The Bella Bulletin November 2018 Issue

The Bella Bulletin November 2018

Featured poem, “The Hate they give” By Martina Perez

Leaders of month Happy Birthday to…

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Shreya Kaveti and Maribel Mendoza, BALI Class of 2018 Alumnae, discuss the importance of BALI and their experiences.

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In Search of Our Mothers Gardens: Womanist Prose is a prose collection

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written by Alice Walker in 1983. It is composed of 36 pieces of essays, reviews, articles and speeches collected by Walker between 1966 and 1982.

Alice Walker coins the term womanism in this collection and expands upon

Table of Contents Women’s History of the month………...……….3 2018 Leaders of the month ……...…….…….……4 Featured poem, “The hate They Give”……….…5 Activism Through Art………………………..…….7 Headlines of month.…………………………..…...8 Feminist Five………………….…………..…..…... .10 Happy Birthday to…………….…………..…..…... .12 Enrichment Opportunities……………......…….13 BELLA BULLETIN STAFF ………………………….......15 BALI STAFF & Board of Directors……….…….....16 Thanks for Reading……….…………………........17

Women’s History of the month: November

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Leaders of the month “BALI has inspired me to admire and respect every woman, no matter their past, background, or appearance. BALI has given me new perspectives on intersectionality and how I can apply it to my life now and the years ahead. I have been inspired to take into consideration what I want to do in life, instead of my parents and others. BALI has inspired me to make my own choices,

and has made me learn how I can be more of an independent woman.”

“BALI was an experience that will always stay closest to my heart. Through the BALI program I was able to meet such inspiring women and girls who taught me what it means to be a woman and what being a true feminist is. I not only learned what it means to be a feminist but it also helped me build a better version of myself and open my mind about many different topics. BALI inspired me to teach many other girls what it means to be a girl and bring change in other communities. I want to be able to give the courage to other young girls to be able to voice their opinions. BALI also inspired me to spread sisterhood and be able to love everyone and embrace others achievements.” ‑Shreya Kaveti 10th,Queens High School for the Sciences at York College

-​Maribel Mendoza 9th Grade, Ethical Culture Fieldston School

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The THISHate Month They at BALI Give

This is a story that’s too often told but here we are again It must continue being told until the madness finally ends

Privilege is ignoring the ugly and sleeping peacefully at night It’s being stopped by a cop and knowing you’ll be alright The clash between the privileged and the not is the start However, how it all ends is the most disheartening part From asking for a license to a kid bleeding out on the ground The lost of youth at the hands of a disguised bloodhound They say he deserved it. He was a thug, nothing more They judge as strangers and make claims like they’re sure His voice is drowned by the heresies on his name Those with the luxury of life treat it like a game White tears seem to matter more than the truth They'll paint a false picture using any excuse When the decision is finally made, it’s full of “nots” Not indicting, not guilty; they failed to connect the dots Now what do they expect? Peace and quiet?

After killing an innocent kid? Nah, how about a riot?

“Rioting will only make it worse” Aren’t you tired of that same verse?

In the end, the story repeats; the privileged escape the damage While the oppressed are left wondering how the hell to manage “Stop shouting his name, they don’t care what you say” “His name will be easily forgotten by next Tuesday” They’ll just forget it. I’m sure they’ll just forget With such ease and without a trace of regret But WE will not forget. It’ll forever be imprinted in our minds We will continue using our voices through methods of all kinds I promise you that, Eric, Trayvon, Tamir, Philando, John, Ezell, and Aiyana I promise you that, Oscar, Rekia, Michael, Freddie, Alton, and Sandra It’s true; they’ve long forgotten by now but our fists remain in the air We’ll continue to fight for justice despite the results being unfair

The Hate They Give

This is a story that’s too often told but here we are again It must continue being told until the madness finally ends

By Martina Perez, BALI Class of 2017...

Privilege is ignoring the ugly and sleeping peacefully at night It’s being stopped by a cop and knowing you’ll be alright

What inspired your art? What The clash between the privileged and the not is the start However, how do it allyou ends is the most message hope todisheartening convey?part

From asking for a license to a kid bleeding out on the ground The lost of youth at the hands of a disguised bloodhound

“After reading the novel The Hate U Give over the summer and then watching the movie this past Thursday, I was inspired to They say he deserved it. He was a thug, nothing more write this rhyming couplet poem on the sure huge racial issue of They judge as strangers and make claims like they’re police brutality towards black people. I hope to convey the His voice is drowned by the heresies on his name Those with the luxury life treat like a game message thatof there willit always be people and forces working against and adding fuel the to the White tears seemyou to matter more than truthfire but that should NEVER They'll paint a false picture using any excuse deter you from persisting in your fight. If you remain united and When thestrong decision is finally made,who it’s full of to “nots” with the people want help your mission, you will Not indicting, not guilty; they failed to connect the dots bring great change. Don't let those who create evil stop you from Now what do they expect? Peace and quiet? pursuing good. If I don't believe that, if you don't believe that, After killing an innocent kid? Nah, how about a riot? how can things ever change?”

“Rioting will only make it worse” Aren’t you tired of that same verse?

How has feminism and social activism In the end, the story repeats; the privileged escape the damage played a role in your art and inhellthis While the oppressed are left wondering how the to manage “Stop shouting his name, care what you say” piece?

What rolethey diddon’t BALI play?

“His name will be easily forgotten by next Tuesday”

“As an intersectional feminist I have been actively seeking to immerse myself in issues that don't directly affect me but need to be integral part of social activism But WE will notaddressed. forget. It’llAn forever be imprinted in our minds is allies. So, I We will continue using our voices through methods of all kinds seek to be an ally for all black people in their social issues, I promiseusing you that, Eric, Trayvon, Tamir, Philando, and Aiyana my privilege to uplift their voicesJohn, and Ezell, participate in their I promise you that, Oscar, Rekia, Michael, Freddie, Alton, and Sandra movements for change. BALI educated me on this It’s true; they’ve long forgotten by now but our fists remain in the air intersectionality which I am so thankful for today.”

We’ll continue to fight for justice despite the results being unfair They’ll just forget it. I’m sure they’ll just forget With such ease and without a trace of regret

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Activism Through Art I first came across Sarah Kay, as I think many people do, in a ​TED Talk​. In a moving combination of prose and verse, Kay shares her journey to spoken word poetry and her stories of teaching that art to others. But she starts with her poem “B.”

In “B” (If I Should Have A Daughter), Kay speaks about lessons she would impart to her daughter, and gently explores what it means to be a young woman growing up. “I want her to know that this world is made out of sugar,” she says. “It can crumble so easily./But don’t be afraid to stick your tongue out and taste it.” In the same poem, Kay later says, “Your voice is small, but don't ever stop singing./And when they finally hand you heartache, when they slip war and hatred under your door and offer you handouts on street-corners of cynicism and defeat,/you tell them that they really ought to meet your mother.”

Kay’s feminism is subtle yet powerful. Artists that name and directly address political issues are incredibly important, but Kay shows the empowerment to be found in subtle resistance, weaving strength and nuance into her personal narratives of womanhood.

In her poem “​The Type​,” for instance, Kay speaks directly to women who are defining themselves in relation to men. She speaks of the beauty of love and relationships, but ultimately says: “Know you are the type of woman who is searching for a place to call yours./Let the statues crumble./You have always been the place./You are a woman who can build it yourself./You were born to build.”

Kay empowers women to seek their identity within themselves, rather than looking for it in others.

Then, in Kay’s poem “​Dreaming Boy​,” she explores the fluidity of love and gender. Though at times appealing to binaries of boy/girl and

associated masculinity/femininity, she still gives voice to her own particular experience of in-betweenness: what it means to identify as a straight woman, but appear as a boy in her dreams. “What does it mean to dream myself a gender?” she wonders. Then later, she says: “What words could I tie around this treacherous heart, this impossible hunger, this miserable mind?” After being with a male-identified partner who also exists in a gray area, Kay settles into her fluidity without needing to name it.

Kay goes beyond self-expression, though, and gives back to communities through Project VOICE. Alongside five other poets, Kay travels and hosts workshops to teach spoken word.

According to the organization’s ​website​, Project VOICE is “dedicated to promoting empowerment, improving literacy, and encouraging empathy and creative collaboration in classrooms and communities around the world.”

Kay has also published a number of collections,including ​B and ​No Matter the Wreckage​, where she continues her storytelling themes and explorations of empowerment and identity through her poetry.

I went to a reading of herself few years ago, and it felt like she was reciting directly to me.

Her presence and energy fill the room—understated, yet the intelligence and beauty in her language paired with the rise and fall of her cadence are compelling. Kay is a reminder, to me, of the power of art to tell women’s stories.

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Headlines of the Month Ethiopia elects first female President and Supreme Court Chief

This past month, Ethiopia has ​spearheaded female representation ​in its government: Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed appointed ten female ministers, creating equal representation in the cabinet for men and women. ​Meaza Ashenafi was nominated Supreme Court Chief by Ahmed.

And ​Sahle-Work Zewde was elected President of Ethiopia by the Federal Parliamentary Assembly. Ashenafi and Zewde both have significant backgrounds in diplomacy and women’s rights. Ashenafi is the founder of the Ethiopian Women Lawyer Association, and has served on the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, advocating for women’s rights and gender equality. Zewde was previously Ethiopia’s Ambassador to France, Djibouti, and Senegal, and has served on the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). While increased female representation in the federal government is a significant step towards women’s equality, female activists of the country warn that much is still to be done.

Google Employees from All Over the World hold a Walkout to Protest Sexual Misconduct Proceedings

In response to a revealing ​New York Times article​, Google employees from New York, San Francisco, Singapore, Dublin, Hyderabad, and many more cities ​walked out of work on November 1st. The article detailed several cases of Google executives guilty of sexual misconduct receiving insurmountable exit packages, or not being fired from Google at all.

The most disturbing of these cases to the Google employees appeared to be that of Andy Rubin, the “father of the Android.” According to his colleagues, Rubin’s behavior had always been generally inappropriate. Rubin was dismissed from Google, however, for coercing a woman from Android with whom he had a relationship to perform oral sex. She states that she had been wanting to break it off prior to the incident but was afraid of the effects on her career. A year later, when she reported the incident, Rubin was dismissed with an exit package of $90 million, and Google displayed his departure as amicable. But the walkout was about more than just Andy Rubin’s case.

Women have been treated inequitably at Google for a long time, both in sexual harassment and gender discrimination cases.

Thus, the protestors called for Google to end private arbitration and be more transparent about sexual harassment cases, and to appoint an employee representative and chief of diversity to the board.

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Headlines of the Month Migrant Caravans Totaling up to 7,000 Coming North from Honduras and El Salvador

The caravans were the safest, most cost‑efficient option for many in Honduras and El Salvador who wanted to escape gang‑threats and pursue better opportunities for their children. The first to leave was from San Pedro Sula, Honduras , which inspired another from Honduras as well as three from El Salvador . The caravans were born on Facebook and WhatsApp group chats, which are filled with messages of the camaraderie and unity that the groups rely on. When they stop to rest, they hope for the assistance of kind strangers for places to stay and food, as well as hold meetings to vote on the best ways to proceed in their journey.

Despite the fact that these caravans have not yet broken any laws, Trump has already threatened to send 15,000 troops to the U.S. Mexico border. The journalists that have been traveling with these groups have warned them about Trump’s threats, but no one has expressed enough fear of what awaits them at the border to want to return home.

Mass Shooting at Pittsburg Synagogue Kills 11

On October 27th, gunman Robert Bowers stormed into the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and shot and killed 11 worshippers. The incident has been claimed to be the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in modern U.S. history. Bowers was armed with three handguns and an assault rifle, and was apprehended by the FBI after a shootout with the police. He has been brought into police custody and now has 29 criminal counts against hi. A week later, the crime scene at the synagogue has intercepted burial traditions as well. It is Jewish custom to stay with the body until it is buried as well as burying bodies with all of their remains. However, officials are doing their best to respect the custom and many members of the community stood outside of the synagogue and accompanying the bodies to the morgue.

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In Search of Our Mothers Gardens: Womanist Prose is a prose collection written by Alice Walker in 1983. It is composed of 36 pieces of essays, reviews, articles and speeches collected by Walker between 1966 and 1982.

Alice Walker coins the term womanism in this collection and expands upon her own understanding of feminist theory. She explains womanism as the phenomenon of being a Black feminist or a feminist of color. She expounds upon this definition to describe a womanist as one who loves other women, appreciates women and is committed to the survival of all humankind. The book is separated into three parts: one dedicated to her research of significant Black female historical figures, the second addressing Walker’s thoughts and commentary on the Civil Rights Movement, and the third addressing Black women in the context of society through Walker’s eyes. Reading ​In Search of Our Mothers Gardens is truly an experience and it is considered to be a staple text of womanist and Black feminist literature.

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“[a womanist] Loves music. Loves dance. Loves the moon. Loves the Spirit. Loves love and food and roundness. Loves struggle.

Loves the Folk. Loves herself. Regardless.”

- Alice Walker

Alice Walker is an African American poet, novelist, playwright and activist.

She was born in rural Eatonton, Georgia in 1944. She was born to sharecropping parents and was the youngest of eight children. She grew up in the south during the Civil Rights Movement, and attended segregated schools. She graduated as the valedictorian of the only black high school available to her in her town. She went on to attend the Historically Black Institution, Spelman College for women, on a full scholarship. She transferred and later graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in New York in 1965. During her senior year she had an abortion, which was the inspiration for much of her poetry and prose during her adulthood. After college, she became an editor of the celebrated Ms. Magazine and began publishing novels. Soon she published her most popular works, In Search of Our Mothers Garden s, an The Color Purple , which was later adopted into an award winning movie and Broadway musical. Today, Walker is a mother to fellow author, Rebecca Walker, and continues to write an give speeches.

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CLASS OF 2017: Leaders of the Month

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Looking for Enrichment Opportunities?

American Museum of Natural History​ various teen programs run through the American Museum of Natural History Black Girls Code​ offers programming and events in coding for African American girls.

Brotherhood/Sister Sol​ offers afterschool and summer programing in relationship-building, self/global awareness, social justice, leadership development, and more. Some of their programs are gender-specific.

ChickTech​ offers programming and mentorship in STEM for high school girls.

Columbia University​ pre-college programs for high school students run through Columbia University.

Curious Jane​ offers classes and summer programming in science, theatre, arts and crafts, and more for girls.

Digital Girl, Inc. ​works at high schools to provide programming in STEM and offers tech workshops for the community.

Generation Citizen ​ encourages civic engagement in youth through an action civics class.

Girl Be Heard​ works in high schools to teach girls about gender, race, and class through theatre, and offers workshops and performances.

Girl Vow​ offers education, mentorship, advocacy, and life skills training for girls.

Girls for Gender Equity​ offers programming in community advocacy, leadership, and social justice for girls.

Girls Inc.​ offers programming in statistical analysis, economic literacy, leadership and community action, STEM, media literacy, athletics, sexual health education, substance abuse prevention, self-defense, and more for girls ages 6-18.

Girls Leadership ​offers Parent & Daughter workshops, parent education, and summer day camps for girls entering grades 4 and 5.

Girls on the Run ​offers a physical activity based youth development program for girls in grades 3-8.

Girls Who Code​ offers afterschool and summer programming in coding for middle and high school girls.

Girls Write Now​ offers mentoring programs in writing, digital media, and college preparation for girls.

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Click on programs names For More Info!

GOALS for Girls offers year‑round programming, a summer intensive, weekend forums, and internships in STEM for middle and high school girls.

LOVE Mentoring works at high schools to deliver small‑group mentoring for young Latinas.

Life is Precious offers individual and groups counseling, arts therapy, academic support, and nutritional and fitness activities to prevent suicide among young Latinas.

Lower Eastside Girls Club provides programming in STEM, business, art, leadership, and advocacy, as well as mentoring for girls in grades 6‑12.

Northeast Regional Alliance (NERA) MedPrep Program a preparatory program for students between junior high and college who wish to pursue careers in the medical field. The NERA MedPrep program has partnerships with five medical institutions including the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

NYC GREAT! offers programming and mentoring in college and career readiness for high school girls.

NYU GSTEM is a six‑week summer program for high school girls during the summer between their junior and senior years who have high aptitude in STEM subjects.

Powerplay NYC works in elementary, middle, and high schools to offer after‑school programming in physical activity and healthy living.

Soul Sisters Leadership Collective works in schools to offer workshops to explore issues faced by young women of color.

Summer Health Professions Education Program a free summer enrichment program for college students pursuing health professions.

The Whitney Museum of Art arts programs and events for teens at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Vibe Theatre Experience offers theatre and media programming for girls ages 13‑19.

Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls offers after‑school and summer music programming for girls.

Young Women's Christian Association an organization that informs women on societal issues that affect them and encourages them to vote

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The Bella Bulletin Staff Staff Gisselle Rodriguez Benitez Wilma Abam-DePass Co-Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief School: Northeastern Croton Harmon High School School: University Grade: 12th Major: Economics BALI Class BALI Class of of:2017 2016 Email: wilma@depass.com Email: gisselle@abzuginstitute.org

Zoe Abam-Depass Donovan Wilma Co-Editor-in-Chief Section Editor

School: Bard High School Early College Queens School: Croton High School Grade: 12th Grade: 11th BALI Class of 2017 BALI Class of: 2017 Email: zoezoedonovan@gmail.com

Sofia Baluyut Zoe Donovan Content SectionCreator Editor

School: Bard Early College Queens School: Bard High EarlySchool College Grade: 12th Grade: 11th BALI Class BALI Class of of:2018 2017

Mayannah Beauvoir Adriana Rodriguez Content Creator Section Editor

School: Temple University School: Brown University Majors: Africana Studies/English/Gender/Sexuality Major: Political Science Minor: Women’s Studies BALI of: 2016 Intern Class for BALI Class of 2018 15

for inquiries and suggestions, email contact@abzuginstitute.org

for inquiries and suggestions, email gisselle@abzuginstitute.org

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BALI Staff

Liz Abzug

Oriela Baliaj

Gabriela Valette

Founder & Executive Director

Senior Program Associate

Program Coordinator

Munira Choudhury Program Assistant

Neonne Ameer Program Intern

BALI Board of Directors Liz J. Abzug, Founder/Executive Director Erica Forman, Board-Chair Meg Holzer, Secretary Cynthia McKnight, Treasurer Erica Forman, Chair Eija Ayravainen Gloria Steinem Joanne Davila Maya Catherine Popa Kai Gilchrist

Betsy Scheinbart-Norton Harold Holzer Jonathan Greenberg Judy Lerner

Jerry Goldfeder A.J. Lederman Kylie Reiffert Liz Cooper

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