In recognition of Black History Month
“Anyone who claims to be a leader must speak like a leader. That means speaking with integrity and truth.” Kamala Harris
February is Black History Month, and we are regularly stunned at things we were never taught and people whose lives were until know an unknown to us. We were listening to an episode on Democracy Now last Friday and for the first time became aware of Pauli Murray; they were discussing the premiere of My Name is Pauli Murray at Sundance.
Pauli Murray, copied from NOW.org, "was an African-American civil rights activist, who was arrested for refusing to move to the back of the bus in Petersburg, Va. 15 years before Rosa Parks; and she organized restaurant sit-ins in Washington, D.C. 20 years before the Greensboro sit-ins. She was one of the most important thinkers and legal scholars of the 20th century, serving as a bridge between the civil rights and women’s rights movements.
Co-founder of NOW – She was a co-founder of the National Organization for Women, a feminist icon ahead of her time who challenged race and gender discrimination in legal, societal, academic and religious circles.
And yet today, not many would recognize the name of the Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray – let alone her indelible impact on American law, civil rights and women’s rights. As a black, queer, feminist woman, Pauli Murray has been almost completely erased from the narrative." We hope this email is one small piece in helping bring to light the amazing story of this trailblazer.
We are still adjusting to life under the Biden Administration. Though we are often exasperated by the news coverage, two stories announcing Nobel Peace Prize nominations were the perfect way to start Black History Month. One for the Black Lives Matter Movement and one for Stacey Abrams.
Norwegian MP Petter Eide nominated the Black Lives Matter Movement "for their struggle against racism and racially motivated violence...BLM's call for systemic change have spread around the world, forcing other countries to grapple with racism within their own societies," he said.
"Lars Haltbrekken, a Socialist Party politician in Norway’s Parliament, said Monday, the first day of Black History Month in the U.S. and the last day for someone to be nominated for the prize, that “Abrams’ work follows in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s footsteps in the fight for equality before the law and for civil rights"."
We're hoping that everyone learned from the last few years that Democracy is not a spectator sport. The House of Representatives has delivered the articles of impeachment to the Senate and the trial will begin shortly. Please take the time to call your Senators and demand they convict.
We cannot let BLM fade into the background, and we are glad to know our business is supporting the cause. Below are some of our graphics supporting the Audre Lorde Project, ACLU, Fair Fight, and our BLM tee supporting The Bail Project, Poor People's Campaign, NAACP Legal Defense Education Fund, Mijente, Color of Change, and The Citizenship Education Fund. A huge thanks to Emil Cohen for the new shots featuring our tees.
