COVID-19 Update from the Mother Grove
March 18, 2020
“We stand together in this circle, in this place, in this grove. As we stand together, shoulder to shoulder and hip to hip, we are in the Mother Grove and we are the Mother Grove. We put our roots down into the ground and we hold each other in the stout and well-woven basket of this beloved Goddess-led community.”
COMMUNITY CARE DURING CORONAVIRUS
By Amy Worthen
With a pandemic upon us, here are some links and notes that I hope will be of use. Much love as we take care of ourselves and those around us.
This Interactive Map Visualizes the Queer Geography of 20th-Century America
By Meilan Solly
MARVELOUS INVENTION FOR WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH! We invented words about being a woman
By Nneka McGuire for The Lily/The Washington Post – A brand-new vocabulary to describe life in a male-dominated world
Words give our lives meaning, literally. They allow us to distill our thoughts and experiences into a form that others can understand: language. And while the English vocabulary is a veritable feast — consisting of approximately 1 million words, by some estimates — occasionally the perfect term isn’t on offer.
In those cases, creation is necessary. New words are born frequently, and despite their young age, they can feel ubiquitous. (Case in point: mansplain, in which a man arrogantly explains something to a woman. Merriam-Webster says the term’s first known use was only about a decade ago, in 2008.) Illustrations by Olivia Waller CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
FIND YOUR HOPE for the planet’s sake.
With all the problems facing the world right now, it’s easy to get discouraged. It’s natural to feel a sense of despair, or to think there’s nothing you can do.
If this sounds familiar to you, you may need a little pep talk from the Rainforest Alliance‘s own Jungwon Kim. Watch her recent talk to understand why engaging and acting with love and hope is essential—and how it can be the antidote to despair.
ASHEVILLE CITY COUNCIL has officially endorsed the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act
The hard work from a couple of our chapter members on this effort has paid off, and Asheville City Council has endorsed our bill, H.R. 763. Now it’s time to show the Council some gratitude, and we need your help! Will you take a moment to call them or write a note and say thanks?
150,000 Free Illustrations of the Natural World You Can Now Download
The artworks, collected by the open-access Biodiversity Heritage Library, range from animal sketches to historical diagrams and botanical studies.
Let your kids fail. It’s good for them.
By Claire Gillespie in The Week
Nobody likes to fail. At best, it’s embarrassing and frustrating. At worst, it can cause major career or personal setbacks and lead to a downward spiral into negativity. Basically, failure is no fun. So it’s unfortunate that A vast body of research tells us that failing is actually good for us. It provides an opportunity for development, increases resilience, and helps protect against anxiety. Failure, ironically, is crucial to success.
It’s 2020 and women are exhausted
By Zoe Fenson in THE WEEK
Back in 2018, Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren met for an off-the-record conversation. Warren says that during that conversation, Sanders told her a woman could not win the presidency in 2020; according to Sanders, he said it would be difficult, not necessarily impossible. Now that both parties involved are running for president, this exchange has been made public, as have their conflicting memories of what was said. And yet only one of these two people — the woman — has had her social media inundated with images of snakes to underscore her apparent duplicitousness.
THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP in progressive and conservative cities is real
About Brightbeam
Brightbeam is a nonprofit network of education activists demanding a better education and a brighter future for every child. It is the umbrella organization for the flagship platform known as Education Post. Using the power of communications, we shine a light on communities that challenge decision-makers to provide the learning opportunities all children need to thrive.
Women’s Empowerment in the Political Process
Since 1950, 75 countries have had women as heads of state. In truth, that is not many, but it is also more than the United States has had: zero.
In February of this year, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said, “Only through the equal participation of women can we benefit from the intelligence, experience and insights of all of humanity. Women’s equal participation is vital to stability, helps prevent conflict, and promotes sustainable, inclusive development. Gender equality is the prerequisite for a better world.”
Here’s One Way to Talk With Teachers About Race in Schools -BLOG > BETTER CONVERSATION
I’m five hours into facilitating a professional development on race for a group of teachers.
Overall, the morning was positive: everyone has remained engaged in the activities and readings, and it’s clear my co-facilitators and I are pushing teachers outside of their comfort zone. And yet most of the conversation has remained at the surface level, in part because the White teachers in the room are staying particularly quiet.
CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF BEVIE
By Jennifer Adams
On February 1st, we lost our beloved Bevie. Belva “Bevie” Adams was Nathan’s ninety-four year-old grandmother. I had known her for many years, so she felt very much like my own grandmother as well. She was sweet, stubborn, rebellious, and the glue in the Adams family.
TO SHE WHO STILL PERSISTS
CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING
Also come back and read this: Elizabeth Warren Has Changed The Democratic Party
THE WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA NATURE CENTER – Vision 2020
“We do not love what we cannot name, and what we do not love we will not save.” Robert MacFarlane
The Western North Carolina Nature Center is proud to present 2020VISION: A new strategic plan for our future. Highlighting the unique wildlife of the Southern Appalachian region both past and present, the Nature Center will become a true gateway to the incredible world of the Southern AppalachianMountains.
NEWS AND BLOG
HOW WE WALKED into This and How We Can Walk Out
In his new book, journalist Ezra Klein turns his attention to a question lingering over so many others in American politics today: Why are we polarized? And he poses a challenge in his conversation with Krista this week: “We need to build a politics where one of our aims is the participation and respect we give to each other,” he says. “That doesn’t mean a politics where the fights aren’t hard-fought or the stakes aren’t high or everything is compromised down for no reason … but we need to be looking to pull people into the process, and we need to be looking to pull people back from the ledge.”
From ONE MILLION WOMEN: Misogyny, Male Rage And The Words Men Use To Describe Greta Thunberg
Important article published October 2019
Here’s one huge example of what can happen when those who believe entitlement is their birth right get challenged by anyone they regard as “lesser” than themselves.
What I Learned About Women and Money as a Pro Athlete
Guest Op-Ed: Kate Krieger, Ellevest Financial Advisor
The last few years have been marked by incredible feats in women’s pro sports. The US Women’s National Soccer Team is Time’s Athlete of the Year. Simone Biles has 25 world championship medals.Elena Delle Donne has the best career free-throw shooting percentage in WNBA and NBA history. And this Sunday, the 49ers’ coach Katie Sowers became the first woman and openly gay person to coach in the Super Bowl.
SOUTHERNERS ON NEW GROUND Blog Feed
The Legacy and Dream of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Queer communities as committed to liberation, dignity, and safety for all people must be remembered, amplified, and carried forward….
SONG builds a beloved community of LGBTQ people in the South who are ready and willing to do our part to challenge oppression in order to bring about liberation for ALL people.
SHE’S BEAUTIFUL When She’s Angry: New Documentary on History of the Women’s Movement
She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry: New Documentary on History of the Women’s Movement
A new documentary, “She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry,” chronicles the history of the women’s movement from 1966 to 1972, including the genesis of Our Bodies Ourselves, the founding of NOW, and other historical milestones.
The filmmakers are running a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to finish the project, and have a little more than a month to go. Check it out to learn more about the project and consider supporting their efforts. Click here for the entire article