Hey New Yorkers! Here are some cool events you should check out this week and next. (And help spread the word to folks you know!) I’ll be moderating at the Ain’t I A Woman Panel on the 11th if you wanna say hi :)
4th Annual Roe on the Rocks Benefit Concert for Planned Parenthood of New York City
Featuring Sara Benincasa, Thao with The Get Down Stay Down, Ana Egge, The Bloodsugars, & Pearl and the Beard
Monday, April 4, 2011
Doors open at 7PM
Bowery Ballroom at 6 Delancey Street, between Bowery and Chrystie
$25 General Admission | $75 VIP | Tickets available online
At a time when our right to basic health care is under attack, Thao with The Get Down Stay Down, Ana Egge, The Bloodsugars, and Pearl and the Beard will play the fourth annual Roe on the Rocks benefit concert at Bowery Ballroom. Comic Sara Benincasa, of Wonkette, Comedy Central and CNN, will be the evening’s emcee. All proceeds from the event will go to Planned Parenthood of New York City.
The Roe on the Rocks concert is held every year to recognize the anniversary of Roe v Wade, the historic Supreme Court Case which 38 years ago confirmed women’s right to privacy and thus access to abortion services. The show couldn’t come at a more important time - following three months of the worst attack on not just reproductive rights but the right to basic health care, that our country has ever seen. Past acts have included Regina Spektor, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and others.
Ain’t I A Woman: Women of Color Speak On Activism
Featuring Latoya Peterson, Elizabeth Mendez Berry, Lori Adelman, Aimee Thorne-Thomsen, Jessie Daniels, PhD, & Anna Holmes with music by DJ Lobotomy Copter
Monday, April 11, 2011
Mixer 6PM | Panel 7-9PM | Party 9-12AM (RSVP on Facebook)
Galapagos Art Space at 16 Main Street, Brooklyn, NY
$10 Suggested Donation | Event Hashtag: #AIAW
Long after Sojourner Truth pondered the question - “Aint I A Woman?” we continue to face a white supremacist culture that undermines women of color, young women, undocumented immigrants, and the LGBTQ community. We’re convening this panel to ignite a discourse about the experiences of women of color in the femini…st movement and beyond. On this night, six outstanding feminists and activists will go head-to-head to discuss race in the feminist movement today.
We know that the movements to eradicate racism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia and sexism are inextricably connected. We reject the silencing and subjugation of women of color and aim to create a safe and courageous space to raise our voices, confront tensions, celebrate our triumphs, create collective solutions and share our stories. Through this sharing, we can create a united front so that, instead of surviving through silence, there can be a dialogue on how to battle institutionalized oppression.
Speaking our truth is crucial to our survival. By gathering together and learning from our shared and individual tales of love and struggle, we will each emerge with new perspectives that will enable us to engender the change we envision for the world. In the words of bell hooks, “There can be no feminist revolution without an end to racism, classism, ageism…”
Book Launch Party for Hey, Shorty!: A Guide to Combating Sexual Harassment and Violence in Schools and on the Streets
Featuring Joanne N. Smith, Meghan Huppuch & Mandy Van Deven from Girls for Gender Equity.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
7-9PM | Free Admission
Bluestockings Inc. at 172 Allen Street
At every stage of education, sexual harassment is common, and often considered a rite of passage for young people. It’s not unusual for a girl to hear “Hey, Shorty!” on a daily basis, as she walks down the hall or comes into the school yard, followed by …a sexual innuendo, insult, come-on, or assault. But when teenagers are asked whether they experience this in their own lives, most of them say it’s not happening.
Girls for Gender Equity, a nonprofit organization based in New York City, has developed a model for teens to teach one another about sexual harassment. How do you define it? How does it affect your self-esteem? What do you do in response? Why is it so normalized in schools, and how can we as a society begin to address these causes? Geared toward students, parents, teachers, policy makers, and activists, this book is an excellent model for building awareness and creating change in any community.