refinery29:

For Refinery29’s celebration of Black History Month we put together a list of Black men and women you ought to know. Their legacy in civil rights, feminism, and LGBTQ equality lives on today.

1. Bayard Rustin — A leading Black figure in the civil rights movement and advisor to Martin Luther King, he was the architect of the 1963 March on Washington and was heavily involved in the first Freedom Rides. He was also gay and a registered communist who went to jail for his sexual orientation. Although widely heralded, he was attacked even by fellow activists for his faith in nonviolence, unapologetic queerness, and attention to income equality. President Obama honored Rustin posthumously with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013.
2. Combaheee River Collective — A seminal Black lesbian feminist group active from 1974-1980. Although officially short lived, its influence has been major. The group is best known for writing the Combaheee River Collective Statement, an important document in promoting the idea that social change must be intersectional — and that Black women’s needs were not being met by mainstream white feminism and therefore must strike out on their own. Members of the collective included Audre Lorde and…Chirlane McCray, now First Lady of New York City and author of the landmark essay “I Am a Lesbian,” published in Essence in 1979.
3. John Carlos, Tommie Smith, and Peter Norman — The winners of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics 200 Meter Sprint. In one of the proudest and most political moments of sports history, John Carlos and Tommie Smith raised their leather-gloved fists in the Black Power salute. They wore black socks without shoes to represent black poverty and a scarf and necklace to symbolize “those individuals that were lynched, or killed and that no-one said a prayer for, that were hung and tarred. It was for those thrown off the side of the boats in the middle passage.”

   We also include in our list Peter Norman, the white Australian silver medalist from that ceremony, to commemorate his solidarity with the two Black athletes. White people are more than indebted to black history, and Norman is an excellent example of a white ally. Although he didn’t perform the black power salute, he publicly supported the duo without regard to personal safety or retribution. Norman was penalized for his alliance with Carlos and Smith and was never again allowed to compete in any Olympics despite repeatedly qualifying. Largely forgotten and barred from major sporting events, he became a gym teacher and worked at a butcher shop. At his funeral in 2006, John Carlos and Tommie Smith were his pallbearers.

4. The Friendship Nine — This group of nine Black students from Friendship Junior College willingly went to jail without bail in 1961 after staging a sit-in at McCrory’s lunch counter in Rock Hill, South Carolina. They pioneered the civil rights strategy “Jail, No Bail,” which placed the financial burden for racist incarceration back on the state. They’re appreciated today for their bravery and strategic ingenuity. In 2015 their conviction was finally overturned and prosecutor Kevin Brackett personally apologized to the eight living members of the group.
5. Barbara Jordan — A lawyer and politician, Barbara Jordan was the first Black woman elected to the Texas Senate after Reconstruction, the first southern Black woman to be elected as a US Senator, and the first Black woman to deliver a keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention. Her keynote address is widely considered the greatest of all time, aided by her charismatic and eloquent public speaking skills. She is also remembered as one of the leaders of the impeachment of Richard Nixon. We chose the above quote to illustrate her unique punchy sense of humor.
6. Pauli Murray — This civil rights activist, feminist, and poet was a hugely successful lawyer who is also recognized as the first Black female Episcopal priest. Like many figures on this list, Murray was acutely aware of the complex relationship between race and gender, and referred to sexism as “Jane Crow,” comparing midcentury treatment of women to that of African Americans in the South. Although she graduated from Howard University first in her class, she was barred from enrolling as a postgraduate at Harvard because she was a woman. Instead, in 1965 she became the first African American to receive a JSD from Yale Law. Once armed with a law degree she became a formidable force in advancing feminist and civil rights. She is a cofounder of the National Organization for Women (NOW). She also identified as having an “inverted sex instinct,” which she used instead of “homosexual” to describe her complicated gender identity and lifelong attraction to women.

rawr0609:

simplytryingnottocry:

afunnyfeminist:

commanderoswald:

weavemama:

weavemama:

IMPORTANT INFO FOR WHAT’S CURRENTLY HAPPENING IN TRUMP’S AMERICA: a lot of unwarranted raids are happening across the U.S right now. The latest states that have been targeted by this massive sweep is California, Arizona, Texas, and now Georgia. Over 100 people have been detained, most likely without a warrant. And before someone says “they’re just keeping the criminals out!1!”, lawyers who were able to consult some of the people detained did not have a criminal record. There have also been reports of officers trailing kids walking home from school to lead to their parents.  These officers DO NOT. HAVE. THE RIGHT. TO DETAIN PEOPLE. WITHOUT. A WARRANT.  

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS AND DON’T FORGET TO #RESIST

Here’s some more info on what’s happening in Georgia 

I told you the Muslims were the first step. They’re coming after Latinos with no criminal records in their own homes now. Three minutes from my house they detained over 100 people yesterday and literally dragged them out of their houses. They are pulling drivers over on the streets asking for papers. They are following school buses home and arresting parents when they meet the children at the stops. They’re not releasing the names of anyone they have apprehended. They’re not answering any questions from journalists/CHIRLA/the public or giving reasons as to why they’re detaining people without access to immigration attorneys. ICE has gone rogue and it seems to be in retaliation for the 9th circuit ruling against the Muslim Ban. It was clear that the Justice Department was losing during arguments on Tuesday and about 24 hours later random raids all across the country started happening? Not a coincidence.

Meanwhile on Twitter, Republicans are challenging each other to see who can report more “illegal looking people” to the ICE tip line. There are accounts proudly boasting their report tallies and encouraging more to follow suit. Others are saying they reported their neighbors or friends of friends. Any resemblance to Nazi Germany is not unintentional. Be safe out there. We’ve waded into very dangerous territory.

I don’t have a lot of followers, but any of you who can translate this in other languages, especially Arabic and French, please add to this post!

FRENCH TRANSLATION OF THE IMAGE’S INFORMATION 

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TADUCTION FRANCOPHONE DES INFORMATIONS DE L’IMAGE

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Que faire si des agents du Bureau des Douanes et de l’Immigration (Immigration and Customs Enforcement – ICE) se présentent à votre porte

1 – N’ouvrez pas la porte; les agents du BDI (ICE) n’ont pas le droit d’entrer sans un mandat signé par un juge. S’ils déclarent avoir un mandat signé, dites-leur de le glisser sous la porte avant de l’ouvrir.

2 – Gardez le silence; le BDI peut utiliser tout ce que vous dites contre vous dans le cas juridique de votre immigration, alors annoncez que vous plaidez le silence sous le Cinquième Amendement.

3 – Ne signez rien; ne signez rien de ce que le BDI vous donne sans avoir parlé à un avocat ou un autre représentant pertinent. 

4 – Signalez la descente; prenez des photos, des notes, des vidéos du nombre d’agents, de leur numéro de badge et de ce qui s’est produit avec exactitude. Le numéro à rejoindre est le 1-844-343-1623, numéro de la ligne téléphonique de l’organisation “United We Dream” ou encore “Ensemble, Nous Rêvons”

5 – Battez-vous! Engagez un avocat digne de confiance et explorez toutes les options pour lesquelles vous battre dans votre cas. Si vous êtes détenus, vous pourrie être apte à obtenir une caution – ne perdez pas espoir!

source : unitedwedream.org/KnowYourRights

Arabic Translation 

Chinese Translation

Korean Translation

Please we still need to translate this to Urdu, Vietnamese, Amharic, Farsi and any other languages in our communities. If anyone can do that add that to here. 

Download these. Put them up in libraries, bus stops, community centers, home depots, schools, even on the insides of bathroom stalls. 

PLEASE support United We Dream and sign up for their rapid response network. It’s a way to protect people in your community from deportation.