The Bella Bulletin AUGUST 2017
Women’s issues in the news & Poltical Op-ED
Let’s recap the summer program, learn valuable history, and keep updated with the first ever publication. Alumni Spotlights of the Month Read about the amazing accomplishments of two of our very own Bella Abzug Leadership Institute Summer Program Alumni – Lily Zhang and Martina Amate Perez. Look at their stories of starting their own leadership organization and volunteering for a local campaign, respectively.
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Read about: “The Women’s March that stormed Washington D.C. and other global locations is making plans to return in the 2018 elections”, “Chilean constitutional court deciding to ease ban on abortion on Monday, August 21st.” and “the presidential election of the Jubilee party in Kenya increasing female presentation.. Additionally, read the opinions of the bold girls and young women who have participated in BALI.
Table of Contents Letter from the Editor……………..…….………...3 Upcoming Events & Reminders…….….………..4 This Month in Women’s History…….…….……5 This month at BALI………………………..……….7 Women’s Issues in the News………….…….…...8 ALUMNI Political Editorial …………..….…... .10
ALUMNI Spotlight: Women in Action ….…..12 2017 Leaders of the month……………………..13 Featured Sponsor of the Month .………..…...14
BALI STAFF & Board of Directors……….…....15 BELLA BULLETIN STAFF …………………………...16
Letter from the Editor W
hen joining a different community, I try to find a niche that will allow me to leave the community better than how I found it. Having been a trainee in the summer of 2016 and an intern for the 2017 summer training program, I was able to continue my time in BALI, and I was able to seek my niche. I wanted somehow to build upon the continuous hard work of the people behind this organization. My goal going forward is to expand our presence in social media and in other forms of communication, like this
newsletter! This endeavor is the product of the constant inspiration I receive from the BALI network. On behalf of the rest of the Bella Bulletin staff –Zoe, Wilma, & Adriana– I hope we can provide you with useful, inciteful, and stimulating information through this publication.
Gisselle Rodriguez Benitez Editor-in-Chief 3
Upcoming Events Girls Speak Out: International Day of the Girl Summit
Join girls from around NYC and the rest of the world for a day celebrating the strength of every girl. For the 4th year, BALI is co-sponsoring this event at the UN, alongside several NYC and international women’s and girls’ nonprofits. You will have the opportunity to listen to inspiring stories from girls around the world while in an environment of like minded young women. Keep an eye out for an email regarding this event.
Date: October 11th, 2017 Location: United Nations NYC Headquarters Time: TBA
Reminders State and Local Elections are taking place November 7th!
Register (& encourage others to register) by: NY | October 13th NJ | October 17th CT | October 31st
Continue to like, comment, and share our posts on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
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Women’s History of the month:
august
August
Womens History of the month
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THIS SUMMER AT THE BELLA ABZUG LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE: D
uring the 2017 BALI Summer Debate and Leadership Training Program, our girls were provided with the opportunity to participate in workshops, sharpen their writing skills, listen to various guest speakers, and improve their debating skills with the New York Debate League. Our guest speakers ranged from women in governmental positions, to women in STEM, to women running their own companies. They provided our trainees with their backgrounds and personal motivators, while providing advice regarding their lines of work. Throughout the two weeks of BALI, our amazing speakers passed on valuable life and leadership skills to inspire BALI women through their future successes. A truly memorable experience that conveyed the mission of BALI was Valerie Jeannis’, “What Do You Want” activity. Girls were partnered and assigned a task. One girl had the mission to continuously ask, “what do you want? what do you want?
what do you want?” While one girl repeated the phrase, the other tried to give multiple answers. It demanded each girl to look and assess their goals, dreams, and aspirations. During a debriefing, girls were challenged to make those wishes a reality. The first step is simple, know what you want. The Summer Debate and Training Program gives girls the skills to work towards what they want. Whether it’s to run for office, become leaders in medical world, or run their very own businesses. Additionally, these young women formed bonds with a diverse group of similarly minded individuals. These friendships and connections are to hopefully last a lifetime. We are proud of BALI alumni and hope they continue to be bold leaders of the future. To read more about the Summer Training Program from the 2017 alumni, make sure to look at our Leaders of the Month section!
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This Month in Women’s Issues The Women’s March that stormed Washington D.C. and other global locations is making plans to return in the 2018 elections. This march will focus on the effort of getting more women into office. The recent events in Charlottesville, VA, has caused the organization to re-promote the march and call attention to the hatred and white supremacy that is still prevalent in our country.
Chilean constitutional court decides to ease ban on abortion on Monday, August 21st. The new legislation allows for women who have been raped, who are endangered by their pregnancies, and who are pregnant with unhealthy babies to obtain abortions. Chile was formerly one of seven Roman Catholic countries that banned abortion in all circumstances, but still has much more to achieve in terms of women’s reproductive rights.
Bill to force transgender individuals to use bathrooms according to their sex at birth fails The failure of this bill was credited to the overwhelming opposition of prominent businesses and
Republican Speaker of the Texas House Joe Straus of San Antonio. This is considered a huge achievement of the transgender community. .
The presidential election of the Jubilee party in Kenya increases female representation Three of the governor’s seats have been filled by women and the number of women parliamentarians in the National Assembly has increased from 84 to 100. Although this recent election has increased the status of women in the government, there is strong opposition to this progress in the country which is currently facing violent protests and police brutality.
In 2018, Nepal’s new legislation protecting the rights and safety of women will be in effect. This legislation assigns punishment against the custom of exiling women during menstruation, and criminalizes other practices that harm women such as slavery, acid attacks, and dowry payments.
Louisiana appeals court reviewing Governor John Bel Edwards’ order to protect LGBTQ rights in response to lawsuit filed by Attorney General Jeff Landry. In April 2016 Edwards issued his order, including new language protecting the rights of transgender individuals, but Landry filed a lawsuit against it claiming that Edwards’ initiation of the order violated the separation of powers.
On Saturday, August 12th A “Unite the Right” rally protesting the removal of a confederate statue in Charlottesville, Virginia This march quickly turned violent when Nazi-sympathizer, James Alex Fields Jr., drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters. President Trump’s original response to these events, blaming the violence on “many sides”, received harsh criticism from both Republicans and Democrats due to the fact that it did not explicitly call out white supremacists.
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Featured of Stories of Month A Win for Women’s Rights: Jordan Abolishes Law Protecting Rapists On August 1st, the Jordanian government made groundbreaking strides in human and women’s rights by moving to abolish article 308 of the Penal Code, a law that protected rapists from legal punishment if they married their victims for three or more years. In these cases, it is more common for men to be perpetrators and women to be victims. Supporters of maintaining the law claimed that it protected a woman’s honor, while those against it argued that the provision eliminated the accountability of continued domestic, sexual abuse through marriage. According to Zena Tahhan of Al Jazeera, most members of parliament originally planned on amending the article rather than abolishing it, but pushback from hundreds of civil society activists on the day of the vote eventually influenced the decision to abolish the article. Although the abolishment of this law is a victory for the women of Jordan, stigmas surrounding rape in Jordan and other nearby Arab countries lead to the isolation of victims, especially if they become pregnant. In addition, marriage rape laws continue to be upheld in surrounding countries such as Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, as well as farther reaching countries including Tajikistan and the Philippines. Repealing these laws has become a
part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5: “to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls” by 2030. Activists are optimistic of this goal considering the number of countries that have improved their legislation in the past few years alone. For example, Tunisia preceded Jordan in late July by passing the “landmark” law titled “The Law on Eliminating Violence against Women”, and Lebanon followed Jordan on August 16th by abolishing article 522 of its penal code, similar to that of Jordan.
Every Day Should be #WITBragDay For Women in Tech Starting August 11th, Twitter was taken over by #WITbragday, a day for women in tech to tweet their accomplishments free of shame or guilt. Women all over the world shared their achievements in the tech industry, from starting clubs to support aspiring girls in STEM fields to writing codes for software that most of us use every day. The hashtag was a response to the infamous memo written by a former Google employee, who has since been fired, critiquing the company’s racial diversity and gender equality initiatives. James Damore’s memo, titled “Google’s Ideological Echo
Chamber”, gained the most backlash for statements suggesting that the biological differences between men and women have contributed to the prominent gender-based professional gaps in both tech and other industries. Damore even went on to state that women “on average” have more neuroticism, explaining the “lower number of women in high stress jobs.” Damore’s memo is not the only bad press that Google has faced in the past year. A recent article by the Guardian tells the story of several women of color and former employees of Google who quit their jobs (or filed lawsuits against Google) due to gender-based and race-based discrimination, as well as some instances of unequal pay. Google, like most Silicon Valley industries, is dominated by white men. Worldwide, 80% of Google’s tech employees are men, and within the U.S., 2% of overall Google employees are black, 4% are Hispanic, 4% are mixed race, 35% are Asian, and 1% are other, underrepresented minorities. As a huge leader in the tech industry, Google sets the bar for the rest of
Silicon Valley, and an increase in the company’s diversity as well as improvement of the treatment of minorities has the opportunity to create real change in the tech industry for everyone, particularly women of color.
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Political Opinion Editorial: The Voices of our ALUMNI
When Rights Are Assumed, We All Lose Hannah Whalen BALI Class of 2011 On July 26, President Trump announced a ban on transgender Americans serving in the military, which was met with great anger and criticism across the political spectrum. But a second development, equally insidious yet significantly underreported by mainstream media, also occurred that day: the Department of Justice filed an amicus brief in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals arguing that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. While Title VII does not explicitly forbid prejudice against gay and bisexual employees, it does outlaw discrimination “based on sex,” which the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under President Obama interpreted to encompass anti-gay discrimination. Yet President Obama’s DOJ never supported the inclusion of sexual orientation under Title VII – it simply permitted the EEOC to make such arguments without interference. That is why, after days of soul-searching to understand how this could possibly happen – how such basic rights I believed to be protected were so easily up for debate – I came to a shocking
realization: it was not President Trump that I blamed, but the Obama administration and Congress. While the argument put forth by President Trump’s DOJ is deplorable, it is certainly not unpredictable given the antiLGBTQ stance of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Yet, such a legal claim would be impossible to make if Title VII overtly included the term “sexual orientation.” For this, I hold responsible every Congress elected since 1974 that has refused to add a sexual orientation provision, particularly the majority Democrat 111th Congress (2009-2011), a fact that the DOJ’s amicus brief pointedly referenced. I also hold the Obama administration accountable for the decision not to propose any legislation specific to this issue, nor to issue any executive orders on the matter (save for one that only applied to federal workers). What’s most upsetting is not merely the Obama administration’s wait-and-see attitude toward antigay workplace discrimination, but that it offered LGBTQ citizens assumed civil rights without the protection of legal reinforcement able stand up in court. Today, more than ever, it is clear that assumed rights, absent of the security afforded by explicitly written law, are not real civil rights. It is now time to amend Title VII, and change the law to match the freedoms promised to LGBTQ Americans.
Op ed p1
The Political Incorrectness
of Political Correctness Ayala Sela Stuyvesant High School BALI Class of 2017 Evelyn Beatrice Hall: “I will disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” What happened to the influence of this powerful statement? Urban and Oxford Dictionaries both define political correctness as an exaggeration, radicalism, as irrationality. Coincidence? I think not. There is currently nationwide distaste toward political correctness, as it’s conceived as a gilded method to silence people. I believe that while political correctness is, in concept, important, it should never have been allowed to dominate other rights, including freedom of speech. PC has not and will not change people’s minds. Instead, it causes hate and discrimination to go underground, thus, making it harder to eradicate. PC has created a reality where people are beaten for speaking out in public. Thus, people turn to the internet, an imaginary facade of privacy, and share things anonymously. NBC reports that over 10,000 racist/offensive statements are posted daily on Twitter. Of those, between 47.5 percent and 70 percent were “non-derogatory”. The SLPC writes: “the real level of organized hatred in America [is] a growing number of extremists [who] operate mainly online”. But, hatred is
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leaking beyond Twitter, and as of 2016, 917 hate groups are active in the U.S, with the number only rising. Political correctness no longer lives up to its expected result either. Berkeley University, one of the origins of the the free speech movement, for example, prevented conservative Ann Coulter from speaking, to appease its protesting students. Liberal media company CNN, admits: “In Berkeley, if you do not adhere to the Leftist orthodoxy, your speech is branded "hate speech," … Shame on the Left for tacitly condoning this culture of violent suppression of views it disagrees with.” To readers currently shaking their head and sharpening their pitchforks, I want to clarify. I have the utmost respect for people who are sensitive to others’ feelings and act accordingly. My disdain lies where supposed good intentions mask radical irrationality. “It is the height of irony that the PC ‘movement,’ driven by the motivation to avoid making a bad impression or offending others, is now one that few will publicly embrace for fear of... making a bad impression or offending others” (Psychology Today). Let us, people of all pasts and futures to come, embrace Evelyn Beatrice Hall’s wisdom to enable our coexistence.
Unjust Emilia Cooper NYC Lab School BALI Class
of
2015
Racism is one of the most prominent issues in our society. Whether it is racial slurs directed at students of color in school, or the immense systemic racism that is woven throughout our criminal justice system, black people are still discriminated against in ways similar to the discrimination they experienced in the past, preventing them from access to professional, political and personal power. The criminal justice system is designed to incarcerate black people with the most harsh punishment possible. Because black people are often profiled by police officers, black people are more likely to be detained. Because black people are often unable to afford adequate legal representation, they are assigned overworked public defenders that are rarely able to do their jobs well. Judges and juries are less likely to sympathize with people of color because they are predominantly white. Because of this, they are more likely to give the defendant a harsh punishment. These problems only scratch the surface of systemic racism in the criminal justice system. Being a Jewish girl with a privileged lifestyle but also being a black girl
with a strong connection to my black family and peers’ struggle with discrimination, I have a unique perspective on racial inequality. I often feel like the black part of me is unequal to the white part of me, and feel a sense of responsibility to empower the black part of me to combat racial inequality and oppression, and bring justice to for my people by fighting for the opportunities that the Jewish, privileged part of me has access to without having to lift a finger. Through my relationship with my underprivileged father of color who was wrongly incarcerated, I have learned that many young people of color don’t view college and a career as a feasible lifestyle. In the case of my father, his options were death before graduating high school or having his life taken from him in the form of a prison sentence. For these reasons, I think that it is important for people of color to combat systemic racism by pursuing jobs as legislators, public defenders, law enforcement officials, etc. In order to accomplish this, it is essential that black people take advantage of every opportunity for an appropriate education and professional career. I want to do my best to provide those opportunities starting with education and developing a sense of access to both education and career.
“When you give yourself permission to communicate what matters to you in every situation you will have peace despite rejection or disapproval. Putting a voice to your soul helps you to let go of the negative energy of fear and regret.” ― Shannon L. Alder
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ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: WOMEN IN ACTION Lily
Martina
Zhang
Amate Perez
Class of 2014
Class of 2017
Empowerment with 21st Century Skills
Working on a NYC Campaign
Lily is a student at the University of California at Berkeley who has been doing amazing things since graduating the program 3 years ago. Lily is committed to fostering women’s rights, as the cofounder of Girls Advocating Leadership & Strength (GALS), a female empowerment nonprofit, providing resources for young women to best reach their career aspirations and personal goals. GALS provides its members with public networking events and workshops on both hard and soft skills. Lily began by choosing nine girls for the GALS Board of Directors and divided them into five teams: Social Media, Artistic Design, Food, Marketing, and Logistics. Then, she assigned each team different tasks. On August 27th, she hosted her first event in Times Square, Manhattan featuring a Shark Tank businesswoman, Columbia professor, a teen model, non-profit CEO, and film director of Dream, Girl. The event was a major success with a stunning turnout of about 100 girls. Lily began planning and hosting seasonal events with her team, and shortly after the GALS first event, she organized another Fall Summit at the American Management Association. Now, she is finalizing the works for the the Spring Event sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank in downtown Manhattan.
Martina is a student at Aquinas High School who is using her BALI resources to make her mark in the professional world. Through BALI, Martina had the pleasure of meeting Tamika Mapp, the democratic candidate for City Council representing District 8. Upon hearing Tamika Mapp speak to her fellow classmates, she instantly realized how much of an inspiration she was. The work she does and the values she stands by coincide with who she is and her aspirations. volunteering for her campaign and it is better than she could imagine. At first, she volunteered by making calls to democrat voters who live in East Harlem and the South Bronx (District 8) to gather support for Tamika's campaign. Recently, she was promoted to the position of Lead Communications Director and Policy Researcher. Under this position, she manages Tamika Mapp's Twitter account and constructs possible responses and solutions regarding relevant policies to District 8. Through these volunteer experiences hopes that she can push progressive actions for her community and past hometowns (East Harlem and South Bronx) through this volunteer opportunity that allowed her to gain experience in politics.
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Summer Class of ‘17 Leaders of the Month "At BALI, I learned, in a safe space, how to grow as a woman. My hesitancy to express myself in different outlets faded when I was at BALI. Now, in my future endeavors, whenever I feel unsure of myself, I will look back at this experience as a sort of fuel that will drive my growth. I will cherish BALI, and everything I learned from the girls, numerous speakers and activities, debate, Liz Abzug herself, and by extension, Bella Abzug. "
― Ann-Marsha Alexis 12th Grade, Saint Vincent "My favorite BALI experience was the debate tournament. As someone who considers herself moderately shy, I felt like it helped me gain confidence about myself and my ideas. I can see myself continuing debate and public speaking in the future, and I'm very grateful that I got the chance to participate in this program! I commit to making a difference by continuing to speak up about issues that I care about, and debating unfair government policies."
― Lainey Macken 10th Grade, Beacon High School "BALI helped me gain an incredible amount of confidence by pushing me out of my comfort zone and encouraging me through my failures and successes. I grew so much in terms of body image security, assertiveness and awareness. I am now able to conquer fears regarding my future and careers through being able to establish my values. In the future, I will ask for the things I want, using the power of communities and networking to my advantage.”
― Camryn Smithwick 12th Grade, Syosset High School .
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Feauted Sponsor of the Month The Bella Bulletin staff asked founder Kathleen King a few questions:
“Why did you initially choose to support BALI?” I learned about BALI through Liz Abzug; her passion and plans I found very purposeful and necessary. We all have great ideas, but Liz makes them happen and you can see it in all the girls lives she has touched. I am a big believer in empowering girls changes your community and the world!
“What advice do you give to girls @tatesbakeshop
From the girls and women at BALI, thank you Kathleen for the support you give us, and for making the world a sweeter place.
and young women who choose to go into your line of work?” Whatever line of work you choose, it will be harder than you think. Make sure it's a passion and not a hobby; something that will drive you out of bed at night! Try to be the best in your industry, be consistent, never cut corners, respect your employees and your customers. Don't be attached to what you cannot control, when you fall, get up and don't be afraid. There will always be people to support you and those that don't; be your biggest cheerleader. Stay humble and give back when you can. 14
The Bella Bulletin Staff Gisselle Rodriguez Benitez Editor-in-Chief School: Northeastern University Major: Economics BALI Class of: 2016 Email: gisselle@abzuginstitute.org
Wilma Abam-Depass Section Editor School: Croton High School Grade: 11th BALI Class of: 2017
Zoe Donovan Section Editor School: Bard Early College Grade: 11th BALI Class of: 2017
Adriana Rodriguez Section Editor School: Brown University Major: Political Science BALI Class of: 2016
for inquiries and suggestions, email bulletin@abzuginstitute.org
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BALI Staff
Liz Abzug
Oriela Baliaj
Gabriela Valette
Founder & Executive Director
Senior Program Associate
Program Coordinator
BALI Board of Directors Liz J. Abzug, Founder/Executive Director Erica Forman, Board-Chair Meg Holzer, Secretary Cynthia McKnight, Treasurer Erica Forman, Chair Cynthia McKnight, Treasurer Meg Holzer, Secretary
Eija Ayravainen Gloria Steinem Joanne Davila Maya Catherine Popa Maya C. Popa
Claire Reed Harold Holzer Jonathan Greenberg Judy Lerner Liz Cooper
Betsy Scheinbart-Norton Jerry Goldfeder A.J. Lederman Kylie Reiffert 16 Kai Gilchrist