Victories for Justice on Civil Asset Forfeiture, NY Solitary Confinement and Police Transparency
Statements and changes on a number of important fronts came from the Attorney General and from Rikers Island this week.
BREAKING: Supreme Court Will Rule on Constitutionality of Same-Sex Marriage
The Supreme Court will decide on the constitutionality of marriage equality rights sometime this summer.
Communities, Not Police, Are Our Best Bet for Ending LGBTQ Domestic Violence
Victims/survivors in general are expected to seek help from law enforcement to escape from abusive relationships, but the police are sometimes the most dangerous and threatening forces in the lives of marginalized folks, even those who have an abusive partner, friend, or relative. For that reason, community support is central to assisting victims and survivors of domestic violence.
Incarcerated Trans Woman Brings Lawsuit Against New York State After Her Rape in Prison
This case has already been successful in winning a platform for trans voices to raise public awareness about the contradictions and dangers of the prison system.
Bombing Of Colorado Springs NAACP Office Results In No Injuries, One Person of Interest
The bombing happened shortly before 11 a.m. with three employees in the building, back for their first day of regular work following the holidays. The building that houses the NAACP office is also home to an income tax center and Mr. G’s Hair Design Studio, a salon with predominantly Black customers.
Broken Windows is On Hiatus: Community Interventions We Can Enact Now for Real Justice
In addition to fighting for reforms within the prison system, we can keep people out of prison in the first place.
Burials in the Mist of Dawn
“But unlike the missing 43 from Ayotzinapa, I was going home. And it’s what I store in my memory each time I read an article or update about the disappeared. I am home. They are not.”
Rebel Girls: Our “False Rape” Hysteria is Bullsh*t
I come bearing every ounce of truth I could muster about “false rape accusations” and the pitiful rape culture the myth of them exemplifies.
25 Women Who Shook Things Up in 2014
From mounting revolutions to redefining realness, these are 25 women who made waves in the world this year.
FDA Will Allow Gay Men to Donate Blood Under Amended Restrictions
After weeks of discussion on the subject, the agency has finally announced it will replace the current lifetime ban with a one-year restriction period for men who sleep with men.
After 16-Year Struggle, New York State Medicaid Will Finally Cover Trans Healthcare
“Trans people of color and low income trans people have been struggling and organizing all along, because this is a life or death issue.”
Audre Lorde Project Hosts Vigil and Flashmob To “Free Our Sisters, Free Ourselves”
“To be clear, we are not here to change the system. We are here to SHUT IT DOWN.”
Dispatches From The Millions Marches: Thousands Show Up For #BlackLivesMatter Nationwide
“While it is definitely tragic we still have to march, there is something beautiful and hopeful about the fact that I am fighting for [my mom’s] freedom as much as mine, and we’re both out here so that my nephew, who just turned one, hopefully won’t have to march when he grows up.”
3 Things to Know About Protecting Your Tech While Protesting
While data is technically — partially — protected from search by the Fourth Amendment, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that our right to privacy is not always honored by law enforcement.
FDA Upholds Status Quo Banning Blood Donations From Gay Men
The FDA is the one politicizing the issue, not the blood organizations and medical associations that support lifting the lifetime ban.
Rebel Girls: Police Violence Happens to Black Women, Too
This is a women’s issue because our sisters are being impacted directly, and because they’ve been harassed, beaten, raped, and killed by cops for centuries.
Backwards Mitten: Michigan Might Be The Next “Right To Discriminate” State
Michigan picks up where Arizona left off and tries to “restore” the right to discriminate based on religious beliefs. Worse yet, the bill has better traction that a bill to protect LGBT residents.
This Might Be The Most Important Moment Ever To Fight Rape On Campus
Let’s talk about the ways women, communities and even institutions are responding to the situation in ways that can bring us hope.
The QTPOC Speakeasy: On Community Care During Times of Civil Unrest
“It’s so important to do what makes you feel centered and strong again as a QTPOC trying to deal with this country right now. It would have taken Herculean levels of self-care to come close to what one Speakeasy Google Hangout did for me last night.”
I Believe Jackie: On Credibility, Rape Culture, and Rolling Stone
A 9,000 word Rolling Stone piece about rape culture at the University of Virginia is falling apart at the binding as details of its central narrative, the story of a vicious gang rape at a fraternity party, come under scrutiny.