Feminist Weekly JUNE 22
News clippings and #FeministWins curated by Contributing News Editor Annie Wu Henry. From feel good news to headliners keeping you on the pulse. Here is the round up for the week!
Stacey Abrams is calling for Hot Call Summer to pass the For the People Act. Call: 888-453-3211:
First there was Hot Girl Summer. Then there was Shot Girl Summer. Now, Stacey Abrams wants you to be part of Hot Call Summer. She’s asking voters to call their senators daily and urge them to pass the For The People Act. The bill, if passed, would essentially invalidate all the recent state GOP restrictions on voting.
Number to call: 888-453-3211
ICYMI
Juneteenth became a federal holiday:
Juneteenth, June 19th, which commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S. became an official federal holiday. President Biden signed the bipartisan legislation that previously passed the Senate in a unanimous vote and the House 415-14. Juneteenth is the first federal holiday to be created by Congress since 1983, when lawmakers designated the third Monday in January as Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The new federal holiday took effect immediately and since the first observance fell on Saturday, most federal employees were given off Friday, June 18. Although this is an important gesture in recognizing those who suffered under American slavery, many activists and leaders are noting that acknowleding something does not change the system and that we must continue to fight for equality, equity, justice and true freedom for Black Americans.The Supreme Court is allowing a Catholic adoption agency to refuse to work with LGBTQIA+ couples:
On Thursday, the Supreme Court delivered a unanimous defeat to LGBT+ couples. The high-profile case determined that Philadelphia cannot refuse to contract with a Roman Catholic adoption agency that says its religious beliefs prevent it from working with same-sex foster parents.Taylor Swift announced the release date of her next Taylor's Version album:
Taylor Swift announced that Red (Taylor’s Version) will be out November 19. This is the second album that she will re-release as she is re-recording all of her previous albums that are owned by Big Machine Records. The date of the announcement, June 18, happened to be the birthday of executive of the label Scooter Braun.The U.S. has been consuming a record amount of renewable energy:
According to new data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. consumption of renewable energy in 2020 grew for the 5th year in a row — reaching a record 12% of total U.S. energy consumption. Renewable energy was also the *only* source of U.S. energy consumption that increased in 2020 from 2019 — both fossil fuel and nuclear consumption declined. The renewable energy sources included wind and solar (these two saw the most growth), hydroelectric, biomass, and biofuel. (Source: @goodgoodgoodco)
On the Pandemic Front…
By the GoodGoodCo
The first hospital in Canada to admit a COVID-19 patient had its first COVID-free day: The first hospital in Canada to admit a COVID-19 patient just had its first COVID-free day. Lions Gate Hospital admitted its first COVID-19 patient at the end of January 2020, and last week had its first day without a single positive COVID-19 case since then.
148 million people in the United States have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus (According to CNN as of June 19, 2021.)
The United States is now averaging 312 deaths per day from coronavirus, the lowest seven-day average since the pandemic began in March 2020 (According to data from CNN and Johns Hopkins University.)
New York and California are officially reopened:
Although both states were once hotspots, as of June 15, 2021, California and New York are both officially reopened. This means no more physical distancing, no capacity limits, no county tiers, relaxed mask guidance and a fully reopened economy, and is all thanks to the vaccine and falling transmission rates. Unvaccinated individuals are still expected to continue to wear a mask per CDC guidance.
This week in Culture
Diana Ross is releasing her 1st album of original, new music in 22 years.—
The legendary singer, who started out singing with the Supremes in the 60s and moved into her solo career after, has returned with her first new original music album in 22 years. On Thursday she released a single titled "Thank You" and announced that a new album of the same name is coming Sept. 10.
America's Biggest Threat: White Supremacists—Five months after the Capitol insurrection, Attorney General Merrick Garland is introducing an ambitious agenda to fight domestic terrorism. America’s biggest threat, per the DOJ? “Racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists, specifically those who advocate for the superiority of the white race.” *Pretends to be shocked.*
Hungary passed a law banning any LGBTQIA+ related content from minors—
In Hungary, legislation was approved (157-1) that prohibits sharing with minors any content portraying homosexuality or sex reassignment. Thousands of LGBT+ activists and others protested on Monday in Budapest in an unsuccessful effort to stop the legislation from passing. The argument by supporting lawmakers was that it is to "protect children" and help fight "pedophilia," however more than a dozen local organizations, including Amnesty International Hungary and LGBT+ rights organizations, argued that the legislation is not in line with Hungarian society and is LGBT+ discrimination.
The Biden-Putin Geneva Summit:
In neutral Switzerland, Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin met face-to-face to discuss Russia’s political meddling, cyberattacks, and human rights abuses. It was the highest stakes moment of the president’s first foreign trip, which also included attending the G7 and NATO summits. In a post-meeting press conference, President Putin said “there was no hostility” and that the talks were “constructive.” He also said, "President Biden is an experienced statesmen … He is very different from President Trump." So at least that’s something both parties can agree on.
Paul Walker's daughter Meadow walked the 'F9' premiere red carpet in honor of late dad.—The ninth film in the Fast & Furious film premiered on Friday night. The late actor portrayed the character Brian O'Conner in the franchise and his 22-year-old daughter, Meadow Walker, shared a pohoto on Instagram with the caption, "let's go," before walking down the red carpet to honor his memory. Other Fast & Furious franchise members paid tribute to the late actor, including Vin Diesel and Jordana Brewster.
#FeministWins
Two Trans Women Elected to Congress for First Time in Mexico’s History:
”Maria Clemente Garcia and Salma Luevano are longtime LGBTQ+ activists. Both Garcia and Luevano say they are committed to pushing for affirmative-action policies that will benefit LGBTQ+ people. Luevano, 52, owns a beauty salon in the central state of Aguascalientes and is also the director of a collective called Together for the Way of Diversity. She became an activist after she was detained by police for wearing women’s clothing more than three decades ago, but sadly, little has changed since. As for Garcia, she hopes to use her new position to advocate for tax breaks for companies that hire LGBTQ+ staff, as well as pushing to amend Article 1 of Mexico’s constitution. As written now, Mexico’s constitution prohibits discrimination solely based on “sexual preference,” meaning that trans people lack non-discrimination protection at the federal level.” Via Them
Victoria's Secret announced a major rebrand, including the introduction of the VS Collective: The brand is making a complete shift, with one major change being saying goodbye to their longtime “angels,” wings and fantasy bras. They have also introduced The VS Collective which will include Priyanka Chopra, Megan Rapinoe, Eileen Gu, Paloma Elsesser, Adut Akech, Amanda de Cadenet & trans model Valentina Sampaio and is a part of the major rebrand to focus on women’s empowerment. Changes also include plans to lighten up stores, add new mannequins in several sizes & start selling nursing and post-mastectomy bras. VS, will also become its own public co this summer, has a new executive team & is forming a mostly female board.
93-year-old activist Opal Lee, lead the push to make Juneteenth a national holiday — she succeeded: Civil rights activist Opal Lee has been pushing to make Juneteenth a national holiday for years. About 80 years ago, on Juneteenth, a mob of hundreds of white supremacists tried to scare Lee’s family out of their home in Fort Worth, Texas. In 2016, she walked all the way from Texas to Washington D.C. to advocate to make Juneteenth an official national holiday, she created a change.org petition that has garnered over 1.6M signatures, and when President Biden signed the legislation on Thursday to make the date an official holiday, Opal Lee was standing by his side.
Trailblazing women like Maya Angelou and Sally Ride will be appear on the new U.S. quarters in 2022: From 2022 to 2025, notable American women will be the face of the U.S. quarter. The change comes from The American Women Quarters Program and according U.S. Mint, up to 5 new reverse designs will be released each year. The first set of women featured will be–Maya Angelou, a celebrated poet, author and civil rights activist –Wilma Mankiller, the Cherokee Nation’s first female principal chief Anna May Wong, the first Chinese American Hollywood film star–Adelina Otero-Warren, a leader in New Mexico’s suffrage movement–Sally Ride, an astronaut and physicist who was the first American woman in space
Ohio is set to be the home of one of the world's largest solar factories which will double U.S. solar panel production beginning in 2023:
One of the largest U.S.-based solar energy companies, First Solar, announced it would double its production in the U.S. by building a third, $680-million factory in Ohio. The company says it will be the world's largest full solar panel manufacturing plant outside of China. It's expected to add 500 more jobs and will begin operations in 2023. “We have said that we stand ready to support President Biden’s goal to transition America to a clean, energy-secure future, and our decision to more than double our U.S. manufacturing capacity with this new facility is First Solar making good on that commitment.”
The U.S. has been consuming a record amount of renewable energy:
According to new data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. consumption of renewable energy in 2020 grew for the 5th year in a row — reaching a record 12% of total U.S. energy consumption. Renewable energy was also the *only* source of U.S. energy consumption that increased in 2020 from 2019 — both fossil fuel and nuclear consumption declined. The renewable energy sources included wind and solar (these two saw the most growth), hydroelectric, biomass, and biofuel.
Annie Wu Henry is a journalist, social media expert and politics + pop culture junkie. On the cusp of being a gen-z and millennial she understands the power and privilege that social media holds and chooses to use her platform to utilize these tools for good. Through sharing news in digestible, entertaining and easy to understand content, Annie seeks to promote the message that anyone can be an activist and make an impact. She believes people are important and thrives on building meaningful connections with others through sharing our stories and perspectives. As a proud adopted Asian-American, her work focuses on equality, mental health, intersectionality and education.
