(late 17th century)
Tituba was an African American - Native American healer from Barbados, persecuted as a "witch." The slave of a Salem, Massachusetts minister who brought her from Barbados to the US, Tituba shunned the Puritan lifestyle and religion. She was feared for openly practicing her cultural rituals and sought after as a healer.
Ignorance and hysteria fueled the 1692 witchhunts and she was among the accused. Her trial began in march of 1692 and her petition for release was granted on February 21, 1693.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
March 13 Shero: Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin
(1842 - March 13, 1924)
Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin was a champion of poor African American children in the US South. A descendent of African, European, and Native American heritage, she ws a charter member of the National Federation of Afro-American Women, the National Association of Colored Women, and the Northeast Federation of Women's Clubs.
Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin was a champion of poor African American children in the US South. A descendent of African, European, and Native American heritage, she ws a charter member of the National Federation of Afro-American Women, the National Association of Colored Women, and the Northeast Federation of Women's Clubs.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
March 12 Shero: Minerva Mirabel
(March 12, 1927 - November 25, 1960, executed)
Minerval Mirabel was the oldest of the 3 Mirabel sisters -- Dominican women who defied the Trujillo dictatorship and the US invasion/occupation of their country. All 3 sisters were executed on November 25, 1960.
Minerval Mirabel was the oldest of the 3 Mirabel sisters -- Dominican women who defied the Trujillo dictatorship and the US invasion/occupation of their country. All 3 sisters were executed on November 25, 1960.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
March 11 Shero: Machig Lapdron
(15th day of the 5th month of the Year of the Horse, 1055 C.E. - 1143 C.E.)
Tibetan mystic, the incarnation of Yeshe Tsogyel (the 8th century consort of Guru Padma Sambhara who brought Tantric Buddhism to Tibet). Born in Labchi Eli Gangwar of her mother Bum Cham ("Great Noblewoman") and father Chokyi Dawa ("Moon of Dharma"). She bassed on her unique Chod teachings to her 16 main disciples, 1,263 other followers and 433 whom she cured.
Tibetan mystic, the incarnation of Yeshe Tsogyel (the 8th century consort of Guru Padma Sambhara who brought Tantric Buddhism to Tibet). Born in Labchi Eli Gangwar of her mother Bum Cham ("Great Noblewoman") and father Chokyi Dawa ("Moon of Dharma"). She bassed on her unique Chod teachings to her 16 main disciples, 1,263 other followers and 433 whom she cured.
Monday, March 10, 2008
March 10 Shero: Hazel Wolf
Hazel Wolf (March 10, 1898 - January 19, 2000)
"We can't win the revolution with half the proletariat in the the kitchen."
Hazel Wolf was a Canadian-born environmentalist, advocate for women's suffrage and human rights. Briefly a member of the US Communist party after she had moved to Washington State, she worked as a union organizer during the Depression. Called by some the "Red Grandma" the US government charged her with conspiracy and arrested her in 1958, attempting to deport her; however she finally attained US citizenship.
She was the winner of the National Audubon Society's Medal of Excellence in 1997, having organized 21 chapters of the Society in Washington, and also leading the way for an Audubon chapter in Leningrad. She helped to organize the Indian Conservationist Conference in 1979, forging an alliance between Indigenous peoples and environmentalists. Wolf was an official observer in the Nicaraguan elections of 1990.
March 10 is Hazel Wolf Day in Washington State.
"We can't win the revolution with half the proletariat in the the kitchen."
Hazel Wolf was a Canadian-born environmentalist, advocate for women's suffrage and human rights. Briefly a member of the US Communist party after she had moved to Washington State, she worked as a union organizer during the Depression. Called by some the "Red Grandma" the US government charged her with conspiracy and arrested her in 1958, attempting to deport her; however she finally attained US citizenship.
She was the winner of the National Audubon Society's Medal of Excellence in 1997, having organized 21 chapters of the Society in Washington, and also leading the way for an Audubon chapter in Leningrad. She helped to organize the Indian Conservationist Conference in 1979, forging an alliance between Indigenous peoples and environmentalists. Wolf was an official observer in the Nicaraguan elections of 1990.
March 10 is Hazel Wolf Day in Washington State.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
March 9 Shero: Aleksandra Kollantai
In honor of Women's History Month, we will bring profiles of courageous and skilled women from around the world and present their herstories, so that they may not be forgotten.These women are taken from the 2008 Sheroes Womyn Warriors Wall Calendar.
March 9 Shero: Aleksandra Kollantai (March 9, 1872 - March 9, 1952)
"Sex should be as easy and as uncomplicated as drinking a glass of water."
Bolshevik feminist, writer, the only woman on Lenin's Central Committee, who later fell into disfavor and was "exiled" as a diplomat. She shaped the first socialist republic's policies such as paid maternal care, day care, communal living arrangements, easy divorce, and recruitment of women into the labor force. She boldly and creatively applied Marxism to concepts of love, sexuality, women's liberation and revolutionary struggle and commitment. By 1922 she had become one of the first Bolshevik leaders to criticize the growing bureaucracy and authoritarianism in the new socialist state; Lenin had her assigned abroad as a diplomat.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
March 9 Shero: Aleksandra Kollantai (March 9, 1872 - March 9, 1952)
"Sex should be as easy and as uncomplicated as drinking a glass of water."
Bolshevik feminist, writer, the only woman on Lenin's Central Committee, who later fell into disfavor and was "exiled" as a diplomat. She shaped the first socialist republic's policies such as paid maternal care, day care, communal living arrangements, easy divorce, and recruitment of women into the labor force. She boldly and creatively applied Marxism to concepts of love, sexuality, women's liberation and revolutionary struggle and commitment. By 1922 she had become one of the first Bolshevik leaders to criticize the growing bureaucracy and authoritarianism in the new socialist state; Lenin had her assigned abroad as a diplomat.
March 8: International Women's Day
"Don't be so 3/8! Behave!"
When I first heard this in Taiwan, I didn't know what 3/8 meant. I was an ordinary girl being scolded by an ordinary adult trying to mold me into what a culturally acceptable woman should be.
Then I realized that 3 referred to March, the third month of the year, and 8 to the eighth day of the month.
So 3/8 referred to March 8th, International Women's Day, the day to commemorate the political, economic and social rights and advances of women. And yet in Taiwan, it was used as a term to refer to girls who were silly, outspoken, assertive, and otherwise "misbehaving."
Rather reinforces the need for an International Women's Day, don't you think?
There are many events happening around the world and in our hometowns to mark International Women's Day. There will be marches and speeches, poems and songs about how far women have come, what rights we have now, and how far we have yet to go, what barriers we still face because of our gender.
There will also be everyday women, going about their everyday lives, living their lives as if their lives and aspirations were as important as everyone else's. Because they are.
And ultimately that's what all our women's rights struggles are about. Equal access to jobs, schools, health care, and lives free from sexual harassment and violence should be the norm, not the exception.
Equality will be achieved not only by mass protests, lawsuits to fight discrimination, and community organizing. Equality will also achieved by the everyday actions of women asserting their rights in everyday situations.
And that's a great way to commemorate International Women's Day too.
When I first heard this in Taiwan, I didn't know what 3/8 meant. I was an ordinary girl being scolded by an ordinary adult trying to mold me into what a culturally acceptable woman should be.
Then I realized that 3 referred to March, the third month of the year, and 8 to the eighth day of the month.
So 3/8 referred to March 8th, International Women's Day, the day to commemorate the political, economic and social rights and advances of women. And yet in Taiwan, it was used as a term to refer to girls who were silly, outspoken, assertive, and otherwise "misbehaving."
Rather reinforces the need for an International Women's Day, don't you think?
There are many events happening around the world and in our hometowns to mark International Women's Day. There will be marches and speeches, poems and songs about how far women have come, what rights we have now, and how far we have yet to go, what barriers we still face because of our gender.
There will also be everyday women, going about their everyday lives, living their lives as if their lives and aspirations were as important as everyone else's. Because they are.
And ultimately that's what all our women's rights struggles are about. Equal access to jobs, schools, health care, and lives free from sexual harassment and violence should be the norm, not the exception.
Equality will be achieved not only by mass protests, lawsuits to fight discrimination, and community organizing. Equality will also achieved by the everyday actions of women asserting their rights in everyday situations.
And that's a great way to commemorate International Women's Day too.
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