Tag Archives: BMORE

Support Workers & Kidz: Volunteer for IWW Childcare!

9 Aug

Kidz City Baltimore and the Baltimore IWW ConventionPlanning Committee are partnering to bring amazingly fun and educational childcare/children’s programming to the
2011 IWW Delegate Convention.

Schedule:
Saturday, Sept 3rd – 8:45 am to 8:00 pm
Sunday, Sept 4th – 11:45 am to 8:00 pm
Monday, Sept 5th – 8:45 am to 5:30 pm
* for schedule concerns please feel free to contact us.

 

Programming: Baltimore IWW and Kidz City have a lot of great ideas and plans for children’s activities including radical song writing (in the IWW tradition), sign making, story telling and more. The schedule of the planned activities for the thre days will be posted outside of the childcare space on the first day of convention.

How to participate: It takes a lot of volunteers to keep a kids’ space fun. If you’d like to volunteer or if you would like to lead an activity for children please contact Harriet, from Kidz City, by e-mail: moonharriet-at-gmail.com. You can also participate by bringing the children you care for, or by buying a Kidz Stamp – more info below.

Coloring Book: It’s a Kidz City tradition to create a short coloring book for each of the conferences/events that we organize with. We are working hard to provide one for this event in the style of the Little Red Song Book. If you have ideas or suggestions let us know.

Kidz City contact: Please contact Harriet from Kidz City with any questions, suggestions or to register a young person for childcare. E-mail: moonharriet-at-gmail.com.

Kidz Assessment Stamp: There will be a $10 stamp offered this year that directly funds the childcare space and Kidz City’s work. Please consider buying one (or two…) to show your support.

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The Grotesque Irony of Capitalist Charity

28 Jun

Nothing says feeding the hungry like yuppies gorging themselves on burritos.  I guess that’s why Constellation Energy Group held a Charity Burrito Eat-off to benefit Meals on Wheels.

This is a perfect example of how corporations and charities are complicit in the economic system that keeps people poor and hungry.  Solidarity, not charity!

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ROOTS Fest: Many communities, one voice.

24 Jun

If you’re near Baltimore this weekend, you gotta come out to the FREE outdoor arts festival that’s part of ROOTS Fest 2011.  

Even if youhaven’t been able to take part in the National Learning Exchange, or see any of the awesome performances happening all around Baltimore this week, some of the most exciting stuff is still to come- like Talib Kweli tomorrow night at 9pm!

ROOTS Fest is being held on the notorious “Highway to Nowhere” in the heart of West Baltimore.  It’s seeking to give new life to what can be, could be, would be, when the community comes together and plans development for itself.   “Highway to Nowhere” is emblamatic of what happens when outside interests shape a community, and ROOTS Fest is where art and culture imagine the possibilities for a more just and beautiful urban landscape.

Kidz City is super excited to be part of the Interactive Arts Pavilion, which is happening both Saturday and Sunday on the corner of Gilmore and Franklin.

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communique on june 18 pride action: remembering our roots to celebrate our futures

21 Jun

This is a repost from the Indypendent Reader.

on june 18 a group of radical queers invited themselves to enter the baltimore pride parade.  our aim was to bring to light the way in which the lgbt movement has become corporatized by groups who do not actually support much of the community.  over the years pride has become a huge party, full of b-list performers and corporate floats sprinkling the parade route.  rarely is it acknowledged that what is thought to be the first pride parade came about as the result of the riots at the stonewall inn in new york.  the struggles that queers faced at that time were met with resistance to the oppressive nature of the police, government officials, and society at large.  that history is slowly being erased, and saturday’s action was hopefully just one of many that will continually remind the queer community in baltimore that for many the struggle is not over, and erasing that part of our community’s history will only set us back even further.

we entered the parade approximately half way through, as close to the constellation energy float as possible.  two banners were quickly unfurled as we proceeded up the street.  one banner read “stonewall was a riot” and the other read “community not corporations.”  we had two people carrying each banner, and others walking along side, handing out information sheets to the crowd.  while the banners were important to get the immediate attention of the spectators, it was the handouts that contained the imperative facts.  one side had printed on it a brief history of the stonewall riots, and the parade that took place a year later to commemorate the event.  the other side provided information about some of the major corporate sponsors of this year’s pride events, including verizon, constellation energy,  bank of america and miller lite.  so quickly are people to assume that just because a company sponsors an lgbt event they are supportive of the community, but the reality is that often those same companies give equal amounts of money, if not more, to organizations and politicians who are in direct opposition of our community.  we sought to bring to light the bad side of these supposed “good” corporations.

it is our hope that our action renewed in the spectators a need to remember, respect and discuss the history of struggles that got part of the community to where it is today.  we recognize that this action only focused on one of many issues that our community faces, but it is our plan in the future to plan more actions that will focus on other issues, specifically ones that pertain to youth and transgender/gender non-conforming individuals.

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Hollaback! Bmore Launch Party this Saturday

10 Feb

As a cyclist in Baltimore I know all too well about street harassment.  By far the worst was when a car full of men drove slowly along side me for nearly 5 blocks up Charles St shouting all the things they wanted to do to my ass.  Not only was I super gross from working all day and biking to and from home, but I was also wearing a helmet- another reminder that harassment isn’t about attraction or flattery, but about power and control.

So I’m grateful Hollaback! has been started up again in Bmore, and I’m also ecstatic that it’s getting so much press.  The City Paper did a pretty good article about the site, and the woman who got it back off the ground, Shawna Potter.  I hope everyone will be at the launch party this Saturday.  I’m going to be dressing my most scandalous, walking there, and kicking butt if anyone dare holla.

Hollaback! Bmore

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Women’s Health FUCK YEAH

8 Oct

Harriet, my friend and fellow Kidz City Collective member, is teaching a class on women’s health from a feminist perspective at the Baltimore Free School.

It is especially important, in a time of radically anti-abortion politicians and pundits, for women to meet and discuss health, reproduction, and gender oppression.

Also, the biomedical establishment rarely offers women the advice and support they need when it comes to “feminine health”.  I’ve been unnecessarily pumped full of antibiotics for UTI’s, had mis-diagnosed yeast infections, and spent years dependent on chemical hormones.  Finally when I learned to trust my body and my instincts I could break the cycle and end the emotional and psychological trauma that comes when you view your body as a place of sickness, rather than a place of strength.  Gina has also shared her story about the pitfalls of birth control and her disappointment and anger about how female patients are treated.

I’m really excited about Harriet’s class because in order for women to be truly liberated we must learn from and trust in each other.  There is far too much silence about women’s bodies, even in radical and feminist circles.  Sadly, many of us still view our bodies as gross and abnormal, when I can guarantee you that the grossest thing that’s ever come out of your vagina, has also come out of thousands of other women’s vaginas too.

 

Hi Friends,

I will be facilitating a class at the Baltimore Free School entitled Women’s Health: DIY / DIT. Like many things with me it will have a DIY (Do-it-yourself) and DIT (Do-it-together!) slant.

Each class we will have some topics and possible activities, but it will also be open for all of us to share what we know about the topic, to discuss experiences and knowledge and to share skills.
We’ll explore issues relating to health such as:
-          menstruation,
-          menopause,
-          herbal medicine,
-          sexuality,
-          self-exam,
-          health activism,
-          and more.

We will interrogate how systems of oppression can hamper wellness and how we can work individually and together to find health and happiness in our capable bodies.

The class will be critical of the mind – body split and consciously work against this by using theatre games and movement activities in addition to discussion and skill share.

The class is open to all ages and genders, although the content is geared toward cis-gender women and girls.
Please register by visiting The Baltimore Free School website (freeschool.redemmas.org) or by e-mailing me (Harriet) at moonharriet@gmail.com.

Please email me if you would like childcare to be available.

Dates/Times:
Sunday, October 24 from 4-6 pm
Sunday, October 31 from 4-6 pm
Sunday, November 7 from 4-6 pm
Sunday, November 14 from 4-6 pm
Sunday, November 21 from 4-7 pm
Where:
The Baltimore Free School
1323 N. Calvert. St., Baltimore, MD 21202
(on the corner of Mt. Royal and Calvert) (** accessible by multiple bus routes)

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Our Own Worst Enemies

20 Sep

Aren’t you just sooo sick of arrogant New York, Lady Gaga listening, Sex & the City watching liberals “ramming” and “pushing” their ideological phalluses “down our throats”?  I know I feel like I’m choking on a giant cock every time Obama passes another socialist policy that’s tearing apart America’s families and telling women that motherhood is just plain EVIL.

Thank god we have virulent anti-feminist and anti-choice women as our “last line of defense” against left wing, left coast attacks on our femininity and morality.  And they’re so good looking too!

UGH

But really, where shall I start with this one?  It’s like the conservative movement just graciously delivered feminist critics a package that was even nicely wrapped with a bow of racial tokenization!

I suppose I can start with the title, “Fire from the Heartland”, which is paired with the serene image of waving wheat fields and a standalone red barn.  It’s so simple, yet it says so much, like, “We lay claim to the entire middle region of the country, bitches.”  I mean, who needs those “New York people” when you’ve co-opted everything from Nebraska to Ohio?  The conservative movement, that’s who.

According to the second definition in Miriam Webster’s online dictionary, heartland is “the central geographical region of the United States in which mainstream or traditional values predominate”.  However, out of the 15 “cast members” listed on the website, only 4 of them are from the Midwestern United States, and all four of them call St. Louis home.

So where do some of these other women hail from?  Ann Coulter, the inane pundit who liberals love to hate and conservatives love to jerk off to, is the main mouth piece of this documentary, but oddly enough she was born in New York City.  Her family then moved to Connecticut (I guess you could call it the heartland of the Northeast), and she went to college at New York’s most prestigious private university, Cornell.  I actually think Ann Coulter has more in common with Carrie Bradshaw than I do; they’re both super skinny blondes from NYC who have a ton of money.

At least 5 of the other women in the film are also from the Northeast.  Fox News sweetheart Michelle Malkin is from Philly, and S.E. Cupp, conservative columnist for the New York Daily News did her undergrad Cornell, and got her Master’s at NYU.  Project 21 fellow and black Tea Party member, Deneen Borelli, is a resident New Yorker and attended Pace, a private university in NYC.  These women don’t exactly exemplify the rural mainstream we’re supposed to think of when we see those golden fields of wheat.  In fact, there’s nothing mainstream about attending an Ivy League university.

Continue reading →

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THE BLOSSOMING

10 Aug

beyonce single ladiesFEMINISM/FEMININITY

Different hands caress different spots

All good but all different

Practice and precision dolled out to the next lover

In whose arms you attempt to forget a previous disappointment

Continue reading →

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HE BROKE YOUR HEART…FOR A MINUTE

3 Aug

We’ve all been there. Bumping into that ex who gave us the saltiest introduction to rejection. The one who turned us into sophisticated new media stalkers. The kind of ex and the kind of break up that had our self esteem laid out flat for days and months on end.

SOMETIMES HONEY...YOU MAKE ME FEEL THIS BIG!

In the haziness of last night’s party, I bumped into him. Roughly four years since he hung up on me, crying from the rooftops that I lived in “la la land” and that he was just toooo busy sucking ass to the clichés of a suburban brat (Subrat) transplant to the city.

He had gained weight. If ever cake donut batter from Dunkin’s were used to mold a body, my vodka/rocks goggles were looking right at it. The aesthetic of his fat was so baby butt/ cake donut mushy and so poorly distributed on his short frame, that he didn’t even appeal to me in a middle- aged, daddy complex sort of way.  I was way over the bitterness hill.

The shifty eyes and body language that had gotten me excited in the past, and which I had stealthily regarded from across rooms, as a kind of pre foreplay- foreplay, now came off as straight awkwardness.

He offered me a beer and I accepted. We caught up on small talk and he eyed me up there, and sporadically throughout the rest of the night. I told him I was happy, he said he didn’t know what that meant. Happiness was a foreign concept to him. How edgy.

I was just recently unemployed, struggling in a troubled industry, balls out unsure of where my life was going. Barely had enough for the drink I was nursing. No lie though, I was happy. I had the hope of a soldier navigating warrior terrain.

That’s half the battle right? Enough of the anxiety flagellation routine, I wanted to anchor myself on more positive coasts. Done with putting up with nonsense. To actually be woken up in the middle of the night to be rudely told I was snoring! Can you imagine? Clearly a way to throw me the part of unwanted visitor in his bed, once the fucking had been done.

I nursed the beer that he had given me in the now sweltering subterranean hotel lounge, the peace of mind so long in coming. I savored the victory. I couldn’t boast of a stellar career, or fab loft etc…(admit it girls we all want THAT moment when we see THAT ex)…I had wised up though and that was largely sufficient.

He continued to eyeball me. I jostled amidst the networking partygoers, each in their own way sweating out fears of the future, shedding past baggage like a 6th grade wardrobe, eeking sanity out of an unsettling urban jungle. I settled my score and said goodnight, finally leaving him and that shit behind.

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Wearing Makeup & Being Dominated in Bed

30 Jul

Recently my partner and I were discussing/arguing about the role patriarchy plays in our relationship. I had been letting some things he was saying slide despite my better feminist judgment, and it eventually built up and things got pretty heated.

Partially in jest, but also partially in seriousness, he often told me he wanted to “make an honest woman out of me”. At first it seemed so ridiculously archaic that I could only respond with hilarity. Being an enlightened boy, I figured being scoffed at was enough to make him reconsider this sentiment. Obviously it wasn’t, so I finally said something along the lines of “What the fuck is an honest woman anyway?” and “Do you really think I would let a man ‘make’ me into anything?”. Blah, blah, blah.

I expected his response to go something like, “I’m sorry, you’re right. I’m so lucky to have an awesome feminist partner who will call me out on all my misogynistic bullshit and patriarchal conditioning.”

No such luck. Instead he said, “But you wear makeup and like to be dominated in bed! I’m so confused!”

Poor boy and silly me. I suppose I should shave my head, wear a burlap sack, and give male lovers bloody noses to achieve orgasm so as not to confuse anyone about my status as a feminist. I understand that when I wear a cute little dress and let my leg and armpit hair hang out, it may seem a little inconsistent and look a little uncanny, but get over it for fuck’s sake.

The thing we all know and hate about patriarchy is that it’s fully formed and completely saturated condition. The former signs and symbols of male domination and female oppression don’t even matter in a fundamental sense anymore. There are no more Don Draper’s patting secretaries on the ass, or Betty Draper’s imprisoned in their home because there are so few options for even upper class women. Today our archetypes are a lot less cut and dry. Take the left’s theoretical sweetheart, Slavoj Zizek, admitting to being an anti-feminist, or Katy Perry singing about getting her kicks by kissing a girl, but still the whole time worrying about if herboyfriend will mind.

With both supposed radicals and liberated women consumed by the all encompassing facets of patriarchy, can there be a clear intellectual and aesthetic defense against it?

No.

Continue reading →

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