In 1963, about 20 girls were jailed for 45 days in a one-room jail in Leesburg, Ga. for their participation in Civil Rights marches in Americus. They didn’t talk about that experience for 50 years. Now the nine surviving members of The 1963 Leesburg Stockade Girls have been nominated for the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Learn more about their story here.
Hear their personal testimony in a 7-minute video here.
I am a white american male. I’m married to a beautiful blond-haired green-eyed woman and have two amazing blond-haired blue-eyed boys. I was a blond-haired blue-eyed child who grew up in suburban New Jersey in a solid family with a mother, a father, a brother and two dogs. I lived a life marked by opportunity and forgiveness; and while I may not have always had “much”, I have always had the benefit of the doubt. I was raised to treat everyone equally, regardless of race, or any other demographic for that matter. And while my town may have been predominantly white, I certainly didn’t grow up isolated from other races and cultures. But even with the upbringing and exposure I was blessed with, I’m probably still a racist. I don’t mean racist like a hate filled bigot who dehumanizes and devalues the lives of others based on skin color. I…
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Thursday, July 7 at 7pm at the UNM Bookstore in Albuquerque
Protest/rally/vigil honoring Alton Sterling (RIP) and condemning police brutality and the murder of countless Black men, women, children, and other minorities….
AND… Thursday, July 7 at 7pm at the Plaza in Santa Fe
Share in a moment of silence for the murder of Alton Sterling. Show solidarity for all people of color who have lost their lives to police violence.
Gaslighting….it doesn’t just happen to women.
“On whatever axes we experience oppression, our best qualities are fed back to us as weaknesses to disguise our own tremendous power and size from ourselves.”
I keep having the same conversation over and over.
That thing where someone undermines your perception of reality, and says you’re crazy, or denies that something is happening that is in fact happening?
When people we love and trust do that to us? It really messes with our minds.
Over time, or when it is about important things, this experience of having words deny reality can fundamentally shatter our sense of self-trust and our ability to navigate reality.
“There’s a word for that,” I say, hearing yet another such story from a female friend. “It’s gaslighting.”
Friend says “What’s gaslighting? I’ve never heard of that.”
“It’s when someone undermines your trust in your own perceptions and you feel crazy because your instincts and intuition and sometimes even plain old perceptions are telling you one thing, and words from someone you trust are telling you something different.”
“Oh.” (looks it up).
“Oh,”…
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The Holocaust survivor, writer, and Nobel peace laureate Elie Wiesel has died aged 87 at his home in Manhattan.
His words had power. Let’s remember some of them.
Interesting article on Quartz:
“White fragility” refers to white people’s low emotional tolerance for discussing topics of race and racism.
The term was coined by Dr. Robin DiAngelo in a 2011 article discussing her experience with white people in anti-racism trainings. She defines it as “a state when even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves.”
United Against Racism - New Mexico 