S A V E T H E D A T E

ne of the most liberating things I’ve ever done is stand outside, barefoot, in the middle of a rainstorm. As the heavens opened up, I felt an immediate kindredness with nature. Mother Earth’s tears, warm and nurturing, wrapped me in a softness that I’m not sure I deserved. It’s an intriguing thing, to stand vulnerable in a downpour, but it’s unbelievably freeing and insightful.

We roll into April, and as we do we acknowledge some of the Austin women who are taking the plight of the planet seriously. These women are not only doing all they can to heal the earth; they’re educating others on how to do the same. Cover woman Rose Stuckey Kirk, senior vice president and chief corporate social responsibility officer for Verizon, has dedicated her career to ensuring that everyone has access to technology and the education to inform how they better coexist with the planet. Austinbased PODER, co-founded by an indefatigable group of Chicana Austinites, has dug in with hands and feet to force policy change and take major corporations to task for their environmental responsibility and environmental racism. Brandi Clark Burton has provided us concepts and paths toward intentional actions we can use in our everyday lives to minimize some of the damage done to the planet. Women, particularly Indigenous women, have led the charge in Austin, providing alternatives to fast fashion and preserving the history and culture of the first people of this land we now sit on. Every woman in this issue has taken a stand to protect Mother Earth and show proper gratitude for the gifts she continues to provide us.

We should all take time in our lives to commiserate with the Earth. There’s so much that harms us, being one with nature is one of the most undeniably healing things one can do for their spirit, their body and their mind. As we honor some of the women who have fought valiantly for the betterment of the planet, let us not forget to honor and revere Mother Earth for all her blessings. We have one home, and the mother of the house is displeased. Let’s all show her that we hear her and, with love, we are going to do better.

Editor’s Picks: Albums Revering Mother Earth

CY WHITE EDITOR

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Marvin Gaye: What’s Going On

Jamiroquai: Emergency on Planet Earth

Esperanza Spalding: SONGWRIGHTS APOTHECARY LAB