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July 21, 2017 | Deeds Digest No. 61
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Hello #ChangeMakers!
I hope you've had a fabulous, productive week! Here in Texas, our #NotSoSpecialSession got underway. On the agenda are a package of hostile bills aimed at women, the trans-community, public schools and more.
You might imagine that we've grown so weary of the battle, that we've lost our will to fight. I'm happy to say that exactly the opposite is true. In fact, on the first day of the session, hundreds of people gathered outside the Texas capitol, standing in 100+ degree heat to speak out against the legislature's agenda of hate. And they're not going anywhere anytime soon. Instead, they are coming in droves to speak at committee hearings, to meet with legislators and to keep the heat on them-- letting their representatives know that they'll be held accountable for their actions.
Our #Changemaker this week is one of those fighters. At only 9 years old, Wendy Medrano gave one of the most inspiring and motivating speeches that I have ever had the privilege to hear on the steps of our capitol.
Young Wendy reminds us that each of has a responsibility to speak up when we know something is wrong. Read about her and so much more below. I hope it will inspire you to own your own responsibility for making a difference in the world. Whether in person or digitally, there's always something we can do to make a difference.
Own the power you possess, #Changemakers! I believe in you more than you will ever know.
Much love,
-wendy
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This week’s #ChangeMaker: Wendy Medrano
This week marked the start of the Texas Legislature’s Special Session, a jam packed and controversial time when some of the most radical and harmful laws may come to fruition to threaten the lives of Texans across the state. And this week’s #ChangeMaker at only 9 years old(!) is taking a stand against SB4, speaking for families like hers who have been ripped apart by unfair immigration laws. Wendy Medrano has been speaking and protesting at the Texas Capitol this week, calling on state representatives to represent the will of the people.
“It’s ridiculous for a 9 year old girl to be here and fighting for her family because they are scared of this hateful law. You are all the adults, you are the elected officials, it is your job to protect us. You all should be ashamed of yourselves!” Watch a portion of Wendy Medrano's powerful speech here.
Wendy and her mother are members of the Worker’s Defense Project, which aims to train, empower, and connect low wage workers with resources, while standing against unfair policies in local organizations and governments. Wendy has been joined by other amazing youth standing up for their families. Over a dozen teens and young adults dressed in ballgowns for a symbolic Quinceañera outside the looming Texas capitol this week. As they celebrate their heritage, speak their minds and stand up for their communities, these bold young women prove that “The Future is Female.” Keep resisting! We are with you!
Know a hero making a difference in their community? Send us a picture of someone you’d like to see as #ChangeMaker of the week and share their story. You might just see it in the next Deeds Digest.
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Amelia Earhart recently resurfaced in the news after historians found an alleged photo of her after her plane disappeared. While we may never know what happened to her, one thing is for sure: Amelia was a feminist trailblazer. Before becoming the first woman to fly across the Atlantic alone, Amelia inspired little girls to dream big and she advocated for women pilots and other women to pursue ANY career path. Thank you Amelia for paving the way! 👩🏿👩🏼👩✈️
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President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump met with French president Emmanuel Macron and French first lady Brigitte Macron at Versailles. Our president's first remarks when seeing the French first lady for the first time: "She's in such good shape. Beautiful." Hats off to Rebook, who made this helpful infographic above to remind our president when it is appropriate to utter those remarks. 🙃 Hint: NEVER. It's never appropriate.
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Many sexual assault survivors don’t report their incidents for a variety of reasons: slut-shaming, victim-blaming, and sometimes they don't even know it was an assault. WHY is this happening? Well, many of these victims come from places where abstinence-only sex-ed was taught. "Many abstinence-only programs instill fear and shame related to sexual behavior. They may teach young people that they are dirty or tainted if they've had sex," said Nicole Cushman of AMAZE, an organization that promotes access to sex education. Read more about sexual survivors' stories and learn what you can do to support access to a more healthy conversation about sex.
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A lot is at stake for thousands of Texans in this Special Session, with attention focused on intruding upon local control, diluting support for public education, and attacking civil and reproductive rights. That's why our shero is asking the tough question: Why, instead, isn't Texas addressing its staggering maternal mortality rate? Texas has given us an ugly look into the future of restricting reproductive rights and what happens to women as a consequence. And we DO NOT like it.
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Women of color (WoC) are too often excluded from many spaces and conversations—including the abortion rights movement. Addressing this head-on in an interview with HuffingtonPost, our girl Jasmine Sherman explains how we can make the abortion rights movement more inclusive and she calls out anti-choicer's hypocrisy. “You can’t say [abortion] is black genocide ... a lot of the people talking about it sure do support the death penalty and sure have no problem with mass incarceration.” –Jasmine. RETWEET. 👩🏿👌🏾
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Here's an issue that few people know about: FAKE reproductive care clinics. Our friends at LadyPartsJustice just launched a campaign to Expose Fake Clinics. Watch this tutorial on the crucial role of review websites and how to take actions to stop fake clinics from spreading lies and enticing women into through their doors only to shame them. "You want the (on-line) reviews to reflect the experiences that people might go through." – Lizz Winstead, co-founder of LadyPartsJustice.
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R. Kelly is involved in yet another sex scandal that we've became aware of courtesy of Buzzfeed. This time, the 50 year old singer is reportedly holding young women against their will in a "cult." Our male ally Hasan Picker drops a giant truth bomb about our society and why R. Kelly and many others get away with sexually predatory behavior: "As a society we seem to not care…because his victims were women, specifically women of color. The reason [they can do this] is because...money in this country buys you the right to be above the law.” – SP. He's right and its up to all of us to step forward and speak out when this happens to any of our sisters.
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Remember the infamous bathroom bill that Texas copied from North Carolina? Well, it came back from the dead 💀 this Special Session in Texas. But you #Changemaker – yes, YOU – can fight it if you're in Texas. Watch this brave mother, Chelsea Morrison, give an emotional testimony on behalf of her trans-daughter and take notes for your own testimony – whether you're in Texas or elsewhere. Don't forget that your most powerful tool for advancing change is your personal story. "I’m terrified if this bill goes through because my daughter does not belong in the male bathroom."– CM.
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There’s so much about our world that we don’t fully know yet. We’re still untangling the complex structures that rule our lives: the universe, science, race, gender, and sex, to name a few. Lucky for us, there are mythbusters, like science writer Angela Saini, challenging what our society accepts as objective “truths.” In her book Inferior, Angela unmasks how science has been used to perpetuate the patriarchy.
Yikes.
You can smell the BS from far away. Believe or not, these ideas shaped our science today and kept women out of STEM fields for a long time. Angela explains that they’re the reason “we’ve been conditioned to believe that girls and women are generally disinterested in anything science-related.”
Much of what science is depends on the social context of its time. (Charles Darwin actually deemed women as “weaker” and “intellectually inferior.”) 🙄 Scientists like Darwin claimed that evolution (conveniently) “made” women more empathetic to “complement” men. Scientific theories, postulated by men, shackled women to secondary roles when in reality they’ve ALWAYS been able to shape the world and their lives as primary players.
When women enter STEM fields, they challenge these assumptions. That’s why we need more #STEMists!
What can I do?
Don't ever EVER let any assumptions that you feel are unfair in our culture go unquestioned!
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We're launching our new website and we're very, very excited.
We revamped our webite! Check out our Take Action page (http://deedsnotwords.com/take-action), where it is super easy for anyone to find and do awesome deeds. Oh, and we also launched our #Changemaker page (http://deedsnotwords.com/change-makers) with profiles of incredible people making equality a reality! Make sure to visit our new virtual hub... BUT, we need your help to spread the word! 😊
What you can do
- Use this template to share our new website with your family and friends on Facebook and Twitter. And while they're visiting our site, encourage them to sign up for the Deeds Digest!
THANK YOU!
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