WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH - SPECIAL EVENTS

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as  #HerDreamDeferred: A WEEK DEDICATED TO THE STATUS OF BLACK WOMEN MARCH 30 - APRIL 3, 2015 In honor of Women's History Month and the beginning of the UN's International Decade for People of African Descent, please join AAPF, the Civil Rights Coalition on Police Reform, The National Organization for Women, The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Institute for Women's Policy Research, Black Women's Blueprint, Sister Song, Free Marissa Now, PACE and other leading racial and gender justice organizations for a weeklong series of activities focused on elevating the crisis facing Black women.  --- Black women have long mobilized against the multiple forms of discrimination they have faced in the pursuit of better lives for themselves, their families, and the well being of their communities. Black women’s activism has been marked by their high levels of civic engagement, robust voting participation, and their leadership of racial justice movements.  Black women have led campaigns against lynching,   segregation, voter suppression and state violence. They have also been at the forefront of movements against sexual violence, sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination in the workforce, and have led efforts to expand the contours of reproductive freedom and political representation.  Yet even as Black women’s advocacy continues to reflect commitments to an inclusive vision of racial and gender justice, many of the specific challenges that Black women face are relegated to the margins of racial justice campaigns.    Acknowledging the centrality of Black women to our history and social fabric while recognizing the uniquely gendered and racialized challenges they face is critical if we are to build  movements that are fully inclusive and successful.  Please join us for a weeklong series of activities in honor of Women's History Month and the UN International Decade for People of African Descent as we come together to increase public understanding of the specific intersectional challenges that US women of African Descent face.   Our week is dedicated to elevating issues confronting Black women that are all too often cast into the shadows of concern.  Each day during the week of March 30-April 3, we will host an online event to highlight a specific set of challenge facing Black women.  Topics that will be covered include: state-sanctioned violence, economic inequality, sexual assault and domestic violence, school-pushout, health disparities, and the challenges faced by Black women in higher education.  Our goal is to elevate these challenges so that stakeholders across the country can better understand and address the sometimes unique challenges facing Black women and girls.   Information is key to broaden the public will to develop an inclusive social justice agenda that leaves no one behind. PROGRAM:  All activities will take place at 3pm EST. Monday, March 30th Webinar: #SayHerName: Towards a Gendered Analysis of Racialized State Violence (REGISTER HERE) Tuesday, March 31st Radio Interview: Ending Violence Against Black Women: The Movement to Combat Sexual Assault and Intimate Partner Violence in Our Communities (REGISTER HERE) Wednesday, April 1st Webinar: Less Than an Hour at Minimum Wage: Black Women's Median Wealth is $5. What Must be Done to Close the Gap? (REGISTER HERE) Thursday, April 2nd Rountable Discussion: Beyond College Enrollment: Education Inequities Facing Black Women and Girls (REGISTER HERE) Friday, April 3rd Radio Interview: Are Racism and Patriarchy Making Us Sick? Black Women, Societal Inequity and Health Disparities (REGISTER HERE)   FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR FOR QUESTIONS, PLEASE CONTACT: INFO@AAPF.ORG

WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH - PROFILE

ANGELA DAVIS is a social/political activist, author, scholar and educator.

Born on January 26, 1944, in Birmingham, Alabama, this sensitive child of the fifties, who became a militant revolutionary child of the sixties, and a political prisoner of the seventies, who was once on the FBI's "most wanted list,"  now continues to fight  for the rights of women, as well as for the rights of Black people, and all oppressed people in this country against poverty and racism.

Davis was influenced at an early age by her mother, Sallye Davis, who protested against the imprisonment of the Scottsboro Boys, and participated in the activities of the NAACP in the mid-fifties, even though the organization was outlawed in Birmingham at that time. She learned from her mother's involvement in activism that protest against the system was a viable means of getting your cause noticed by the powers that be. 

Davis also was influenced by, and learned about the nature of oppression from her grandmother, who often talked about the evils of slavery, and racism, so that her children, and grandchildren "would never forget" where they came from. What we have here then, is three generations of Black women who passed the word down from one to the next, "don't give up the fight." 

                                     

                                                                THEN

                                                                     NOW

To read the incredible story of Angela Davis and her rise to iconic stature Google -search her name

WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH - PROFILE

ZORA NEALE HURSTON  remains one of the most dynamic and powerful Black women of all time...REWIND!...Zora Neale Hurston remains one of the most dynamic and powerful WOMEN of all times, period. Words cannot even do justice to her 30 year career in the fields of anthropology, folklore, and literature in America.

Born on January 7, 1891, in Notasulga, Alabama, Hurston was the first Black person, man or woman, to collect and publish information on Black folklore throughout the African diaspora. Her body of work, and subsequent writings, challenged both Black people and White people. 

Hurston died on January 28, 1960.

To read her incredible bio Google-search her name and prepare to be amazed.