Hey APW,
So this was a shit week. The stories coming from the border are as heartbreaking as ever, particularly those that crystallize what it means to have an agenda of dehumanization. Things like: taking stuffed animals and all other creature comforts from children when they are detained, purposefully sabotaging the efforts of nonprofits whose mission is to prevent deaths crossing the border, and in one case, a woman was told she was “encouraging bad behavior” when she gave a detained migrant child a hug. And then Justice Kennedy, occasional bastion of moderacy in the supreme court, decided to pull a Girl Bye six months before midterms. (Feck ewe, sir.) So, you know, everything is cool. You probably won’t have to steam your handmaid robes for at least another couple of months anyway.
It’s easy to feel powerless right now. But I’ve found two things are helping me avoid the emotional burnout that comes with everything being on fire all the time. First, I’ve committed to doing one small thing every day (or at least, every other day) that is an act of resistance. Whether that’s texting my family members encouraging them to participate in our political process more actively, or making direct phone calls to my reps, or donating a few dollars to an organization helping immigrant families get reunited. Sometimes it’s as simple as having a conversation with someone about how fucked everything is so that we don’t slip into silence and/or complacency. None of this is necessarily going to get a map of the Death Star out to the rebellion, but taking action is the easiest way to remind myself I’m not powerless. And we really need collective action right now—small actions en masse.
And the other thing I’m doing is recharging. Because you can’t live permanently in outrage. You’re going to get burned out that way. So drink water. Get enough sleep. Go see a movie. Hit up the beach. Spend time with your family. Do what you have to do to make sure your soul stays buoyed. So with that in mind, I wanted to invite you to two events happening in the near future. One for action, and one for recharging.
For action, we are hosting a fundraiser TONIGHT in Oakland’s Laurel District at Sequoia Diner from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (you can read the full details here). All proceeds go directly to organizations helping reunite families torn apart at the border. There will be free wine and potentially more raffle prizes than people (folks are generous, y’all). We’ll also be helping attendees call their representatives because phone anxiety is real. So come, hang out, and let’s get some shit done.
On the recharging front, APW is partnering with Crate and Barrel next month on July 15th to throw what is, in my humble opinion, the coolest registry event… ever. We’re bringing in an aura photographer (free for you!), a cotton candy bar, really delicious food, and the chance to start your registry at a fun party instead of by yourselves on a Sunday morning. It’s good a old fashioned frivolous good time for two hours with your local APW crew. And if you click here, you can enter to win our bonkers huge registry giveaway. We’ve got a $2,500 prize package curated by the APW team, and you don’t have to be local to enter.
In the meantime, I’m going to leave Meg’s tips from last week for taking action below:
COME TO OUR FUNDRAISER!
WHEN: Friday, June 29th from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
WHERE: Sequoia Diner, 3719 MacArthur Boulevard, Oakland, California 94619
RSVP: Tickets are limited! Head over to the Eventbrite page here, and sign up for the 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. session or the 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. session. And if you’re not local, you can use that same link to make a donation too.
OTHER WAYS TO HELP
DONATE: Beyond donating to our Eventbrite page, you can also donate directly to RAICES, The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, ACLU, and ActBlue.
PROTEST: Attend an event on June 30th. To find your local event, go to Families Belong Together and enter your zip code.
LEARN ABOUT THE BILLS: Current bills you should know about are The Keeping Families Together Act, Fair Day in Court For Kids Act, and The Help Children Separated Act.
CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES: Find out who your local representative is by clicking here and entering your zip code. If you need a sample script, this is all you have to say: “I’m a constituent from [City, State], and I’m calling to ask you to speak up about the separation of families at the U.S. borders and support [one of the bills listed above].”
Cheers,
Maddie
around the web with jareesa
I fully agree with this piece: Fuck civility.
Corporette just published this great list: Where to Find Designer Plus-Size Clothing for Professional Women.
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Raising Race Conscious Children provides a great example of how to talk to your kids about the family separations at the border and get them involved in providing support.
And a quick reminder: The average American woman is not a size 16.
