Nubian Message, March. 23, 2023 — Femme-Tastic

NUBIANMESSAGE

THIS ISSUE Letter from the editor

Hey y’all, Happy Women’s History Month!

Nubian Message saw all the amazing women being honored this month and decided to highlight Black and Indigenous femme experiences.

We cover everything from women’s rights in Iran to heroes of the Civil Rights movement. We discuss Black female fashion icons and mommy issues. And, of course, the true meaning of intersectional feminism.

As always, stop by our media summaries and playlist if you’re hunting for something to watch and music to clean to.

This is my last issue as Editor-in-Chief and I’m glad I get to end with women’s history. It has been such an amazing experience growing into this role and adding my personal touch onto the organization. Thank y’all for supporting the Nubian Message, no matter who’s in charge.

Farewell, Jaz Bryant

4 FEMALE FASHION MOMENTS

Favorite fashion moments from the past decade

8 INDIGENOUS WOMEN AND FEMICIDES

Bringing attention to Native women going missing

10 MENTAL HEALTH AND MOMMY ISSUES

Recognize and heal from mommy issues

11 SILICON VALLEY BANK COLLAPSE

Fears over bank collapse lead to failure two days later

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Milan Hall

Staff writers

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Nadia Hargett

Jeanine Ikekhua

Micah Oliphant

Eleanor Saunders

Only with the permission of our elders do we proudly produce each edition of Nubian Message:

Dr. Yosef ben-Yochannan, Dr. John Henrik Clark, Dr. Leonard Jeffries, The Black Panther Party, Mumia A. Jamal, Geronimo Pratt, Tony Williamson, Dr. Lawrence Clark, Dr. Augustus McIver Witherspoon, Dr. Wandra P. Hill, Mr. Kyran Anderson, Dr. Lathan Turner, Dr. M. Iyailu Moses, Dokta Toni Thorpe and all those who accompany us as we are still on the journey to true consciousness.

"Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I want to change myself."

-Rumi

cover graphic BY abigail harris / Layout Designer A calming scene to celebrate women's history month.

Women in Iran

fatima oumar Correspondent

In recent years, Iran has begun mandating Islamic veiling such as the hijab. The enforcement of the hijab in Iran has caused tension within the country, as many women are fighting and protesting against this law.

The term hijab translates to “cover” in the Arabic language. According to Islamic rulings, the hijab has certain conditions it must meet called awrah. In Islam, both men and women have awrahs, but the awrah of the women includes covering the hair, neck, ear and chest as well as a loose fitted garment that covers the body.

In Islam, the hijab is compulsory upon every woman that reaches puberty, but it is not to be forced upon any woman. The Islamic purpose of the hijab is to preserve the beauty of women, and in many ways, the hijab allows women to be perceived and treated beyond the surface level and rather the perceptual level.

The Iranian revolution of 1979, also known as the Islamic revolution, was the start of the enforcement of the hijab in Iran. The overtaking of Iran by Enqelāb-e Eslāmī, a Persian leader, has resulted in an monarchic government in the country since Feb. 11, 1997 has led the country into a disturbanting, violent regime — a regime that has sent the country into political, social and economical authoritarianism.

This regime is better known as the Islamic Regime of Iran, though the government denies its inhumane actions and attempts to cover and erase the brutality of this regime, the Iranian people are increasingly challenging the regime and informing the world of this cruelty.

The Islamic Regime of Iran brought about much resistance and protesting from the Iranian people, especially women. The regime enforced many laws restricting and stripping women of their basic human rights: choice. This further created tension in the country, as the more the people of Iran resisted, the more brutal the regime grew in brutality.

The morality police is exactly what it sounds like. A form of law enforcement that punishes those that do not abide by the laws of the regime. These punishments depend on the office, however big or small. The establishment of the morality police was first sighted in 2019, where women are then treated like criminals, booked for their offense, photographed and forced to

take a class about how to wear a proper hijab and Islamic morality. Other reasons that can cause an Iranian to be detained by the morality police are protesting against the regime, supporting those who are protesting against the regime, withholding any books or information that promotes anti-regime narrative and many more.

One of the most common enforcement of the morality police “re-education center,” which are detention centers specifically for women and sometimes men who do not comply with the laws put in place. Another form of punishment is flogging and public humiliation. The purpose of this is not only to punish but present to anyone who attempts to break and not comply with the regime, what awaits them. Lastly, the most brutal of punishments: execution.

Most recently this year, the killing of 22 year old Mahsa Amini caused a massive call for action portesting from the Iranian women and people. Amini, while on a visit with her brother to see her family in the capital, Tehran, was arrested by the morality police for breaking hijab rules. During her detention, she suffered multiple blows to the head that caused her to go into a heart attack on her way to the hospital as she was being beaten to death.

The death of Amini caused a national outcry, as many Iranian women took to the streets protesting by burning the hijab, a religious symbol that many deem to be oppressive. This drew international recognition and many people took to posting on social media; in means of support, many women and men shaved their heads and burned the hijab.

Though the overwhelming support of the Iranian women and people fueled their dedication to fight against this regime, it also raised safe concerns and many women were willing to risk their lives for freedom.

The protests in Iran occurred in 50 cities. This uprising of resistance resulted in the authorities killing over 36 people during the demonstrations. The government also restricted internet access as well as electricity in order to contain the voice of the Iranian people. The Iranian government attempts of silencing the suffering endured by the Iranian people only pushed more international attention as more people took to social media hashtagging #Iran.

Hashtagging has become a powerful and helpful source for informing and protecting Iranians who are at risk of execution. Another trending and helpful tool in aiding the expansion of the Iranian

voice was the phrase “for the sake of” or “Baraye.” This is a trending post on Twitter as the frustration of the Iranian people was beginning to be recognized. “For the sake of” was to show how much suffering the Iranian people have tolerated.

The Islamic regime of Iran does not align nor it is condoned by Islam. The laws promoted by the regime are not Islamic practices; they are rather extreme ideologies and views of how women were to behave and be treated. The enforcement of these laws and ideologies are stripping Iranian women of basic human rights and dignity.

Iran is not the only country that has enforced Islamic veiling. Afghanistan also promotes this dangerous regime of controlling women. In a matter of 10 days, the capital and the whole of Afghanistan was recaptured by the Talibans on Aug. 15, 2021.

Taliban translates to “students” in the Arabic language. The Taliban stormed the capital of Kabul in 1996, forcing the thenpresident to flee and ushering in a period of Taliban rule across the country. This group of “students” later formed into extremist Islamist militants that control the whole of Afghanistan.

As of the past two years, the Taliban began installing laws that mandated the wearing of the hijab and burqa. The burqa covers the entire body including the face. Its sole purpose is to draw less attention to women.

The burqa, which many Muslim women practice, is used in Afghanistan as a means to control and silence the Afghan women. From the start of the uprising of the Taliban, it was made clear that women’s place in society was as mother and wives through restricting women's education and jobs to simply existing in the outside world. Though Iran and Afghanistan may not view these laws and ideologies as extreme, that is exactly what they are.

In both countries, the abuse and stripping women of the choice to decide presents an issue of how religion, culture and power can blur. Afghanistan banning women from seeking education and enforcing the burqa and Iran enforcing the hijab and silencing women all caused concerns of unrest. Though those concerns are being addressed, they are not yet resolved.

image from creative commons Iranian women talking

Fashion Favs: Black Celebrity Fems

micah oliphant Staff Writer

The CFDA Fashion Awards is an annual award show highlighting some of fashion’s most notable designers, their collections and other contributors to the industry. According to FashionABC, “The CFDA Fashion Awards, which acknowledges excellence in fashion design, has been called ‘the Oscars of fashion.’ In the awards show, exceptional contributions made to American fashion from all areas of the industry and related arts are recognized.”

In 2014, iconic pop and R&B star Rihanna attended the event to receive the award for the Style Icon category. The Style Icon category was presented by Anna Wintour. In Wintour’s speech, she praises Rihanna for her use of social media, her overwhelming cluster of talents and how she uses them to make herself heard in the world. Furthermore, she noted how Rihanna uses fashion to be heard as well “as that is what style icons do.”

The rest of Wintour's speech was beautiful and reflected Rihanna’s impact on the fashion industry. I encourage you to watch the rest of it on Youtube online. At the end of the speech, Wintour invites Rihanna on stage to receive her award. As Rihanna walked from the audience onto the stage to claim her award, people could finally see the full essence of her custom look. She wore a mesh Swarovski crystal durag, a fishnet dress covered with the same Swarovski crystals, paired with matching Swarovski gloves and a pair of open-toed Manolo Blahnik heels. She accessorized with a pink fur shrug and jewelry from Jacob & Co. The look was absolutely stunning and made the Style Icon Award she won that night easily understandable. It was in her award speech that we got the iconic line “Even as a child I remember thinking, ‘She can beat me, but she cannot beat my outfit.’”

#2:

looks for the 2018 and 2019 Met Gala.

You may recognize the name Zendaya from the 2010s Disney show, “Shake It Up,” her role as Rue on “Euphoria,” or the other countless acting roles that she has landed throughout her career. Not only is Zendaya a phenomenal actress, but damn can she dress. While her style is unique to her, we have her iconic fashion stylist Law Roach to thank. It was his mind and keen sense of taste that brought her the notable Joan of Arc look for the Met Gala theme “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” in 2018, as well as the princess and fairy godfather look for the 2019’s Met Gala theme “Camp: Notes on Fashion.” Heavenly Bodies was Zendaya’s fourth appearance at the Met Gala. As described by Teen Vogue, “Known as the Joan of Arc look, Zendaya's appearance at the Met Gala 2018 really started to cement her status as a fashion icon. With a blunt auburn bob (with micro bangs) and a full-on armor dress by Versace, not only did Z honor the theme, she looked great while doing so.”

Zendaya’s appearance at the Met the following year continued her streak of showing up to the event fabulously on theme. The theme of camp was a hard concept for lots of celebrities to follow. With many people, including viewers from home, not knowing what to expect, “everyone just knows that camp is a feeling and knows what camp is not,” said best by Cosmopolitan. However, Zendaya’s outfit seemed to look camp right in the eye. Wearing a princess gown made entirely by Tommy Hilfiger, the garment changed color in the matter of seconds, with the assistance of Roach and his “magic wand.” The gown instantly went from a muted gray to a beautiful, royal blue color. The look was nothing short of camp.

#3: Doja Cat’s look at Schiaparelli Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2023 Show.

Doja Cat, the acclaimed pop star and rapper, is no stranger to attention. She is known for being raw and authentic on her social media platforms and even getting into a bit of controversy here and there, So, there is no surprise that Doja Cat chose to show up to Paris Fashion Week in the most extravagant, attention-seeking, glamorous outfits. The one that took the cake was her look to the Schiaparelli Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2023 Show.

Schiparelli is known for their out-of-the-box looks, and this collection encouraged that idea. Celebrities and others in attendance were encouraged to dress, well, camp, for a lack of better words. Despite this, I don’t think anyone was expecting Doja Cat to show up covered in 30,000 red Swarovski crystals.

Doja stepped out onto the red carpet breaking necks wearing a “‘red silk faille bustier,’ ‘hand-knit skirt of lacquered wooden beads’ and ‘Trompe l’œil toe boots,’” as described by Billboard. Her stylist, Brett Alan Nelson, matched her energy wearing an all red fit as well.

Black British makeup artist Pat McGrath applied the crystals, and even said to Cosmopolitan “Collaborating with the incomparably talented Doja Cat and Daniel Roseberry was an absolute pleasure. Her patience and dedication as she sat with Team Pat McGrath and I for four hours and 58 minutes to achieve the creation, covered in over 30,000 hand-applied Swarovski crystals, was truly inspiring.”

This look set the theme for how Doja stepped out during the rest of Paris fashion week. All her looks matched the vibe of the Schiaparelli look. Cat looks were avant garde, and she experimented with gender expression by showing up to another show with faux lashes as facial hair. View the rest of Doja Cat’s looks at Paris Fashion week online.

#1: Rihanna’s Naked Swarovski Crystal Dress at the 2014 Council of Fashion Designers of America

Zendaya’s

Image from creative commons Picture of Rihanna

Image from creative commons Picture of Zendaya

Image from creative commons Picture of Doja Cat

Fashion wouldn’t be anything without women. From the designers to the models, from the assistants to the makeup artists, fashion is where it is today because of the minds and work of women. In honor of them, let's take a look back at some iconic fashion moments from Black women/fems.

NUBIAN SUGGESTIONS

pose (2021)

Nadia

Hargett / Staff Writer

Original Series

Poster

“Pose” is an American drama series about New York City’s African-American and Latino-American ballroom scene throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Main character Blanca Rodriguez is a trans woman whose HIV diagnosis motivates her to begin her own “house” called House of Evangelista. This subsequently begins a rivalry with her former house, House of Abundance. The show is an emotional rollercoaster that displays how empowering and brave the LGBTQ+ community is, while also showing the sad reality of what it means to exist as a queer individual. An iconic LGBTQ+ series in its own right, “Pose” is an absolute must-watch.

when i get home (2019)

Micah

Oliphant / Staff Writer

Femme Love

playlist by Nubian Message Staff

Love songs from some of our favorite female artist.

bad blood

Original Album

Cover

“When I Get Home” allows you to truly grasp the creative genius that is Solange Knowls. The album experiments with sound, using funky jazz instruments in some songs, and hip-hop/trap production in others. Solange features artists such as Playboi Carti, Sampha and Gucci Mane. The album itself doesn’t have a comprehensible theme, however, through Solange's melodies, outstanding production and writing, she effortlessly creates a cohesive body of work. With tracks gracefully flowing into one another, it’s as if you are listening to a single thirty-nine minute song. “When I Get Home” is truly a masterpiece and worth a listen.

Telefone (2016)

Carmella Holloway / Correspondent

best friends missy elliot ft. aaliyah

end of the world iamddb

prettygirlz willow love affair umi

Original album

Cover

Noname's debut album, "Telefone" prioritizes vulnerability. Inspired by the candid nature of conversation, unscripted and emotional, the lyrics are delivered as if she wrote it in one take. Best shown on the track “Reality Check,” Noname raps sporadically, jumping between different scenery and characters, culminating into a reflection of complacency and fear of change. Supported by warm and nostalgic melodies, each track feels sincere and personal. An intimate album filled with creative lyricism, Telefone is a timeless classic worth a listen.

Girlfriends (2008)

Senait Richmond / Correspondent

glitter & gold rebecca ferguson tÚ maye

way down annonxl

heaven shygirl ft. tinashe dreams baby storme

Original Series

Poster

“Girlfriends” is a television series about the friendship between four young black women. The show takes us through their experiences with their relationships and careers. The main character, Joan, is a lawyer who has envisioned specific milestones of achievement for her life. Although successful in her career, her struggles in the romance department lead to comedic entertainment where she leans on her girls for support throughout many predicaments. Her childhood best friend, Toni, college roommate, Lynn and work assistant, Maya, all have contrasting personalities forming a dynamic blend of relatable content.

love between kali uchis

smile more syd

big sis sales

spring forward

Welcome to Spring! This week we celebrate our Student Government elects and take a glimpse at what Nubian did over Spring Break.

Hallie walker/ Staff Photographer Alianna Kendall-Brooks, a third-year in political science and international studies, celebrates being elected a student senator for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Student Government election reveal party in Talley Student Union March 8. The election reveal party announced the student body President, Vice President, Senate President, Treasurer and the senators for each college.

Ethan Rimolt/ Staff Photographer Chima Nwosu a third-year studying Computer Engineering answers a question during the debate held by Technician and Nubian Message in Talley Student Union on Friday, March 3, 2023.

Hallie walker/ Staff Photographer

Will Vuncannon, a third-year in Political Science and Religious Studies, Timothy Reid, a third-year in Business Administration and Political Science and Allison Markert, a second-year in Natural Resources, shake hands after celebrating moving on to the student body President and Vice President runoff election at the election reveal party in Talley Student Union March 8. Reid and Markert were elected student body president and vice president for the 103 session following the runoff election on March 9.

This past week came at the exact perfect time for me this semester. I had the opportunity to truly experience rest and relaxation. I went on fun adventures like going to the beach, collecting shells, riding around, going to the zoo and so so much more!

Hey should we go to DC? Umm yeah!

By Leila Ganim

Cherry blossoms in bloom // We road tripping up to the good ole DC // Don't have daddy's money to cruise the Caribbean sea // but we do got the three nights at the Holiday Inn type of money // Sight seeing, bar crawling, matcha drinking // Good grubbing, article writing, city vibing // Thank you spring break 2023

Alianna Kendall-Brooks/ Staff Writer

Over Spring break, I attended a concert headline by Keshi at the Filmore in Charlotte, NC. The live music was amazing and the crowd was super hyped for the performance.

Rebecca HernÁndez/ Correspondent

Betselot Tessema/ Student

My friends and I spent the day wandering around the capital, drinking coffee, taking silly pictures and enjoying the beautiful cherry blossoms bloom.

Indigenous Women Keep Going Missing

nadia hargett Staff Writer

There is an ongoing epidemic of Indigenous women going missing and being murdered in the United States and Canada. Indigenous women have been the consistent targets of violence and hatred, with their proximity to poverty and homelessness further emphasizing this issue. Indigenous women experience domestic violence at an estimated rate of 10 times higher than the national average for all races, with rates being higher the more impoverished the community is. Unfortunately, loopholes in tribal law only serve to further fester this violence.

There is inconsistency in the relationship between tribal, local and federal law enforcement, primarily due to the ruling of Oliphant v. Suquamish in 1978, which made it so that Native American courts have no criminal jurisdiction over nonnative offenders. Therefore, if a non-native person enters the authority of a Native reservation and commits a crime, the Native courts cannot legally charge them. This has created a serious issue amongst Native women and has subsequently made them major targets for crimes such as rape, assault, kidnapping and sex trafficking at the hands of non-native criminals. Data related to missing and murdered Indigenous women is difficult to gather in the U.S. The race and ethnicity of Indigenous people are often mismarked in law enforcement records, and forensics are often not accurately collected from unidentified victims. This causes a myriad of cases to go cold due to the lack of “crucial” evidence or because local law enforcement does not forward said evidence to the federal justice system for further investigation. Violent crimes committed within reservations must be tried by the federal government due to The Major Crimes Act of 1885, which limits the jurisdictions of tribal law enforcement. According to the Urban Indian Health Institute (UIHI), so far at least 506 Indigenous women and girls have gone missing in 71 American cities. 95 percent of these cases were never covered by the media, and the circumstances surrounding their disappearances are largely unknown. 506 is very likely to be a gross underestimate of the Indigenous women that have gone missing due to underreporting, and many law enforcement agencies lack information about the

trends of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

The UIHI reported that in 2016, 5,712 cases of missing women in the U.S. were reported to the National Crime Information Center, but only 116 were logged into the U.S. Department of Justice’s missing persons database. This truly displays the American legal system’s consistent disregard for minority groups and the crimes committed against them and shows that little has been done to truly mitigate these distressing problems.

In Canada, a similar theme is happening. In 2019, a 1,200-page report was leaked to CBC that highlighted the disproportionate deaths of Indigenous women and blamed it on colonialism and government inaction.

An inquiry was performed in response to the report, concluding that 1,200 Indigenous women had been murdered or abducted since 1980. Many activists believe the number is much higher due to underreporting, much like in the U.S. Activists believe these cases lack proper investigation due to police bias as well, especially cases such as Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton. Pickton confessed to killing 49 women spanning from 1983 to 2002, eventually charged with 24 of his murders in 2007. Most of his victims were prostitutes and Indigenous women, and the families of the victims strongly believe

that he went so long without being caught because of this.

There have been attempts to draw these issues to lawmakers and government officials. In the US, states such as Washington, Wisconsin, Arizona and Minnesota have taken action to pass legislation that would increase awareness surrounding disproportionate crimes against Indigenous women and keep track of missing and murdered Indigenous women through databases. Congress also passed two bipartisan laws in 2020 to improve the federal response to crimes against Indigenous women. They also started a task force called Operation Lady Justice was created by former president Donald Trump that focused on missing and murdered Indigenous peoples. However, the federal law making it so that non-native offenders of crimes in tribal jurisdictions can’t be tried and charged by tribal law makes it difficult for states to work to truly resolve the issue.

Activists have been working to raise awareness most of all. Indigenous activists have held protests and vigils to honor Indigenous women who’ve been murdered or have gone missing for years. They also have been using social media to raise awareness as well, especially among victims and their families, which has created an uproar of more community action within

tribal regions. Some groups within tribal regions and reservations, such as the Navajo Nation, have taken the initiative of looking for missing Indigenous women themselves. They’re also working towards pushing the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the Oliphant v. Suquamish so that non-natives who commit crimes against Native peoples will be able to be prosecuted within tribal law, likely bringing the rate of crime committed by them down.

Organizations have been formed to combat these problems as well.

The National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center (NIWRC) is a nonprofit organization that's main focus is to end gender-based violence toward Native American women through grassroots advocacy, and to provide health resources to Native women as well. The Sisters in Spirit initiative, created by the Native Women’s Association of Canada, was a one-year campaign created to more effectively research and document statistics of violence against Indigenous women in Canada and bring awareness to how Indigenous women are treated to bring change to public policy. Mending the Sacred Hoop is another nonprofit organization that addresses issues concerning violence and sexual victimization of Indigenous women. These are just a few examples among many others.

It is of the utmost importance that we, whether Indigenous or not, bring awareness to these issues. For hundreds of years, Indigenous people have been discriminated against and mistreated by the U.S. government and the Canadian government, and it left them vulnerable to things such as kidnapping, rape, assault and murder. There is no reason that non-native people should be allowed to go to their tribal lands and commit heinous crimes against them, but face no punishment because of federal jurisdiction laws. Repost the accounts bringing awareness to these issues, engage with their organizations and protest with them. Although it may seem like we can’t do much, if we stand together hand and hand with our Indigenous sisters and brothers and use our voices to amplify theirs, perhaps we can make a difference that can change their lives for the better.

image from creative commons

An Indigenous woman with a red handprint painted across her mouth, an act of solidarity with missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

JANE CROW: The Story of Pauli Murray

Alianna Kendall-Brooks Staff Writer

She wore many faces — an unabashed feminist, legal scholar, civil rights activist, prolific writer, Episcopal priest and more. Pauli Murray was a multifaceted, multihyphenate revolutionary in American history, and yet, few say nor remember her name — let's change that.

Anna Pauline “Pauli” Murray was born Nov. 20, 1910, in Baltimore but was raised in Durham by her aunts and grandparents. The granddaughter of a slave and greatgranddaughter of a slave owner, Murray was a fair-skinned Black girl living in the deep South. She witnessed Jim Crow laws — segregated streetcars, lunch counters, movie theaters and schools. Once Murray learned the system, she began actively resisting it by walking to school and boycotting theaters.

In 1926, Murray graduated at the top of her class from Hillside High School and set her sights on Columbia University. But, to her dismay and frustration, Murray soon learned that Columbia did not accept women. Murray persisted in her goal to move north and looked to Hunter College, a women's college in New York. However, Black high schools in North Carolina, such as Hillside, only went to 11th grade and did not offer the credits Murray needed to attend Hunter. Determined, she moved to Queens, New York, with her cousin and attended Richmond Hill High School where she was the only Black student out of 4,000.

As a child, Murray experimented with names like Paul, Pete and Dude. While at Hunter, she settled upon “Pauli” to better reflect her gender identity. Perceived as a woman, Murray endured a lifelong struggle with her gender and attraction to women in a heteronormative society. Nonbinary, transgender and other umbrella terms for people with non-conforming gender identities did not enter American vocabulary until the 1960s. Thus, in the words of her aunt, Pauli was a “little boy-girl.”

Rocking a short haircut and pants, Pauli traversed New York in the midst of the Harlem Renaissance. Along the way, she encountered fellow revolutionaries such as Langston Hughes, W.E.B. DuBois and A. Phillip Randolph.

In 1933, she graduated from Hunter

College with a degree in English literature during another significant period in U.S. history — the Great Depression. In and out of jobs, Murray briefly worked with the National Urban League and the Workers Progress Administration where she learned about the labor movement which she would later be a part of.

In 1938, Pauli Murray applied to UNCChapel Hill to study sociology knowing that the university, like many other institutions, did not accept students of color. Six days later, she received a letter from Chapel Hill that read “members of your race are not admitted to the University.” In response to the letter of rejection and racism, she started a media campaign to enter the all-white graduate school. Murray petitioned the NAACP to sue the university and mailed a letter of frustration to first lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Although the NAACP was unable to assist her, the first lady wrote back with words of encouragement for Pauli to keep fighting the system.

Constantly constrained by labels of gender and race, Murray realized her passions lay in challenging the patriarchy

and fighting the brutal systems of Black oppression.

“I’ve lived to see my lost causes found,” Murray said.

Before Rosa Parks and the Greensboro Four, there was Pauli Murray. In 1940, Murray and her friend refused to move to the back of a segregated bus in Richmond, Virginia. She was arrested, jailed and swore she would never return. Yet, in 1941, Murray was back in Richmond on behalf of the Workers Defense League to raise money for a Black sharecropper, Odell Waller. Sentenced to death for shooting a white man he worked for, Waller’s claim of self-defense fell on the neglectful ears of an all-white jury. Murray fervently fought for Waller and gave an emotional speech to a crowd that included Thurgood Marshall and a Howard law professor. Encouraged by the two, she enrolled at Howard University’s law school in 1941 determined to destroy Jim Crow.

Pauli termed the dual plight of Black women “Jane Crow.” During her time at Howard, she led student protests including a sit-in at a segregated lunch counter in Washington, D.C. After graduating

from Howard at the top of her class in 1944, Murray was denied post-graduate education at Harvard University because of her gender. She went to the University of California at Berkeley instead and earned her master's. In 1946, she became the Deputy Attorney General of California, making her the first African American in the state attorney general's office. Soon after, she wrote “States’ Laws on Color and Race,” which Marshall referred to as the “bible” for lawyers working on civil rights cases such as Brown v. Board of Education.

Frustrated with the stagnant state of the civil rights movement, Murray briefly moved to Ghana in 1960 to teach law before returning to the U.S. to attend Yale Law School. While writing her thesis, Murray wrote an influential memorandum demanding that “sex” be included in the Title XII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In 1965, she became the first African American woman to receive a Doctor of Juridical Science from Yale. After graduating, Murray co-authored “Jane Crow and the Law: Sex Discrimination and Title VII.” The acclaimed essay was cited by Ruth Bader Ginsburg in her Supreme Court case, Reed v. Reed, which successfully challenged sex-based discrimination.

Murray went on to co-found the National Organization for Women, serve on the national board of the ACLU and taught on tenure at Brandeis University. After decades of activism, Murray knew that Jane Crow discrimination still existed both in the civil rights and women’s movements.

In 1973, following the death of her longtime partner Irene Burlow, Murray left Brandeis to become the first Black woman to serve as an Episcopal priest. On July 1, 1985, Murray died of cancer and her autobiography, “Song in a Weary Throat: An American Pilgrimage,” was published posthumously in 1987.

image from creative commons Anna Pauline "Pauli" Murray smiling while taking notes.

“Before Rosa Parks and the Greensboro Four, there was Pauli Murray.”

So, We Have Mommy Issues

So, we have mommy issues. The first step in healing from these mommy issues is recognizing that we have them. It is recognizing that this issue has power over our life and we want a change. In my experience, mommy issues are not talked about as much as daddy issues. So, let’s talk about it.

First, what are mommy issues? Mommy issues are “personal issues stemming from the relationship you had with your mother as you were growing up.”

According to Nicole Beurkens, a clinical psychologist, mommy issues stem from the attachment style that the child creates with their mother during their childhood. These attachment styles look at the patterns of interaction and relationships between mother and child. It then looks at how this impacts the child's development.

According to TalkSpace, mommy issues are the result of many factors, These factors include, but are not limited to, mothers who are overprotective, overly permissive, controlling, loving but are emotionally unavailable, manipulative, abusive and/or neglectful. However, mommy issues can come from seemingly innocent behaviors from the mothers as well.

Mommy issues are also defined as “psychological challenges you deal with as an adult that result from your childhood relationship with your mother or another adult female figure in your life.” These psychological challenges can be presented in your relationship with others and can prove to be detrimental if not caught early enough.

For example, growing up I was always nervous to ask my step mother for something because I was afraid of how she would react. Now that I am in a relationship, I notice that I get anxious and overthink my boyfriend's reaction to some of my questions. This has a direct correlation to my childhood and asking my mother questions. If I am afraid to ask my boyfriend questions, how can we

Welcome to Fourth Wave Feminism

grow and learn together? Leaving this issue unresolved can become detrimental to our relationship.

Next, what are some signs that you may have mommy issues? The signs for mommy issues show up differently in women and men. For women, some signs include low self esteem, difficulty trusting others, having very few friends who are women, wanting to do everything perfectly, avoiding anything that has to do with your mother, and having difficulty setting boundaries. For men, some signs include needing to stay in contact with your mother, avoiding your mother, disrespecting women, feeling insecure and suspicious, and cheating on partners.

Mommy issues tend to be passed down from generation to generation. According to Very Well Mind, the way that a mother treated her children is directly correlated to how her mother treated her. If the mother felt that their mother was accepting and supporting of them, they went on to form the same relationships with their children. The same can be said on the other side of the spectrum. If the mother felt her mother was overprotective, they ended up being overprotective with their own children, forming insecure attachments.

Lastly, how can you heal from mommy issues? Jenni Jacobson says the first step is noticing that you have mommy issues. Some other ways you could begin to heal from this is by seeking social help, setting healthy boundaries with your mother, changing behavioral patterns in everyday life, cutting off unhealthy relationships, putting yourself first and more.

In my opinion, the most important thing for you to understand when going through this process is that you are not alone. Although your mother may not be in your corner, there are others out there who are.

Intersectional feminism began to make an appearance within American discourse around the 1990s. This perspective shed light on a new way to interpret contemporary feminist issues. The theory of intersectional feminism was founded on the idea that all oppression experienced by women should never be perceived as a one-size-fits-all phenomenon. The linear platform of popular feminism birthed intersectional feminism.

The typical feminist narrative taught in public schools follows the wave system. The first wave is often associated with the women's suffrage movement during the 19th century. Pioneers of the white suffrage movement preached equality but only for those who looked, sounded and represented their own social groups.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony are famous for their involvement with the white suffrage movement, but they did not support the 15th amendment. This is problematic because the second wave of American feminism often cites the women’s suffrage movement as its point of origin. Fast-forward to the 1960s and the notion of the various “waves” of feminism was born. The word waves originated from a New York Times article written by Martha Weinman Lear titled “The Second Feminist Wave.” The article argued for the link between the women's movement of the 1960s and the aims of the suffrage movement. The popularity of the article led to an assumption of the connection between these two social movements in American history; thus associating feminism with a very specific female identity in mind. The second wave of feminism did question the social roles of women paving the way for wave three. The third wave of feminism reveled in the spoils of past feminist generations and continued in the fight for equality. The invention of the internet and access to such technologies helped expand the notion of intersectional feminism. More specifically, the ‘90s era of intersectional feminism looks closely at individuals with multiple

marginalized identities. Having a more complex identity allows for a layering effect of systemic oppression.

Scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw wrote a paper analyzing the details of the case DeGraffenreid v. General Motors. In the paper, she used the term intersectionality in relation to the topic of feminism. This assessment spoke heavily upon the tension between race and gender discrimination but only seemed to brush the surface of gender politics.

When you hear the word feminism what do you think? Does the phrase “rights for women” ring any bells? Cambridge University defines feminism as “The belief that women should be allowed the same rights, power, and opportunities as men and be treated in the same way.” The use of the word women as a definition for the intended goals of feminism forms a selfdefeating box.

“Gender Trouble,” a book written by Judith Butler, a professor at the University of Berkeley, expresses thoughts of a potential new wave of feminism building upon the foundations of the ‘90s era intersectional feminism. Butler explains: “For the most part, feminist theory has assumed that there is some existing identity, understood through the category of women, who not only initiates feminist interests and goals within discourse but constitutes the subject for whom the political representation is pursued,” expressing a lineage of limiting feminism.

The idea of women exists in a culture that supports the false dichotomy of the gender binary. This culture works to restrict the potential definition of what women could be. Butler furthers “In other words, the qualifications for being a subject must first be met before representation can be extended.” We must readdress the definition of women to gauge an effective future in the pursuit of true feminism. Fourth-wave feminism works to interrogate the collective understanding of gender and its relation to accessing rights.

Throughout history American feminism has worked to serve a very specific female identity. Looking to the future of feminism we must shift from this surface level understanding to a beautifully complex understanding of womanhood.

ELeanor Saunders Staff Writer

Leila Ganim Correspondent

“Although your mother may not be in your corner, there are others out there who are.”

Two major us banks collapse

shaere Delgiudice Correspondent

Silicon Valley Bank collapsed on Friday, March 10th, in the second-largest bank failure in US history. Assets of the 16th largest bank in the nation, which focuses on startups and serves much of the tech industry, were seized by regulators following a run on the bank by its depositors.

The depositors’ rush to withdraw cash came in reaction to the bank’s announcement that they would sell $2.25 billion in shares, after having already sold “$21 billion of securities from its portfolio at a nearly $2 billion loss.”

The FDIC insured Silicon Valley Bank depositors for up to $250,000 in the event of a collapse. However, as many SVB customers were a mix of large and small tech, as well as media, companies, and

venture capitalists, much of their deposits were well over this amount. In fact, at the end of last year, 89% of the bank's $175 billion in deposits were uninsured.

This caused uncertainty over the weekend as those with deposits over this amount were initially left unsure of their futures. The FDIC eventually said that they would safeguard all deposits of SVB including those over the typical cap, easing some of the anxiety associated with this situation.

Despite the steps taken by the FDIC, and insistence on the strength of the banking system by President Joe Biden and other key officials,worry persisted.

These fears were enough to lead to the third-largest banking collapse in U.S. history, of New York-based Signature Bank which regulators seized on Sunday, March 12th, just two days after SVB’s collapse.

Similar to SVB, Signature Bank’s collapse was mainly due to a run by depositors, who withdrew over $10 billion in deposits on Friday.

The FDIC is extending their unprecedented move to safeguard above the usual $250,000 limit to Signature Bank customers as well, saying they will have access to all of their deposits regardless of amount.

Looking ahead, the FDIC continues to search for buyers for each U.S.-based bank. In Europe, HSBC bought the UK division of SVB for £1, or $1.20, allowing it to immediately acquire the division and secure the deposits of UK customers. However no news has come out on the likelihood of its U.S. counterpart or Signature Bank to find a buyer in time to avoid bankruptcy.

Further reports reveal that North Carolina had some direct ties to these banks. Not only does SVB have a branch on Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh, but the states’ retirement fund was a shareholder of both banks’ stock as well.

State Treasurer Dale Folwell says the fund has “small exposures” to the bank failures, indicating that the fund had approximately “$9.9 million of Silicon Valley Bank stock as well as approximately $7.8 million of Signature Bank stock” across three of their portfolios. However, he said this makes up “less than 0.01%” of these portfolios’ values, and that the states’ treasurer office is “very pleased” their exposure was as small as it is.