And yeah, I really do think
Today…
is the birthday of Madeline Albright (1937–), first woman U.S. Secretary of State and wearer of important pins.
is the birthday of Diane Nash (1938–), civil rights activist, a lead organizer of the Freedom Riders* project, co-founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, I could go on.
is International Day of Families. Like every day in the Alla This. They just decided to name this one.
is National Pizza Party Day and National Chocolate Chip Day. That should keep the family happy for a few minutes, at least.
A quick story. Before heading out, the Freedom Riders were trained over the summer at Peabody Hall, then part of the Western College for Women in Oxford, Ohio. The school would later be absorbed by Miami University and become the Western College Program for Interdisciplinary Studies.
What is your point? That was my program. Peabody was my first-year dorm, and most of our classes were held there. We were taught a great deal about the Freedom Riders when we first arrived. I gave my overwrought Feminist Theater presentation where that guy is standing.
I know. Even I’m impressed sometimes at my ability to shoehorn myself into a story...
Abortion
Religious Far Right Mounts Anti-Abortion Attack on COVID-19 Vaccine
Emily Shugerman | The Daily Beast
As universities and pharmaceutical companies race to put out the first COVID-19 vaccine, some sectors of the religious right are gearing up to fight it, based on tenuous ties to what they call “the abortion industry” and a biblical teaching about “the mark of the beast.” LifeSite News, a Catholic, anti-abortion website, has gathered more than 350,000 signatures on a petition protesting mandatory coronavirus vaccination orders—none of which have actually been issued.
Lost Your Job Because of COVID-19? Republicans Want to Restrict Your Abortion Coverage.
Lauren Young | Rewire.News
Reproductive health advocates call the Republican legislation even worse than the discriminatory Hyde Amendment, which for decades has eroded low-income people's access to abortion care. House Republicans, including Reps. Jordan (OH) and Conaway (TX), introduced the “Protecting Life in Crisis Act,” which would prevent COVID-19 health care funding from covering abortion services.
How COVID-19 complicated an already complex abortion access issue in the South
Maria Clark | USA Today
In a part of the country where the rules about who can access abortion care vary dramatically from state to state, the COVID-19 pandemic has sewn another layer of confusion.
Alabama
Why the Sale of a Tuscaloosa Abortion Clinic Could Signal a Massive Change in Abortion Care
Becca Andrews | Mother Jones
Exactly a year after Alabama passed into law one of the country’s most severe abortion restrictions, the state’s abortion fund is taking a major step toward expanding access to the procedure in the Southeast.
Arkansas
Arkansas Created a Pandemic Catch-22 to Block Abortions
Imani Gandy, Jessica Mason Pieklo | Rewire.News
On April 27, Arkansas officials issued a directive requiring anyone seeking elective surgery to obtain a negative COVID-19 test 48 hours prior to an abortion. Can you guess which elective procedure those officials were primarily targeting? Yep, that’s right: procedural abortion.
Michigan
Anti-abortion protest at Grand Rapids clinic leads to 2 arrests
John Tunison | MLive
Police arrested two anti-abortion protesters Wednesday at a Grand Rapids clinic for trespassing after repeated warnings not to enter the building.
LGBTQ
Reporter Misgenders Pennsylvania's Trans Health Sec. Multiple Times
Daniel Reynolds | The Advocate Magazine
Pennsylvania's secretary of health was misgendered multiple times in a press call. Marty Griffin, a reporter from Pittsburgh radio station KDKA, referred to Dr. Rachel Levine as “sir” at least three times during a Tuesday press call, according to a transcript from the Pittsburgh City Paper.
NBJC, Black Policy Lab launch project to survey COVID’s impact on black LGBTQ people
Dallas Voice
The National Black Justice Coalition and Black Policy Lab, a project of Pink Cornrows, announced Tuesday that they are launching a new initiative to gather data on black LGBTQ and same-gender-loving people, considered one of the most vulnerable populations in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Pride Los Angeles: How COVID-19 Impacts Black LGBTQ+ People
LGBTQ cover sparks debate over inclusion of controversial celebs
Morgan Greenwald | In The Know
In honor of Pride Month, the May 13 Entertainment Weekly celebrates “LGBTQ storytellers, enduring icons and unforgettable Hollywood history.” Though the cover was largely celebrated upon its release, many people had a problem with a few of the celebrities chosen to be represented — namely, RuPaul and Ellen DeGeneres.
Nobody needs to know a transgender person's deadname — not even a reporter
Chase Strangio | NBC News
An obituary is supposed to be a sign of respect for who a person was, but deadnaming is a way to shame trans people for who they are.
Puerto Rico LGBTQ+ Rights in Question After Civil Code Changes
Mikelle Street | Out Magazine
Under the veil of secrecy, legislators have crafted and rushed through a new civil code for the island of Puerto Rico. Having passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate, the legislation is awaiting the signature of Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced. But, advocates warn that amendments to the bill made without public debate and adequate time for analyzing could roll back LGBTQ+ rights.
Pregnancy & Parenting
Who’s left out of the pandemic-era debate about school reopenings? Parents.
Gina Caneva | Chicago Tribune
Reduced hours, split schedules, smaller classes, temperature checks, students sitting 6 feet apart. According to education officials across the nation, this is what school could look like in the fall if America’s children return. But lost in the discussion of reopening is a factor that often gets left out of school policy decision-making. Parents.
Caregiving In America: The Strain, The Pain, The Emotional Drain
Richard Eisenberg | Forbes
The new, mammoth Caregiving in the U.S. 2020 report from AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving has a piercing message about the 53 million Americans who are currently family caregivers: The job is not only often tough, it’s tougher than what the researchers found in their 2015 report. Family caregivers are in worse health than they were five years ago, according to AARP and NAC.
Coronavirus Exposes The Business Of Safe Birth
Carmen Niethammer | Forbes
Whether serving in hospitals, birth centers, or homes, midwives are providing vital health care services. Yet, over the past decades this group of “essential” professionals is said to have been squeezed out by market forces in many advanced economies where women think that cesarean sections performed at a hospital are safer. Moreover, there is the supply of surgeons and hospitals who make more money when they bring out the scalpel.
She wanted to raise money for mothers of color. So she livestreamed her son's birth
Kailyn Brown | Los Angeles Times
As Marz Lovejoy went into labor with her second child on Tuesday evening, a group of supporters beyond her close-knit family was present for the typically private occasion thanks to a livestream on the internet. More than 1,500 people watched as the New York-based musician, philanthropist and model gave birth to a baby boy, Mars Rasmussen-Lovejoy, at her mother’s Minnesota home.
Miscounting Murder of Mothers
Gray Babbs | Public Health Post
Pregnancy and the postpartum period are times of increased risk for homicide, so homicides are pregnancy-related deaths and should be counted towards maternal mortality rates.
More black women are dying giving birth during the pandemic
Sandhya Raman & Thomas McKinless | Roll Call
Black women have long had disproportionately high rates of death after giving birth, and the coronavirus pandemic is making it even worse. Health care reporter Sandhya Raman breaks down how maternal mortality rates have increased for communities of color during the pandemic, and what some lawmakers are looking to do to address it.
Work & Money
They’re Working In Healthcare During A Pandemic. They Don’t Get Health Insurance.
Emmanuel Felton | BuzzFeed News
More than 800,000 healthcare workers and almost 1.1 million of their children live in poverty across the US, according to a 2019 study. The researchers found that roughly 18.5 million people are employed in the US health industry. And nearly 10% of them — 1.7 million — earn so little that they get healthcare through Medicaid. Another 1.4 million have no health insurance at all.
Coronavirus job losses are impacting everyone, but women are taking a harder hit than men
Courtney Connley | CNBC
Though the pandemic has undoubtedly impacted millions of Americans, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that women are disproportionately feeling the brunt of these losses. In April alone, women accounted for 55% of the 20.5 million jobs lost.
How Workplace Equality Can Drive The Economy (With A Little Help From AI)
Adi Gaskell | Forbes
Recent research from Stanford Graduate School of Business highlights the economic gains that are possible from greater equality in the workplace. Indeed, the authors believe that a whopping 25% of the economic growth achieved in the U.S. between 1960 and 2010 can be attributed to greater racial and gender equality in the workplace, and believe it could even be as high as 40%.
A Working Parent’s Guide To Paid Family Leave In The Families First Coronavirus Response Act
Kelly Anne Smith | Forbes
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) was created to expand paid leave options for employees effective from April 2 through December 31, 2020. The temporary rule provides a range of assistance measures, but most importantly, it provides a safety net to working parents who are unable to find child care due to COVID-19-related reasons. The FFCRA offers employees up to 12 weeks of partial paid leave to tend to their children. Businesses whose employees take this leave pay for it through a refundable tax credit administered by the Department of Treasury.
How Salary History Bans Help Close the Gender Wage Gap
Jessica Stender |Ms.
Because women often begin their careers earning lower salaries than men, and in light of the pervasive gender wage gap that exists, employers who rely on a candidate’s prior pay to set their new salary allow those existing gender-based pay disparities to continue.
Indiana
Accommodations For Pregnant Workers Will Not Be Included In Lawmaker Study Session
Justin Hicks | WLPR-FM (Lowell, IN)
A bill that would provide workplace accommodations for expectant mothers will not be part of lawmakers’ summer study session. In response, many policy groups across the state say they are disappointed with the legislature. A bill that would provide workplace accommodations for expectant mothers will not be part of lawmakers’ summer study session. In response, many policy groups across the state say they are disappointed with the legislature.
More, More, More
Gender Equality Out of Reach During COVID-19?
Jess Tomlin, Jessica Houssian, Nicolette Naylor | Common Dreams
The issues facing women in today’s crisis are the same as they were before the pandemic. Unfortunately, experience and history show us that in times like this, things usually get exponentially worse for those who are the most vulnerable. But what if, in the midst of the chaos and uncertainty, there is an opportunity for dramatic and significant change?
Trump Doesn’t Hate Women—He’s Afraid of Them
Laura Bassett | GQ
The president has made weaponizing masculinity a centerpiece of his campaign. Why, then, does he always wilt when female reporters ask him basic questions? Laura Bassett investigates the glaring weakness at the heart of Trumpism.
Public Support for Equal Rights Amendment is Sky-High
Corinne Ahrens | Ms.
Results from the American Bar Association’s 2020 Survey of Civic Literacy show that a wide majority of respondents—83 %—believe the ERA should be ratified and incorporated into the U.S. Constitution. Only 8% opposed. Support was virtually equal between men (82%) and women (83%).
You Can Die for Your Country-But Forget Equal Rights
Carrie Baker | Ms.
Isn’t it ironic that a national commission established by Congress recently recommended that women be required to register with the Selective Service for any future military drafts, while at the same time the Trump administration is blocking certification of the ERA after the 38th and final state needed to ratify the Amendment voted to do so earlier this year?
Denominators Matter: Women as a Percentage of Candidates and Nominees
Kelly Dittmar | Ms.
The current COVID-19 crisis has already offered important reminders about how to define and address problems across sectors—health, economic and political. Here is a simple one: Denominators matter.
‘Mrs. America’ reminds us that more women in politics won’t necessarily mean more liberal policies
Leandra Zarnow | The Washington Post
Foregrounding Schlafly, while a compelling choice, skews focus away from the shared grievances of women across the political spectrum. The show could easily have focused on Bella Abzug or the parallel activism of the two women. In many ways it’s a tale of an equally matched Ms. America vs. Mrs. America, both of whom thought women belonged in politics.
Los Angeles Times: What 'Mrs. America' gets right and wrong about Bella Abzug
It’s Friday. Hook it up. Please and thanks.