Bella Bulletin FOLLOW @BELLAABZUGINSTITUTE SEPTEMBER 2022
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Our recap of this year’s Summer Training Program after we returned to in-person training since 2020.
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We INTERVIEWED… Stephanie Pisarevskiyis, founder of Spinning Bubbles, a free dance program accessible to girls of all ages.
Table of Contents I. Announcements…………………………………….…. …………………3 II. Dance Program Opportunity………………………………………….5 III. Highlights of the Month…………….…………….……..…. ………..6 IV. Feminist Five…….………………………………….….……………………8 V. Happy Birthday To……………………………..……….………………10 VI. Women’s History Month Timeline…..………………………….12 VII.BALI Enrichment…………..………………………………….. ………..13 VIII.Bella Bulletin Staff………….………………..………….. ……………15 IX. BALI Staff…………………………….…………………. ………………….16
workers into Ojibwe territory has also heightened COVID 19 cases and led to the assault of some indigenous community members. For ways to help, please see stopline3.org.
Last month, horrific images of United States border patrol brutalizing Haitian migrants sparked widespread outrage. The atrocities made by the U S government against Hatian migrants, however, extend far beyond the events of late September. Most of the immigrants depicted in the photos that surfaced late September were deported back to Haiti under Title 42. Title 42, established by the Trump administration, allows the U.S. government to immediately deport immigrants that attempt to cross the border under the pretense of pandemic concerns To support Haitian and Black migrants, consider donating to th H iti B id Alli d U d Bl k
pilot program that will record data about the gender and sexuality of victims of violent deaths While the pilot program is limited to six counties, advocates are still hopeful that this landmark bill will be the first step in addressing the increased violence faced by the LGBTQ+ community So far, Santa Clara, Los Angeles, Stanislaus and Fresno counties have agreed to participate in the program
who utilized sophisticated tech to conceal where the threats originated Some students report that assumed racially motivated threats of these kinds have happened in the past, and they hope that authorities will continue to investigate the issue.
acknowledge the harm done by the special and to include more LGBTQ+ films and TV shows on the streaming service. Netflix co Chief Executive Ted Sarandos publicly stands by Dave Chappelle and refuses to take the special off of Netflix.
for Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, and an impressive career serving on the US Court of Appeals for the DC circuit. While her credentials are extensive, Jackson has been largely apolitical throughout her career.
other Black women suffering from the same mental health struggles This vision took the shape of She Matters, an app designed to provide community and resources for Black mothers in their postpartum period. The app is designed to connect Black women to qualified
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Brown Jackson was finally voted to be the United State’s first Black, female Supreme Court Justice. Jackson received a 53-47 bipartisan vote, making it one of the closest confirmations in Supreme Court History Brown has been praised for her composure despite baseless accusations of her being a “soft ” judge during her confirmation hearing , among other attacks on her qualifications. While this is obviously indicative of her strength and ability to be a successful judge, it also demonstrates how unjust her confirmation hearings were compared to other justices due to her positionality as a Black woman.
Highlights of the Month
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This month, even though the pandemic and its subsequent financial obstacles are far from over, the moratorium was lifted, leaving many Americans in the lurch for affordable housing. With the moratorium lifted, many Americans across the country now owe months of past due rent with little to no support This already very present issue has been exacerbated by the pandemic and will not dissolve unless established, permanent change is made by the federal government
industry. First, Sha Carri Richardson was banned from the Olympics after a positive cannabis test, even though it is not a performance enhancing drug (and let alone the fact that many white athletes have been excused of much worse accusations) This past week, Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka stepped down from their Olympic events to protect their physical and mental health And as a result, these champion athletes have faced immense discrimination and judgment These three instances (among many others at this year ’s Olympics) begs the question of whether the Olympics and its fans
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Justice Ayesha Malik made history by becoming Pakistan’s first female judge appointed to Pakistan’s Supreme Court Malik has spent her career defending the rights of women in Pakistan Last year, she prevented the legalization of an unnecessarily invasive “virginity test ” that some lawmakers wanted use on women who had reported cases of rape or sexual assault. Many are hopeful that Malik’s position on the supreme court will pave the way for more female judges and influence the supreme court to make more women centered decisions
Last month, Governor Kathy Hochul signed a group of laws countering harassment and workplace discrimination at a Women’s History Month celebration. The package includes legislation that provides a toll free confidential hotline for employees to report sexual harassment, holds all state and public employers accountable to the Human Rights Law, and bans the release of personnel files as a retaliatory action against
A t month, a Taiwanese court approeved Xiao E’s request to change her gender on her ID without prove of gender affirming surgery Back in 2019, Xiao E was denied this right, and in response, she took her case straight to court Now, many activists have hope that Xiao E’s case will set a precedent and
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nominated Patricia Guerrero as the first Latina Chief Justice of the California State Supreme Court. She will be in charge of leading the state's sprawling court system that includes about 2,175 judges across 58 trial courts and 105 justices on the Courts of Appeal and is the nation’s largest judicial system. The daughter of Mexican immigrants, Guerrero has had extensive experience in the legal field, previously serving on California’s 4th District Court of Appeal overseeing cases in San Diego and the Imperial Valley. She graduated from UC Berkeley and Stanford Law School, and has also served as a federal prosecutor and a Superior Court judge in San Diego.
New York City has moved ahead with enacting its new congestion pricing scheme which will charge regular commuters up to $23 to enter Manhattan during peak hours. Larger vehicles such as transport trucks can end up paying over $100 in tolls. Although the city’s goal to tamp down on tra c and reduce pollution is a step in the right direction to combat climate change, it also has unseen consequences for lower income communities in the Bronx and Brooklyn. Tra c is poised to shift there to avoid the steep Manhattan tolls, shifting pollution away from the a uent
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Scotland became the first country to make access to free menstrual products a legal right. O cially launched on August 15, 2022, the program strives to eliminate period poverty in the country and aid impoverished women in receiving necessary supplies. Under the new legislation, schools and local government bodies are required to make a range of period products including tampons and sanitary pads available for free in bathrooms. Users can request products as well without having to justify the amount or cost of them. Furthermore, no forms have to be completed nor is other information required for access. The bill takes great steps in reducing the negative stigma around periods and encourages other countries to follow suit.
now, the council has never had more than 18 women sit on the council, but this next coming year, the council will have a female majority. Furthermore, this year ’s election has made history on multiple accounts due to the diverse group of candidates. Crystal Hudson will become the first Black openly queer city council member, Shekar Krishnan will be the first Indian American, Chi Ossé will be the youngest city council member, and many more of the recent elects will make history by making the council more diverse. Many suggest that rank choice voting is part of what has made running for office more accessible to all
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On December 15, transformational author, poet, and professor, bell hooks died at age 69. hooks published 30 books in her lifetime, and was best known for her works About Love: New Visions, Ain’t I a Woman?, and Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center hooks dedicated her time as a professor and a writer to making her work “healing ” above all else, making her loss all the more impactful to all those that she healed through her writing.
Over 50 years ago in Selma, Alabama, thousands of protestors crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge, with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in a historic demonstration that brought forth Voting Rights Act. This year, as with every year since 1965, politicians have visited Selma to celebrate the protest, but leave Selma’s community “worse than they found [them].”
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Senate Bill 8, would eliminate 85% 90% of abortions in Texas The two lawsuits made against the bill were made by the federal government and a collection of abortion providers and advocates. As of now, it is unclear what the Supreme Court ’s decision will be. What is known now, however, is that the court will not be discussing abortion rights themselves, but rather, how SB 8 will be enforced.
a complete war on Ukraine in order to “demilitarize” the country, forcing millions to flee Ukraine This humanitarian crisis, however, is a multifaceted tragedy. In an effort to “prioritize Ukrainian citizens,” Officials are denying African students within Ukraine passage on buses and trains out of the country Countless videos across social media platforms document these students attempting to board buses and trains only to be pushed out of the way and told: “Ukrainians only.” Although this humanitarian crisis impacts all residents of U t t t
Despite being the host of a major celebration once a year, ⅓ of Selma’s majority Black population lives in poverty. The people of Selma are demanding that the government invest more in their city than just a photo op
City Council, BALI once again celebrates the council’s historic female majority and thanks to the council its increasing support of our programmatic delivery over the years.
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have banned the movie due to strict censorship rules around sexuality. The primary issue that these countries have found with West Side Story is the minor character Anybodys. In the original film, Anybodys is portrayed as a tomboy that seeks acceptance from the Jets, but in the 2021 adaptation, Anybodys is portrayed as
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Security announced that they cleared the camp of 15,000, mostly Haitian immigrants seeking asylum in Del Rio, Texas, horrifying images were released of U S Border Patrol Agents chasing Haitian immigrants with horses and whips This instance is one in a long line of atrocities comitted by the U S government dating back to the first influx of Hatian asylum seekers in teh 1970s After the brutal “clearing” of the detention center this September, the overwhelming majority of Haitian immigrants were forced to travel back to Haiti
In response, the Belgian government funded 6 abortion organizations that will now invite people from Poland to come to Belgium and receive safe and legal abortions
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60 residents of Twin Parks North West, an apartment complex in the Bronx. Twin Parks North West, lovingly nicknamed Touray Tower after Abdolie Touray moved in in the 1970s, is home to a strong Gambian community that is now reeling from the loss of not only parents, children, and siblings, but community members and chosen family The fire is said to have been initiated by a space heater that was turned on for several days, but the gravity of the fire is a result of deeper infrastructure issues and the systemic neglect of the Bronx. As community activist and religious leader Sheik Musa Drammeh stated at a public funeral for the victims, “If they lived in midtown Manhattan, they would not have died ” For t e i n
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eTducator, will receive the coveted Edward MacDowell Medal. Sanchez will join world renowned awardees including Toni Morrison, Stephen Sondheim, Jamesn Baldwin, Ta Nehisi Coates, and many others. Sanchez became an established writer in the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s and is best known for her work Homegirls and Handgrenades and Shake Loose My Skin
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in need in a recent interview with City Watch. She is particularly focused on supporting seniors with rental assistance after the expiration of eviction protections on January 15th. In the interview, Hudson also criticized the complex paperwork and lack of communication from government officials when those in need apply for rental assistance
ETndbridge, was pressured to shut down Line 5 in Michigan for several hours after water protectors called Enbridge and halted the operation of the pipeline from within the facility. The construction and operation of Line 5 has posed an immense environmental threat to the Michigan community. Despite the fact that th t t t d b f th
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were heavily discussed. Many activists and policymakers in attendance, however, report that the convention lacked a more specific focus on health impacts with direct health-related solutions that address health disparities
outbreaks of the Delta variant of the virus (the most revealing of which occurred in Provincetown, Massachusetts, where most of the population is vaccinated) the CDC announced that vaccinated individuals can, in fact, contract and spread the disease As a result, it is now recommended that everyone, regardless of
communities of NYC and adding it to the already environmentally struggling boroughs. The MTA estimates that upward of about 4,000 additional trucks could be seen in the Bronx alone.
Young women in Sierra Leone are resisting and advocating against female genital cutting more so than ever before For more than two decades, there has been a push across the developing world to end female genital cutting, a centuries old ritual tied up in ideas of sexual purity, obedience, and control. Today, Sierra Leone is one of only a few countries in sub Saharan Africa that have not banned it yet While the battle between conservative traditionals who argue that the practice is of cultural significance and progressive groups who condemn female genital cutting continues to play out across the nation’s parliament and media, many young women are taking matters into their own hands by refusing to oblige to the cutting, traditionally referred to as bondo. In courageous acts of defiance, they are rejecting the centuries long practice and risking the ire of society and family.
Acclaimed Latina novelist Cecile Pineda passed away at 89 on August 11, 2022, at her home in Berkeley, California. Pineda’s works centered around the fragile notion of identity and its role in a multitude of genres including fiction, nonfiction, drama, and theater. She studied theater at Barnard College and received a master’s degree in theater arts from San Francisco State University. Prior to her writing career, Pineda also led her own experimental theater company, the Theater of Man, for 12 years. Throughout her career, Cecile Pineda wrote 10 books in all, many of them reflecting her engagement with the anti nuclear movement, environmentalism, and activism on behalf of immigrants and other marginalized groups.
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All ely romantic concep eed, community, mutuality, romance, ters, she makes connections between lessons we learn as children and how they impact our perspective of love as adults and unpacks the fraught idea that we are expected to know how to love despite the absence of instructions in society. All About Love is just one example of how bell hooks’ writing beautifully heals its readers. has been themes in Night.
Looking vicencio explores the lives of the undocumen singular, effervescent characters across the nation often reduced in the media to political pawns or nameless laborers. The stories she tells are not deferential or naively inspirational but show the love, magic, heartbreak, insanity, and vulgarity that infuse the day-to-day lives of her subjects.
Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it's not just verything: their later, one sister she once tried to husband knows just as many lies, the own daughters' st The Vanishing Half follows the lives of two twin girls, both light-skinned Black girls, who run away from home at the age of sixteen. Desiree marries a dark-skinned Black man and has a child, while Stella lives her life passing as white. The book tracks their lives across generations, as their lives branch away from each other and yet remain intertwined. It's a story that explores the intricacies of identity, family and race in a provocative but compassionate way.
There is more than that which meets the eye in García Peña’s novel. Taking readers back generations, it also includes historical facts and explanations to provide context for the modern day problems the book features. Discrimination against women of color in academia is not a contemporary struggle, but rather one that has existed since the beginning of time. The di erence between then and now, however, is that now we are finding our voices to stand up for ourselves and raise awareness for this growing issue.
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An inspiring and thought provoking personal account intertwined with political and historical analysis, Community As Rebellion: A Syllabus for Surviving Academia as a Woman of Color, o ers a unique perspective on the struggles and uncertainties of being a woman of color in higher academic institutions.
While at first, no one believed that something like the murder of innocent men, women, and children as possible, the ravings of Moishe the Beadle, Elie’s teacher, are soon proven true. Before being transferred to concentration camps, the Wiesel family is forced to live in a ghetto within their own village.
meets the eye in García Peña’s novel Taking readers back storical facts and explanations to provide context for the features. Discrimination against women of color in academia is not a contemporary struggle, but rather one that has existed since the beginning of time. The di erence between then and now, however, is that now we are finding our voices to stand up for ourselves and raise awareness for this growing issue. An inspiring and thought-provoking personal account intertwined with political and historical analysis, Community As Rebellion: A Syllabus for Surviving Academia as a Woman of Color, o ers a unique perspective on the struggles and uncertainties of being a woman of color in higher academic institutions.
Initially a personal hashtag posted by Brown to celebrate her personal journey with self-love, #DisabledandCute has transformed into an online community of disabled people celebrating themselves and proving that “being disabled and being cute aren’t mutually exclusive.” Like most online content created by Black creators, however, #DisabledandCute is occasionally referenced without crediting Keah Brown. So to all of our lovely BALI readers that might want to contribute to the hashtag , make sure to tag her @Keah_Maria! write about right after the clear of was yer ’s phone ountry to tell hidden key
In context and content, “Dear Senthuran” is molded by departure and what it requires. The book is structured as a series of letters from the author to their friends, lovers, other writers, divine and human family. In them Emezi recounts episodes in their life, from their gender confirmation surgeries to purchasing a home (a place they call their “godhouse”), to betrayal at the hands of literary mentors. Each letter chronicles a tension between Western constructions of gender and “people like me: embodied but not human, terrified that amous works. It moschallengestoftenaverb,”an
“I am my mother worst nightmare, a testament to the power of anticolonial resistance.” - Lorgia García-Peña, Community As Rebellion
A Latinx and Romance Language Studies professor, García Peña has had an extensive and arduous journey in academia She grew up in the Dominican Republic until she was 12 years old when she joined her parents and immigrated to the United States. After briefly working at the University of Georgia, she was hired by Harvard atina on the tenure track at Harvard’s largest division, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. García Peña created a Latinx studies secondary field and area of focus and collected numerous awards for her teaching and competitive fellowships She was a beloved professor and always sought to create a safe environment for her pupils
elist François Mauriac, and y y Nigh (1956). ent on to write The Town Beyond the Wall (1962), Souls on Fire (1972), The Testament (1980), and many others. All of Wiesel’s novels explore different layers of the Holocaust and more broadly question how such awful events can come to be. Wiesel’s work is cherished for the thoughtful and somehow beautiful way he describes the loss of innocence in such a terrifying experience, and for this reason, Night is still a staple found in classrooms across the country. Later on in his career, Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace and was appointed as the first chairman of the US Holocaust memorial.
Following Harvard’s refusal, García Peña filed several complaints with discrimination boards against the university, which are still in progress today. In 2021, she o cially resigned from Harvard and was appointed to a tenured position at Tufts University.
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Thus, it was a shock for all when she was denied a tenure position at the prestigious university. When an o cial audit was conducted regarding the decision, it found that the university had given excessive weight to the concern that García Peña’s work was more activism than scholarship during the tenure process and that García Peña had been a victim of discrimination Although the panel in charge of the investigation strongly recommended her case be reviewed, Harvard refused to do so
While she ebel "I Don't Know Wha million views in three da ell as the 2014 SheHurston/Whassince published other nonfiction essays, including a history of black dolls called "Addy Walker, American Girl" for the Paris Review, as well as a review of the 2015 Ta-Nehisi Coates book Between the World and Me for The New Yorker. Vogue said Bennett's nonfiction essays "recall Ta-Nehisi Coates [with] a similar ability to contextualize the present moment in a bigoted past." a
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As Barbara Ransby, author of Eslanda, furthers, “ Community As Rebellion is a must read for anyone serious about confronting institutional racism, sexism, and elitism. Lorgia García Peña, one of her generation's most brilliant scholar activists, challenges us to confront academia as a ‘colonial and colonizing’ space as the first step toward resistance and transformation. Her own experiences undergird her analysis and serve as a powerful call to action.”
García-Peña’s second novel, Community As Rebellion, was published on May 31st, 2022, by Haymarket Books. It has received immense critical acclaim from scholars and professors and has been frequently recommended as an essential piece of literature for anyone wanting to explore the inequalities in academia.
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Women’s History Month Timeline
Wilma Abam-DePass Co-Editor-in-Chief Mount Holyoke College BALI Class of Wilma@depass.com2017 Zoe Donovan Co-Editor-in-Chief Brown University BALI Class of zoezoedonovan@gmail.com2017 Bella Bulletin Staff Mehnoor Chowdhury Content Contributor Eleanor Roosevelt High School ‘24 BALI Class of 2022 Pritika Patel Content Contributor Bronx High School of Science ‘24 BALI Class of 2022 Leilianys Soto Content Contributor Mott Haven Village Prep High School ‘23 BALI Class of 2022 Aliya ContentAmbachenContributor Floral Park Memorial ‘23 BALI Class of 2022 Victoria Vargas Content Contributor School of the Holy Child ‘23 BALI Class of 2022
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