The Bella Bulletin: January 2019 Edition

The Bella Bulletin JANUARY 2019

Happy birthday to…

Former First Lady Michelle Obama

This month’s Feminist Five Picks of the Month are essays! As Op-Ed on, “Captain Marvel” BALI girls prepare toContent transition intoSofia college reading, here is Creator, Baluyut discusses Marvel movie, “Captain an opportunity to upcoming get

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and read some of the most Marvel” and its impact on society. renowned essays by the feminist academic community. If you are looking to pursue classes in Gender/Sexuality/Women’s US @ABZUGINSTITUTE studies, this will be especiallyFOLLOW supplemental to your

Table of Contents

This Month in Women’s History ……....……….3 ACTIVISM THROUGH ART………………….…….……4 Featured Headlines of the Month …….....….….5 FEMINIST FIVE………………………………..…..……6 HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO..……………………….….....…...8 ENRICHMENT OPPORTUNITIES…………..…..…...... .9 BELLA BULLETIN STAFF…………….…….…......…….11 BALI STAFF & Board of Directors……….……....12

Women’s History of the month:

January

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Activism Through Art The trailer for ​Captain Marvel​, the first Marvel Studios film starring a woman superhero, just dropped last year. In this movie, we’ll presumably learn the character’s origin story--but what’s the origin of the story itself? Although the character itself dates back to the 1960s, a 2012-2015 comic book run penned by proudly feminist author Kelly Sue DeConnick lends much inspiration to this interpretation of Captain Marvel.

With DeConnick’s storytelling, Ms. Marvel became Captain Marvel, a character clad in a fighter pilot suit rather than a slinky outfit. Captain Marvel was revitalized and deepened, and many of DeConnick’s choices drew criticism from people who accused her of being too feminist in her intention. While DeConnick is a proud feminist, she still found the criticism somewhat amusing. In a ​Vanity Fair ​article​, she reflected, “I wasn’t like, writing feminist pamphlets, you know. I was writing stories about this lady who shoots beams out of her hands. But I had the gall to have inter-generational female friendships and a largely female cast and, you know, every once in a while, a joke. It ruffled feathers.” While DeConnick may not have felt that her work was radical, she is still largely credited with with helping move comics towards inclusion of different identities.

Inspired in part by the backlash to her Captain Marvel run, DeConnick partnered with artist Valentine De Landro to create her comic ​Bitch Planet in 2014. The storyline is a sci-fi dystopia, where women who are deemed “non-compliant” are sent to a prison planet. ​DeConnick describes it

as the following: “In this world, if you are a woman who does not fit in the box assigned her — if you are too loud or too opinionated, or too quiet or too religious, too atheist, too black, too brown, too any of the things that they don't want you to be — you are labeled noncompliant.” The comic contains a diverse cast of characters, and although it wasn’t DeConnick’s first intention, it now reads a lot like political commentary to some reviewers.

DeConnick’s feminism also works towards being intersectional. In many interviews, she acknowledges not only the sexism that she wishes to address, but the way her race as a white woman plays into these conversations. In one speech​, she acknowledges, “​part of not being a racist involves acknowledging that I come from a position of privilege in a culture that is historically racist, and I don’t get to not be a racist without rigorous self-examination and correction on my part. This is important. Doing the right thing is not a passive act.”

At the end of the day, she recognizes her art’s capability to be a form of feminist activism, although she wants to spark questions and conversation more than she hopes to offer answers.

“Nothing in our book aims to put answers out there,” ​she said​. “Making art is about putting questions out into the world.” DeConnick and her art push forward, putting forth questions that challenge the patriarchy and systems of oppression.

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Headlines of the Month

This year’s Women’s March was much more complicated than its original in 2017 due to accusations of anti-semitism. The leaders of the Women’s March have faced these accusations since its foundation in 2017, but this year the allegations came to a head, partly as a result of an ​extensive article published by Tablet Magazine about anti-semitism within the organization. The article reveals that the there were anti-semitic statements made during the very first meeting organizing the 2017 Women’s March, and that Women’s March Inc. leader Tamika Mallory attended Nation of Islam Leader Louis Farrakhan’s rally last February, in which Farrakhan spoke out against “satanic” Jews.

Many organizations have distanced themselves from Women’s March Inc., including the Democratic National Committee. In addition, for the first time this year in New York City, there were ​two women’s marches​, one a rally held in Foley Square and organized by Women’s March Inc., and the other held in the Upper West Side by the ​Women’s March Alliance. However, Women’s March Inc. has apologized for their mistakes and tried to make amends by adding three Jewish women to the steering committee and meeting with a large group of rabbis, most of whom encouraged Jewish activists to join Women’s March Inc. in their rally at Foley Square. Furthermore, Mallory is not the only Black activist to hesitate in disavowing Farrakhan, considering the immense support that the Nation of Islam has provided for Black communities across the country.

The Trump Administration now holds the record for the ​longest government shutdown in U.S. history​. The shutdown is a result of the federal government’s failure to pass a government spending bill by the December 21st deadline.

Although the Democrat-run House has agreed on a spending bill that provides $1.3 billion for border protections, the Republican Senate, under the control of President Trump, refuses to accept a bill that does not include a budget for Trump’s border wall. As a result of the shutdown, 800,000 government workers are being sent home or being forced to work without pay. 9 out of 15 federal departments as well and a handful of other government agencies have been shut down, including EPA, the IRS, and the departments of State, Housing and Urban Development, Treasury, Agriculture, Commerce, Interior, Justice, and Homeland Security. This means that some immigration cases could potentially be postponed for years, the National Parks are extremely understaffed, there’s been a halt on Environmental Protection Agency inspections of oil refineries and power plants, and the USDA can only ensure that food stamps will be funded through February. As an effort to come to a compromise, Trump has recently suggested a ​deal ​that offers a three year protection from deportation for current DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and TPS (Temporary Protected Status) recipients in exchange for a $5.7 billion budget for the border wall. However, Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has already spoken out against this deal.

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Feminist Five:Essay Edition

This month’s Feminist Five Picks of the Month are essays! As BALI girls prepare to transition into college reading, here is an opportunity to get ahead and read some of the most renowned essays by the feminist academic community. If you are looking to pursue classes in Gender/Sexuality/Women’s studies, this will be especially supplemental to your courses!-​Mayannah, Content Creator for the Bella Bulletin

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Feminist Five: Essay Edition Feminist Five Picks of the Month: Essay Edition!

1. Notes Toward a Politics of Location by Adrienne Rich 2. The Translation of Silence into Action, from Sister Outsider, Audre Lorde 3. Under Western Eyes Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses by ​Chandra Talpade Mohanty 4. Some Men by Ntozake Shange 5. The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House by Audre Lorde This month’s Feminist Five Picks of the Month are essays! As BALI girls prepare to transition into college reading, here is an opportunity to get ahead and read some of the most renowned essays by the feminist academic community. If you are looking to pursue classes in Gender/Sexuality/Women’s studies, this will be especially supplemental to your courses.

Author Spotlight: Adrienne Rich Adrienne Cecile Rich was an American poet, non fiction writer, essayist and feminist. She was open about being a lesbian and was credited with bringing the opression of lesbian feminists to the center of poetic and academic discourse. She was born in Baltimore, Maryland on May 16th, 1929. She was raised as a Christian. Her early influences came from her father who encoraged her to read and wite poetry and literature.

She was an ambitious child as was expected to excel and succeed. She attened Radcliffe College where she encountered no female professors. After graduation she published her first collection of poetry, A Change fof World, which wa selected for the Yale Series of Younger Poets Award. She also receieved a Guggenhein Fellowship to study at Oxford. While she did not finish her ediucation there, she spent a considerable amount of time in Europe writing and exploring.

During the 1960s, Rich’s writing encountered a shift. He began to publish more peronal work that examined her female identity. SHe also became thoroughly involved in the anti ar, civil rights and femnist activists moments upon moving to New York in 1966. In the1970s she began to publish works addressing lesbianism as a political and personal topic. She explained in her essays that she had been suppressing her lesbianism for years, and finally expressed her true feelings. She went on to publish a number of essays that are now used as key works in Gender/Sexuality/Women’s studies and Queer studies. SOme of these works include Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence, Notes Toward a Politics of Location, and her book, ​Of Woman Born, Motherhood as Experience and Institution, Blood, Bread and Poetry, etc.

In her lifetime she taught at a number of universities in the United States including Swarthmore, UC Santa Cruz, cripps College, San Jode State University and Stanford COllege. Her views on feminism and the rights of all kinds of women as well as her critical analyses have made her an extremely popular figure. Rich’s in depth understanding of patriarchy and oppression as well as her ability to describe reality for women so progressively during her time is what makes her so relevant, even today.

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THIS Month at BALI

Looking for Enrichment Opportunities?

American Museum of Natural History​ various teen programs run through the American Museum of

Black Natural Girls Code Historyoffers programming and events in coding for African American girls.

Black Girls Code​ offers and eventsand in coding for African American girls.

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

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

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

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

DigitalCurious Girl, Inc. at high to provideinprogramming andand offers Jane​ works offers classes and schools summer programming science, theatre, in artsSTEM and crafts, moretech for workshops girls. for the community.

Girl,works Inc. ​works at highschools schools totoprovide STEM andrace, offers and tech workshops for Girl BeDigital Heard in high teachprogramming girls aboutingender, class through theand community. theatre, offers workshops and performances.

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

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

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

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

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

Girls Inc. offers programming in statistical analysis, economic literacy, leadership and community STEM,offers media literacy,inathletics, education, Girls foraction, Gender Equity​ programming community sexual advocacy,health leadership, and socialsubstance justice for abuse prevention, girls. self-defense, and more for girls ages 6-18.

Girls Inc.​ offersoffers programming analysis, economic literacy, and community action,day Girls Leadership Parentin&statistical Daughter workshops, parentleadership education, and summer media literacy, athletics, campsSTEM, for girls entering gradessexual 4 andhealth 5. education, substance abuse prevention, self-defense, and more for girls ages 6-18.

Girls on the Run offers a physical activity based youth development program for girls in gradesGirls 3-8.Leadership ​offers Parent & Daughter workshops, parent education, and summer day camps for girls entering grades 4 and 5.

Girls Who Code offers afterschool and summer programming in coding for middle and high Girls on the Run ​offers a physical activity based youth development program for girls in grades 3-8. school girls.

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.

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

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Click on program 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 Melissa Noonan-Mazzei

Jerry Goldfeder A.J. Lederman Kylie Reiffert Liz Cooper

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