V-Day Blog Archive

In Solidarity with Ferguson

One Billion Rising Revolution stands in solidarity with the people of Ferguson and their demands for justice. We stand in solidarity with the African American Policy Forum and share their statement below. AAPF Co-founder Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw is a V-Day Board Member.

The African American Policy Forum

The stunning announcement that Darren Wilson will not face any charges in the shooting death of Michael Brown is a bitter disappointment not only to the immediate family of Michael Brown, but to all of those who value justice, police accountability and human rights. We are particularly disturbed by the actions of Robert McCulloch whose prosecutorial performance failed to instill confidence that the grand jury decision was fair. Indeed, the tenor and substance of the announcement revealed a process that functioned more as an indictment of Michael Brown than a determination of whether there was probable cause to try Darren Wilson for any crime. This defendant-friendly grand jury process underscores concerns that the criminal justice system poses insurmountable obstacles to real police accountability, while setting very low entry points that funnel so many people of color into prison.

We have been reminded that we are governed by the rule of law, yet the painful reality of Ferguson, and the longer history of white supremacy that proceeded it, is that legality does not necessarily guarantee justice. As Martin Luther King, Jr. observed, “law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice [but] when they fail in this purpose they [can] become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress.” In the pursuit of a just order, we must be frank in addressing how racism has shaped the law and the day-to-day lives of those who must live in fear under its shadow. If the national conversation that many are calling for is to move us toward justice, then the widespread tolerance and support for policies and practices that endanger the lives of Black people must be unequivocally condemned.

As the body count of men, women and children killed by police continues to mount, we know that justice requires more than an indictment in this case and in all the other tragedies that are unfolding. Our fight must be for a comprehensive racial justice agenda that ensures full systems reform. In addition to supporting actions in multiple arenas to ensure that this critical moment will not pass, please join the coalition of national civil rights organizations and individuals in demanding concrete reforms to reign in state violence.

About the African American Policy Forum
AAPF is an innovative think tank that connects academics, activists and policy-makers to promote efforts to dismantle structural inequality. We utilize new ideas and innovative perspectives to transform public discourse and policy. We promote frameworks and strategies that address a vision of racial justice that embraces the intersections of race, gender, class, and the array of barriers that disempower those who are marginalized in society.

Website: www.aapf.org

Email Address: afampolicyforum@gmail.com
Phone Number: (212) 854-8041
Mailing Address:
African American Policy Forum, Inc.
435 West 116th Street, Rm. 827
New York, NY 10025

RISE 4 REVOLUTION Through Art, Music & Voices – Share YOUR Revolution!

What does your REVOLUTION look like? How do you think change can happen? How will you create a radical shift in consciousness?

As ONE BILLION RISING REVOLUTION brings this global discussion to the forefront, we want to hear from YOU. SHARE your revolution through art, video, photos and words.

SHARE Your Revolution >

Check Out New Videos from Eve, Thandie Newton, One Billion Rising Tunisia and Climbing PoeTree!

• Eve Ensler at The National Bioneers Conference

On 17 October, Eve delivered the keynote speech at the National Bioneers Conference. Her talk deconstructs the tale of Adam and Eve from a feminist perspective and calls on all of us to drum up the Revolution in 2015.

WATCH >

V-Board member, actor and activist Thandie Newton shares her revolution. Will you join her?

WATCH >

One Billion Rising Tunisia created this fantastic graphical interpretation of the campaigns global call to action.

WATCH >

Climbing PoeTree’s new ballad about the unstoppable power of the people features a myriad of activists, educators, and radical artists in NYC, Seattle, and the Bay Area.

WATCH >

Join us, RISE 4 Revolution! SHARE Your Revolution >

Rise for the Raise TOMORROW: Storm Twitter with Your #NotOnTheMenu Stories

“If you’re a woman living off tips, you’re practically guaranteed to deal with sexual harassment. We’re tired of being told to accept it as ‘just part of the job.’ We are tired of feeling like standing up for ourselves means putting our jobs on the line. We’re tired of letting this giant industry get away with paying women a subminimum wage and showing them their worth should be linked to enduring harassment from customers, co-workers and managers. Enough is enough.

” – Saru Jayaraman and the ROC United Team

As part of the Rise for the Raise initiative, we made a commitment to take part in a joint action with ROC United, who are fighting for One Fair Wage, on the 14th of every month between October and 14 February. In October, we protested widespread sexual harassment in the restaurant industry by rallying in NYC and several cities across the country.

This month, on 14 November, One Billion Rising, V-Day, ROC United, Hollaback!, National Organization for Women, Equal Rights Advocates, other leading women’s rights organizations and individuals are storming twitter with stories of sexual harassment in the restaurant industry using #NotOnTheMenu and we urge you to JOIN US! Share a story or show your solidarity by tweeting: I stand with workers protesting sexual harassment in the restaurant industry by sharing their stories with #NotOnTheMenu.

There is power in sharing stories so that everyone knows what workers in this industry are dealing with and what we’re fighting for. Join us on Twitter tomorrow anytime with #NotOnTheMenu.

ONE BILLION RISING to Receive Compassion Week Award for Social Justice

Congratulations Risers! Tonight at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, One Billion Rising will receive the inaugural Compassion Week Award for Social Justice, presented by the Charter for Compassion, the Empathy and Compassion in Society Conference and sponsors GoodMojo and Tekmeca.

The Compassion Week 2014 Awards are presented in recognition of each recipient’s work to make compassion and compassionate action a transformative energy that motivates individuals and communities to care for each other, relieve suffering wherever it is found, and reach out to connect to other communities across the globe to ensure well-being for all beings.

One Billion Rising joins notable organizations AIDS/LifeCycle, Chinatown Community Development Center, Dignity Health, and Horizons Foundation, and individual awardees Greg Fischer, Joan Blades, Joan Brown Campbell, and Libby and Len Traubman.

LEARN more >

The Revolution is Beginning Around the World

NEW BLOGS in from the global coordinators about Rise For Revolution 2015 launch events in…

Guadalajara, Mexico
“Our motto will be: Move yourself and the World will Move with you!” – Andrés Naime, OBR Coordinator, Mexico

Kathmandu, Nepal
“The Power of Love, not love of power” Rising against patriarchy, and Rising FOR democracy, socialism and secularism for women’s equality.

Guyana
“Together we are saying again, in and with full force: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. I cannot bear to see another woman get killed, or disappear to feel so broken due to some form of violence – and we do nothing. Eve’s presence and our involvement in One Billion Rising sparked courage…The women of Guyana are speaking – and our voice WILL grow stronger.” – Dianne Madray, OBR Coordinator, Caribbean

Join us and SIGN UP to RISE for Revolution! >

Join #Dalitwomenfight in Dreaming of a Gender Just World

Through 10 November, Dalit women are mobilizing throughout Madhya Pradesh to “end caste-based sexual violence in our lifetime.” Follow #dalitwomenfight & @dalitwomenfight all week as they: Educate, Agitate, & Organize for Liberation!

LEARN more >

“Food Chains” Premieres in Select Theaters 21 November

Food Chains, a new doc which showcases the economic injustice and abuse rampant in farm labor, is coming out in select theaters in the U.S on 21 November.

Executive produced by Eva Longoria, Eric Schlosser and Abigail Disney, narrated by Forest Whitaker, and featuring global activists including Eve, Food Chains also reveals the forces behind that exploitation through the narrative of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), an intrepid group of tomato pickers in Florida who are battling the 5 trillion dollar global supermarket industry – and winning. The film premiered at the 2014 Berlin Film Festival and screened subsequently at the Tribeca Film Festival and Guadalajara Film Festival.

WATCH the Trailer >

Find a theater near you TODAY >

Interested in bringing a group to the theater? Email Rebecca at Rebecca@picturemotion.com

TOMORROW, October 14 is the National Day of Action to Support One Fair Wage!

Join Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC-United), Eve Ensler and One Billion Rising: Revolution and RISE for a fair wage.

Tomorrow throughout the United States, ROC-United is staging a National Day of Action for ONE FAIR WAGE and an end to gender discrimination and sexual harassment in the restaurant industry.

The action will include a flash mob of dancing servers, worker stories from ROC members, and an opportunity for others to share their stories and experiences in the industry.

Join Us for the One Fair Wage National Day of Action!

WATCH – Saru Jayaraman, Ashley Ogogor and Eve on Democracy Now

“Campaigners Call for ‘One Fair Wage’ to Help End Sexual Harassment for Tipped Restaurant Workers.”

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/10/13/campaigners_call_for_one_fair_wag…