandal” and “How to Get Away with Murder,” and arbitrarily judges their adherence to white beauty standards.

Characterizing their supreme confidence and competence as “anger” — and describing actress Viola Davis as sexy “in a slightly menacing way,” and “darker-skinned and less classically beautiful” — only plays into destructive stereotypes that impact the lives of Black women every day.

Research shows there are dire consequences for Black people when such harmful archetypes rule the day; less attention from doctor’s, harsher sentences from judges, and discriminatory hiring practices, just to name a few.2

Alessandra Stanley and the New York Times need to know that the dissemination and perpetuation of the “angry Black women” archetype is no laughing matter. With so few Black women both onscreen or behind the scenes in Hollywood, high profile, dehumanizing misinterpretations of their work cannot be tolerated.

Stand with us and demand an apology from the New York Times and Alessandra Stanley, and a retraction of her harmful op-ed.

Thanks and Peace,

–Arisha, Rashad, Matt, Dallas and the rest of the ColorOfChange team.
September 20, 2014

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.

References

1. “Viola Davis Plays Shonda Rhimes’s Latest Tough Heroine’,” New York Times, 9-19-14
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3922?t=7&akid=3666.1174326.YJfcLj

2. “Media Representations and Impact on the Lives of Black Men and Boys,” The Opportunity Agenda
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3685?t=9&akid=3666.1174326.YJfcLj

Black History, ~ Culture & History, ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Ida B. Wells-Barnett Marched over 100yrs ago for – Women’s voting rights- Black History is American history

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T437487_06 b. 7/16/1862
1913
100 years ago
Social activist Ida B. Wells-Barnett marches in Washington, D.C., with 5,000 suffragettes in a protest supporting women’s voting rights.

African American journalist and anti-lynching crusader Ida B. Wells (1862-1931) was born to slaves at Holly Springs, Missouri. Following the Civil War, as lynchings became prevalent, Wells traveled extensively, founding anti-lynching societies and black women’s clubs.

~ Culture & History, ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Lawrence Guyot : a Civil Rights Leader, in memory of – Black History

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WASHINGTON November 25, 2012 (AP)

Guyot was born in Pass Christian, Miss., on July 17, 1939. He became active in civil rights while attending Tougaloo College in Mississippi, and graduated in 1963. Guyot received a law degree in 1971 from Rutgers University, and then moved to Washington, where he worked to elect fellow Mississippian and civil rights activist Marion Barry as mayor in 1978.

“When he came to Washington, he continued his revolutionary zeal,” Barry told The Washington Post on Friday. “He was always busy working for the people.”

Image result for lawrence guyot

D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton told The Post in 2007 that she first met Guyot within days of his beating at a jail in Winona, Miss. “Because of Larry Guyot, I understood what it meant to live with terror and to walk straight into it,” she told the newspaper. On Friday, she called Guyot “an unsung hero” of the civil rights movement.

“Very few Mississippians were willing to risk their lives at that time,” she said. “But Guyot did.”

In recent months, his daughter said he was concerned about what he said were Republican efforts to limit access to the polls. As his health was failing, he voted early because he wanted to make sure his vote was counted, he told the AFRO newspaper.

~ Culture & History, ~ my 2cents ...

We are all Freedom Fighters on some level every day… Thursday &some News


The weather has been wicked windy

The latest events have made me wonder if Congress on the State and Federal level and or rhetoric from Republicans and folks who lean right of center will really get the push back or beat back by the Democratic Party after Congress gets back from Easter break because i sure have not heard much from the Democratic Party in general and that is not only disturbing it is offensive to anyone who voted these folks into office. I will say it was good to hear that Leader Reid has decided to hold an up and down vote on the PaulRyan Budget. It should open the eyes of most if not all Republican constituents, well maybe. In a time when millions are unemployed, more layoffs coming and Corporate America is still outsourcing and holding jobs hostage. The Republican Party continues to cut slash and burn American Workers. The party of No, which used to be just a conservative pro-life scary group, is now so extreme that the slogan “taking their country back”, is no longer code but an overt statement from Republican Tea Party members. Obviously, it is about not wanting “his kind” in the White House. The Tea Party wants to Privatize Public Service Jobs, which includes Teachers, Fire Fighters, Police, and others while gutting Social Service programs that help the elderly, women, and children around the country suffering already but are now willing to take the basics away from the middle/lower class.

However, I cannot begin to say how offensive though enlightening it is that they are actually legislating people into poverty. I have to say this has made me wonder what our neighborhoods will look after this nasty group is finished wreaking havoc on us all. We all know the more folks that are out of work the better the chances of fewer or quality services will be available. I ask everyone to just think what having less police, firefighters to help out not just the less fortunate but all those above the poverty line … a fire does not care if you have lots of money. I have to say the light of day on how low a Political Party is willing to go was quite evident with those behind the door deals they made to keep SOME firefighters and police employed. Did they think about this?

The media and certain Politicians say that in times of crisis people separate into cliques. I say our Politicians and Talking heads; “the media” have been doing a great job in forcing the public and or viewer into choosing side’s every day depending on the issue. It is offensive and while the November Midterms was proof of how that manipulation works, clearly a whole lot of buyer’s remorse has set in for the Political Party of No, Tea Party carpetbaggers who said one thing and are doing another. We all probably have family or know people who did March for equal rights, felt compelled, added to and a part of that strength in numbers adage we all hear frequently that i consider so important and speaks volumes when a change is near just over the horizon waiting to happen. This feeling of wanting a better way of life is possibly shared by most is spreading all over the world and while a couple of tyrants have seen the light others continue to participate in overt genocide others shutdown access to the World outside. I get the feeling the Republican Tea Party is a lot like those folks in other countries currently doing all they can to either keep control or take anyone down that happens to be in the way by murdering them …right?. In our case, American voters are demanding freedom but the people with the power have gone rogue without thinking about what the full impact on the lives of the many will be or don’t care and have decided to take that risk and try to usurp the rights of Americans whether it’s done legally, by consensus or not.

We are all Freedom Fighters on some level every day.