UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign invites us to celebrate the 25th of every month as an Orange Day – a day to witness and work for an end to violence against women and girls.
This month the focus is on making cyberspace safe space for women and girls.
A tweetup will take place at 11:00 AM Eastern time with the hashtag #orangeday.
I am in – spreading the word and wearing my orange tie.
How about you?
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Current Events, Human Rights, United Nations
from the UNiTE Web page with additional material
Last July the UN Secretary-General’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign proclaimed every 25th of the month as Orange Day. Initiated and led by the UNiTE campaign Global Youth Network, worldwide activities implemented on this day by UN country offices and civil society organizations strive to highlight issues relevant to preventing and ending violence against women and girls, not only once a year, on 25 November (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women), but every month.
Under the heading ‘Safe spaces for women and girls’, this year the UNiTE campaign is focusing its Orange Day activities on highlighting recommendations of the agreed conclusions of the 57th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW57) which took place in March this year. In April, UNiTE focused on ‘Safe Work Place for Women and Girls’, in May it highlighted ‘Safe Homes for Women and Girls’ while in June, UNiTE’s Orange Day coincided with the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture (June 26th) and the campaign focused on ‘State Custody and State Care as Safe Spaces for Women and Girls’’. This month, the campaign highlights ‘Cyber Space as Safe Space for Women and Girls’ and it is also the first birthday of Orange day.
ORANGE DAY ACTIVITIES (25th July)
This Orange Day, the UNiTE campaign will highlight both the need to end violenceagainst women and girls which take place in cyber space, and the positive role that information and communications technologies and programs can play in preventing and ending violence against women and girls.
What can you do?
SAMPLE SOCIAL MEDIA MESSAGES
Sample Facebook messages
Resources
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Current Events, Human Rights, United Nations
Here is some more information about Marissa Alexander, the woman serving 20 years in prison for firing a warning shot as a way of defending herself from her abusive husband:
Anderson Cooper and some others offer coverage of her story.
Like the Free Marissa Now Facebook page.
Sign the petition to Florida Governor Rick Scott.
If you are being abused, or know someone in an abusive situation, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE.
Learn more about the work of Presbyterians Against Domestic Violence. There are lots of other good groups out there working to end domestic violence. Support their work.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Current Events, Human Rights
I signed a petition asking Florida Governor Rick Scott to free Marissa Alexander. Marissa acted to defend herself from her abusive estranged husband … she fired a warning shot … she hurt no one … and now she is in prison. Here is how the organizers of the petition describe the situation:
In August 2010, Marissa Alexander defended herself from further violence by her abusive estranged husband in their home by firing a warning shot toward the ceiling. No one was injured by the shot fired to save her life. Without bond to care for her premature nursing daughter, in May 2012, Marissa was wrongly convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Under Florida’s mandatory minimum sentencing law, Marissa was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison. Marissa had a restraining order against the serial abuser, a legally licensed gun and permit, and no criminal history. Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law did not work for her in the way it worked for Trayvon Martin’s killer which raises serious concerns of discrimination against Marissa. It appears that stereotypes about Black women project them as aggressors even when defending their lives upon deadly attack. Something has to be done regarding all women who defend themselves against their abusers. Too often they receive little understanding and sympathy from the systems charged with demonstrating justice.
I signed. Will you?
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Current Events, Human Rights
1 stayed
Amnesty International reports that:
A judge in Georgia has granted Warren Hill a temporary stay of execution to consider a lethal injection question. A petition is still pending before the US Supreme Court on the claim that Warren Hill has “mental retardation” and that his execution would therefore violate the US Constitution. The execution warrant does not expire until noon on 20 July.
Shortly before the execution was to be carried out on July 15, the stay was issued. The hearing is to be held on July 18. If the stay is lifted before the execution warrant expires at noon on July 20, the state could conduct the execution.
1 scheduled
John M. Quintilla, Jr. is scheduled to be executed today in Texas. The execution may have already taken place. I am having trouble finding information. Quintilla was convicted of killing Victor Billings, a former sheriff’s deputy, in a robbery turned violent. Reports are that, along with two others, Quintilla “entered an action amusement center through a partially opened back door, demanded cash from an employee and advised all other patrons to get down on the floor. An adult white male [Victor Billings] attempted to disarm Quintanilla and was fatally shot three times. A second victim, and adult white female, was also shot, but the injury was not fatal.”
My prayers for those who loved Victor Billings and Myra Wright and Joseph Handspike. There can be no defense or justification of their murders.
But the execution of those who commit such acts is not the answer. It feeds the cycle of violence. There has to be a better way.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Capital Punishment, Current Events, Death Penalty, Human Rights
20 July 1943 – Toshi-Aline Ohta married an aspiring folksinger about to be deployed overseas.
9 July 2013 – Toshi-Aline Ohta Seeger died.
For the almost 70 years between those two days, Toshi shared life with Pete Seeger. In their partnership, Toshi provided support and counsel and wisdom and stability. Toshi served as the rock that allowed Pete to carry on his work.
Toshi worked as an organizer (Pete noted that she become accomplished at this work because she had to organize him), activist, and filmmaker – she produced a film of work songs by inmates of a Texas prison in Huntsville.
Toshi served as an organizer and programmer for the Clearwater’s Great Hudson River Revival that has raised funds and consciousness on environmental issues.
Toshi and Pete had four children, one of whom died in infancy.
Woman.
Witness.
Wife.
Partner.
Mother.
Rock.
Activist.
Artist.
Organizer.
Child of God.
Thanks be to God for the life of Toshi Seeger.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Current Events
Georgia has set an execution date of 15 July for Warren Lee Hill, Jr. This is not the first time that a date has been set.
Stays have been granted on previous occasions. Questions focus on his mental capacity.
Amnesty International reports that experts who have assessed Hill now say that he has ‘mental retardation’, which would make his
execution unconstitutional. His lawyers are asking the US Supreme Court to step in.
Hill was serving time for the murder of his girl friend, Myra Wright, when he was convicted of killing Joseph Handspike, another inmate, and sentenced to death. There is no question of his guilt.
The question in this case, beyond those in any execution, revolves around Hill’s mental capacity. His IQ is reported to be 70. This raises the question of his mental capacity and his awareness to understand his acts.
The U.S. Supreme Court addressed the issue of capacity in the 2002 decision Atkins. v. Virginia. The American Psychological Association summarizes that decision as follows:
The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, ruled that executions of mentally retarded criminals are “cruel and unusual punishments” prohibited by the Eighth Amendment. The Court cited the growing number of states prohibiting the execution of persons with mental retardation as a reflection of society’s view that offenders considered to have mental retardation are categorically less culpable than the average criminal. The Court also reasoned that it was “not persuaded that the execution of mentally retarded criminals will measurably advance the deterrent or the retributive purpose of the death penalty.”
However, Georgia has a high standard of proof for proving mental retardation: the standard of proving mental incapacitation beyond a reasonable doubt. Georgia does not believe that standard has been met in Hill’s case.
Amnesty International notes that Hill’s lawyers are asking the US Supreme Court to stop the execution. Several US law professors have filed a brief arguing that this is a case in which the Court should take this unusual step of exercising the Court’s power to consider “original habeas petitions” (in exceptional circumstances to take a case brought directly to it rather than on appeal from a lower court).
Amnesty International asks that those concerned about this case write immediately – before 15 July – to the Attorney General of Georgia. Letters should:
The Honorable Sam Olens, Attorney General of Georgia
40 Capitol Square, SW
Atlanta, GA 30334, USA
Fax: +1 404 657 8733
Email: AGOlens@law.ga.gov
Salutation: Dear Attorney General
Copies of the letter should go to:
Governor Nathan Deal
Georgia State Capitol
Atlanta, GA 30334, USA
Fax: +1 404 657 7332
Email: http://gov.georgia.gov/webform/contact-governor-domestic-form
I grieve for Myra Wright and Joseph Handspike and for their family and friends. There can be no defense for Hill’s crimes.
But that is not all the story. What does it say about our society – about us – that we resort to execution in the case of an individual with the mental capacity and awareness of Hill? Can we not find another way?
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Capital Punishment, Current Events, Death Penalty, Human Rights
Words matter.
That’s the message of a recent post by my friend Grace Ji-Sun Kim. She reflects on Bill Maher’s observations about Paula Deen. As one who makes his living using words, Maher reportedly said, “It’s just a word, it’s a wrong word, she’s wrong to use it, but do we always have to make people go away?”
Grace joins a number of people, that apparently include Maher’s guest at the time of his statement, who remind us of the power of words.
As children, we grow up with the schoolyard phrase: “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words may never hurt me.” Children say this because they know, too well, that words may hurt them.
Agreed.
If we look back in our lives, we will realize that there were certain words that people said to us that have stuck with us for a long time.
Agreed.
In both cases, my agreement arises from practical, personal experience as well as observation and reflection.
Words have power. Power to degrade. Power to inspire. Power to touch and move. Power to abase and wound.
Totalitarian regimes have long recognized the power of words. When the military junta seized power Chile, they arrested, tortured, and killed Victor Jara. His crime? He used the words of his songs to support the government of Salvador Allende.
As Grace writes:
Words influence our thoughts and our ideas. Words shape how we see the world, by causing us to stress certain things and ignore other things.
Once we realize the power of words, we recognize that we can actually start to embrace one another through words.
Our words should be used for moving us and making us into meaningful people who seek to encourage and motivate others. Once we realize the importance and power of our words, we can become more careful with what we say because we know that what we say matters.
Thanks Grace for your reminder about the power of words. May I choose mine carefully, lovingly, and justly.
See you along the Trail.
P.S. In the pile of books I hope to read soon is The Grace of Sophia by Grace Ji-Sun Kim. I look forward to the read.
Filed under Current Events, Friends
Whose holiday is the Fourth of July?
We like to think of this day as a day of celebration for all the citizens of the United States of America. But as Frederick Douglass proclaimed over 150 years ago, for many people – people living in this country – the Fourth of July serves as a painful reminder and a mockery.
When he spoke, the issue was slavery. Millions lived in the chains of chattel slavery. Those chains have fallen, thanks in large part, to Frederick Douglass and other African-Americans who resisted enslavement.
But many still do not enjoy fully the vision of freedom. Racism persists. A number of states greeted the recent Supreme Court decision on the Voting Rights Act by moving ahead with Voter ID laws, some of which have been rejected under the voting rights act. Immigrants face challenges as they seek to make a new life. Supreme Court decisions have made it possible for our LGBTQ brothers and sisters to marry – in certain states. An economic gulf looms between the rich and many people who struggle to find ends, let alone to make them meet. Men, women, and children are trafficked for labor and for sex. Slavery has morphed; it has not disappeared. For many, the promises of freedom and the United States remain unrealized. For all of us, the words of Frederick Douglass ring true.
Frederick Douglass was born in a slave cabin in Maryland. The date and year remain unknown even to Douglass. The condition of enslavement resulted in such a lack of knowledge for many. Douglass endured the violation and horrors of slavery. And he resisted. His first attempt to escape failed. Then he tried again and, in early September 1838, disguised as a sailor, he escaped to freedom – precarious freedom, but freedom none the less.
During a visit to the African Burial Ground National Monument in Manhattan, Tricia and I opted to take a tour that focused on slavery, resistance, and abolition efforts in New York. We learned that Douglass made his first stop in New York City. He did not stay because of the city’s support for slavery. In New York, Douglass married Anna Murray. They went to New Bedford, Massachusetts to live.
Douglass became a leader in the abolitionist movement. A talented speaker, he would spend about six months each year travelling and speaking. Douglass attended the Seneca Falls Convention and became a supporter of women’s rights including the right to vote. This connection led Anna and Frederick to move their family to Rochester, New York, perhaps to be near Susan B. Anthony.
On July 5, 1852, in Rochester, Douglass spoke at an event commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence: the Fourth of July, U.S. Independence Day. Perhaps they anticipated his words and tone. Most likely they did not. Douglass reminded his audience that, “This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn.” He went on to note:
What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sound of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants brass fronted impudence; your shout of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanks-givings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy — a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour.
Douglass did not end there, however. He observed that, despite his experience and the painful realities, “I do not despair of this country.” He closed with a poem of hope written by William Lloyd Garrison that begins:
God speed the year of jubilee
The wide world o’er!
The poem ends with an affirmation remaining engaged in the struggle for liberty, freedom, and justice – of working to make the promise of the Fourth of July real for all.
Frederick Douglass devoted himself to that struggle.
May I do the same.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Antiracism, Current Events, Human Rights, National Park, Photo
Help address sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Sign up now to participate in CongoSwim on August 25. Organized by the Congo Team of the Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church in California, CongoSwim provides an opportunity to raise awareness about the humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo, particularly in terms of sexual violence against women and girls. August 25 is an Orange Day – a day to witness and work for an end to violence against women and girls.
CongoSwim participants are encouraged to raise funds for Congolese grassroots groups receiving grants from Global Fund for Women and Friends of the Congo. A portion of the funds raised will also benefit the USA Swimming Foundation’s Make a Splash initiative, to prevent children from drowning in the US.
Swimming is not the only way to participate. I am going to pray and walk on August 25 to support this effort. When you donate, you could do so in my name.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Current Events
Along the Graybeard Trail 