By Kiratiana Freelon — Marielle Franco, 38, a black politician from Rio de Janeiro, died fighting for the rights of women and favela dwellers. As a councilwoman from the Maré favela, she denounced the police brutality that favela residents, most of them black, regularly experienced. On Wednesday around 9:20 p.m., armed men gunned the councilwoman down in her car in the center of Rio de Janeiro with nine shots—four to…
By ELLE — The Founders of Black Lives Matter and the #MeToo Movement on Making Change. Patrisse Cullors and Tarana Burke are recognizable, but their work is perhaps even more so. #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo became the shorthand for the agitation and labor these activists lent to their causes, and the hashtags spread the word about police violence against black people and sexual harassment, respectively.
March 12th Women’s History Month Edition Topics A New Book — “There Are No Dead Here: A Story of Murder and Denial in Colombia” Amazing Black Women Guests Maria McFarland…
Harriet’s Great Escape: Through rain, sleet, and snow, they continue to walk, with a massive storm brewing on the east coast. The women of GirlTrek are traversing 100 miles of…
In Colombia, women are demanding an end to the impunity, silence and invisibility that fuel attacks on female human rights defenders. Tumaco – Afro-descendant women’s organizations in Colombia are marking International Women’s Day by highlighting Black women’s role in peacebuilding and calling for reparations for conflict-related gender-based violence and other human rights violations. As members of communities that have long suffered governmental neglect, Afro-Colombian women and girls have faced disproportionate rates of conflict-related human rights violations with minimal access to justice or services. Ongoing violence in the wake of Colombia’s peace accord with the FARC, including killings of human rights defenders and displacement of entire communities, has especially impacted Afro-Colombian and Indigenous Peoples.
By Tyece Wilkins — In the basement of East City Bookshop on a brisk D.C. night, Morgan Jerkins filled the room with her signature blend of intellect and style. It was the fifth night of her 17-stop tour for This Will Be My Undoing, a book I’d stumbled upon only a few days prior and instantly fallen head over heels in love with. My copy was already beginning to wear at…
Jerkins talks about her insightful new essay collection ‘This Will Be My Undoing.’ Hope Reese, Vice — When Morgan Jerkins entered Princeton University at age 19, she felt that she had “made…
By Keisha N. Blain, the Conversation — Black History Month is an opportunity to reflect on the historical contributions of black people in the United States. Too often, however, this history focuses on black men, sidelining black women and diminishing their contributions. This is true in mainstream narratives of black nationalist movements in the United States. These narratives almost always highlight the experiences of a handful of black nationalist men, including…
This week would’ve marked her 105th birthday — it’s time to move beyond the quiet seamstress narrative. By Urana McCauley as told to Liz Dwyer, Shondaland — This is how…
The Legacy of Frederick Douglass and other 19th Century Freedom Fighters. In the Spirit of Frederick Douglass, 19th Century Women Freedom Fighters. In the Spirit of Frederick Douglass, John Brown Lives! – Vantage…
Daisy Elizabeth Adams Lampkin dedicated her life to supporting women’s and civil rights. Lampkin began hosting local suffragette meetings at her home near Pittsburgh…
A prominent African American educator, church leader and suffrage supporter, Nannie Helen Burroughs devoted her life to empowering black women. Burroughs helped…