Sensory Overload

Activist Art

My friend Patricia just told me about this amazing web library of drawings by Rini Templeton, who spent 20 years capturing in art form the struggles of grassroots activists in the United States, Mexico, and Central America. She called her bold black-and-white drawings "xerox art" because activists and organizers could copy them easily for use in their banners, signs, leaflets, newsletters, even T-shirts, whenever needed. She almost never signed a drawing (and she produced thoursands of them) and so while her style is widely recognized, her name is not. Rini died in Mexico in 1986. Her sister and supporters continue to make her art available, for free, through the web-library. Activists serving causes that Rini would have supported are invited to use her drawings freely in their leaflets, newsletters, banners, and picket signs or for similar non-commercial purposes. The images are neatly organized into categories by theme, and each image comes with a description explaining its content so you can better understand Rini's inspiration for each. The art itself (I imagine like Rini's life must have been) is bold, moving, sublime. Check it out.

Here's a little bit of Rini's biography (from the website):

Wal-Mart Class Certified! Largest Civil Rights Class Action In History

The media frenzy in our office yesterday was amazing and chaotic and exhausting. I walked through the door to see CNN and the NBC Nightly News setting up cameras, the BBC was on the phone, a German newspaper had emailed, then the London Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, and a slew of local and national media were clamoring for interviews ~~~ why you ask?

Well, you might have read that the Honorable Martin Jenkins, of the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California, certified our class action against Wal-Mart, the country's largest private employer. The class of plaintiffs, which includes "all women employed at any Wal-Mart domestic retail store at any time since December 26, 1998, who have been or may be subjected to Wal-Mart's discriminatory pay and management track promotions policies and practices," numbers at least 1.6 million women (according to Wal-Mart's own payroll data through the end of 2002) ~ the number of potential plaintiffs is now close to 2 million women. This is the largest civil rights class action ever certified against a private employer! You can read the press release we issued, here, and get more information about the litigation, here.

As I walked into our office yesterday morning, reporters and camera crews were lined up to interview our lead counsel, Brad Seligman and Jocelyn Larkin, and, by telephone, our co-counsel Joseph Sellers in Washington, D.C., and Irma Herrera at Equal Rights Advocates. There were literally so many reporters, that we all had to pitch in and give interviews ~ at one point even I got locked in a room with a Telemundo reporter and I spoke (on-camera and in Spanish!) about the case ~ then a telephone interview with Univisión, and an exhausting number of telephone wrangling with other media wanting information. How'd we get through the day? Well, in our office we also had the honor of the presence of two of the named plaintiffs in the action, Betty Dukes and Christine Kwapnoski. The excitement over our legal victory (in what will continue to be a lengthy appeals process) is humbling and yet empowering in light of the personal struggles the named plaintiffs, and women workers across the country, have faced against Wal-Mart ~~ all they "want" is what they deserve: to be paid as much as their male counterparts and to be considered for management promotions equally with their male co-workers. It was an amazing day, to speak with Betty and Christine and to see Christine's two kids, especially her teeanage daughter, beaming with pride as they watched their mom give countless TV and radio interviews.

Thirst ~ The Movie

A groundbreaking documentary, Thirst (thank you again, Bay Area filmmakers), asks:

Did you know that over a billion people lack access to safe drinking water? Each year, millions of children die (one child every 8 seconds) of diseases caused by unsafe water. The numbers are increasing. ~ Is water part of a shared "commons," a human right for all people? Or is it a commodity to be bought, sold, and traded in a global marketplace? "Thirst" tells the stories of communities in Bolivia, India, and the United States that are asking these fundamental questions.

The film explores how population growth, pollution, and scarcity are turning water into "blue gold," the oil of the 21st century, and how global corporations are rushing to gain control of this dwindling natural resource, producing intense conflict in the US and worldwide where people are dying in battles over control of water.

You can see the National Broadcast Premiere of the documentary on Tuesday, July 13, 2004, at 10:00 p.m. on PBS's "P.O.V." series (check your local listings).

If you live in the Bay Area, the film is playing at The Roxie Cinema in San Francisco, from Friday, June 18 through Thursday, June 24. Guest speakers will be present at many of the screenings.

Community Groups and Unions can order a VHS copy for only $59 (the DVD will be released soon as well).

GO VOTE. GO RUN. GO LEAD. GO GIRL.

Did you know:

• Victoria Woodhull, a stockbroker, publisher, and protégé of Cornelius Vanderbilt, ran for president of the United States in 1872 on the Equal Rights Party ticket.

• Women make up 51% of the US population, but only 13.6% of the US Congress.

• There are only 8 women governors of U.S. States (AZ, DE, HI, KS, LA, MI, MT, UT), plus Sila Calderón, Governor of Puerto Rice ~ and this an all-time high.

• Five states- New Hampshire, Delaware, Iowa, Mississippi, and Vermont - have never sent a woman to Congress ~~ neither the House nor the Senate!

• All 14 women Senators are white, with only one woman of color ever elected to the Senate, Carol Moseley Braun from Illinois.

• Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the House Democratic Leader, is the first woman to lead her party in Congress. (Go Nancy!)

The White House Project is a national, nonpartisan organization that is not only dedicated to advancing women's leadership roles in the United States, but it boldly seeks to transform the political and cultural climate so that it becomes commonplace and normal in the eyes of the public and the press for women to be governors, CEOs and President. The White House Project has launched a national mobilization initiative (called Vote, Run, Lead) to inspire young women to engage in political participation. The initiative is conducting Leadership Training programs and extensive grassroots organizing across the country.

Get involved! You can register to vote, sign-up to be a Vote Run Leader or a Vote Run Activist, or just learn more about these issues by visiting the Vote, Run, Lead website.

The Center for American Women and Politics at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers, also provides a wealth of information on these issues.

On A Lighter Note: Being Bilingual Keeps You Young and Protects Your Brain

A Canadian study was just released in the June issue of Psychology and Aging, indicating that people who grow up speaking two languages from an early age show less of the natural decline associated with aging. Not only is reaction time to cognitive tasks faster in bilingual individuals, but I would venture to say that such individuals are pretty darn sexy, too.
:)

Sound Advice

A few years ago, in the sweltering heat of the Central Valley Summer, I was zipping along Highway 5, driving from San Francisco to Los Angeles, when the discussion I was having with my friend and car-mate turned into an argument. As we sped past cow pastures and In-n-Out Burger locations (yes, I note the irony), our argument turned into a tortured swim in the river Styx in the Fifth Ring of Dante's Inferno. Whatever I tried to say to my friend, he would throw back at me, in a twisted manner so that it related to him ~~ imagine telling someone that you are going to law school and they respond by saying, "Well, I went to law school and it was awful for me so you shouldn't go," or telling someone you bought a new pair of Jimmy Choos and that person responding, "Wow, those shoes hurt my feet so you shouldn't buy them." Whatever, you get the point. After a while, I don't know what came over me, but I blurted out,

I'm just gonna call you Overhead 'cuz all you do is project, Project, PROJECT!

We sat in stunned silence for a minute, as the scenery whizzed past us.....and then burst into laughter.

I learned two things.........

(1) never, ever, under any circumstances, get into an argument with a loved one when you are trapped in a car in the middle of nowhere ~~ the repercussions, at least for one of you who doesn't own the car, can be bad, very bad; (2) when you try to identify with someone's issue or problem, DON'T PROJECT YOUR OWN ANGST INTO THE ADVICE YOU DOLE OUT.

Lately, I am juggling some major, major transitions in my life ~~ they are exciting, challenging, scary, and encompass every aspect of my life ~~ professional, personal, academic, community. I just spent an hour on the phone with my friend Alegría, inundating her with a deluge of my angst-ridden insecurities around these issues. Ale drew parallels in her own life and then uttered the most wonderful words to me: "But I don't want to tell you what to do ...." Ahhh, a breath of fresh air. So often, when a loved one confides a problem to us, our knee-jerk reaction (in a noble attempt to empathize and relate) is to compare their own experiences with yours, and then tell you what to do based on what they did. If you aren't cognizant of your own, unique thought-processes, it's easy to be complacent and just do what people tell you. Ok, don't.

My best friends in law school were like great like that. They doled out the advice like hipper, stronger versions of "Dear Abby" ~ but when I chose not to take their advice, they did not keep beating a dead horse ~ they did not say "I told you so" ~ they did not repeat the same advice. They supported my decisions, whatever they may have been (from disastrous shoes to disastrous boyfriends), unless my actions created an imminent danger or threat to someone else's safety (I mean, we're all lawyers here, right?).

Ai, I'll leave it at that. For now, I should ponder further the helpful, healthy, non-projective advice Ale gave me........which, in an earlier email, included this Cherokee wisdom:

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life.

"A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.

One is evil ~ he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is good ~ he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.

This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other human as well."

The grandson paused in deep reflection because of what his grandfather had just said, and then asked, "Which wolf will win?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

Have Only 36 Hours to Spend in Washington, D.C.? ~ Spend 'em like this...

Chad and I were in Washington, D.C. for exactly 36 hours this past weekend. Technically, the purpose of the trip was to attend Ian and Amy's "Going Legal" Celebration (more about that in a minute), but since my brother Rudy and his family live in nearby Woodbridge, VA, and since my best friends from law school (Quyen and Jee) live in D.C., well, we had to balance the delicate task of juggling quality time with three completely different groups of people, all of whom we wanted to see. Are you in the same bind? Do this....

Finally ~ "A Day Without A Mexican" Opens in San Francisco-Bay Area Theaters

Finally! The movie A Day Without A Mexican opens today in San Francisco-Bay Area theaters! You may have read my previous post about the film, which opened in Southern California on May 14 ~ the film makers have added a trailer to their website and you can watch it, here. The film's web site is rapidly expanding, adding cool/kitschy merchandise (such as the bumper sticker you see here, as well as mouse pads, caps, t-shirts, etc.), message boards, contact information, and an updated theater list. My friend Alegría, who is a kick-ass attorney with California Rural Legal Assistance, representing migrant farm workers in California's Central Valley, saw the film and said that, rather than some heavy-handed, preachy, "deep film," A Day Without A Mexican is a lighter, satirical exploration of the concept ~ what would California be like if all the Mexicans disappeared? The film satirizes the stereotypical and funny outcomes, such as how desperate rich people would get without their maids and gardeners, to the serious economic consequences of losing about 1/3 of the state's labor force, to the poignant moments such as the social/cultural impact the loss would create in our schools and communities.

The review in this morning's San Francisco Chronicle tailors the discussion to the Bay Area, asking what it would be like if our local Latinos disappeared, such as Carlos Santana, Felipe Alou, Cheech Marin, Dolores Huerta, California Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno, San Francisco Supervisor Matt Gonzalez, or Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante. Personally, I would also really miss Latinas/os such as the aforementioned Alegría and her amazing abuelita, Jessie de la Cruz, as well as Salvador Dúran, the Executive Director and Manager Extraordinario of the Mission Area Federal Credit Union, which is growing as a financial resource for Mission neighborhood residents, and John Trasviña, the Director of the Discrimination Research Center who works with me at The Impact Fund in Berkeley, and all my Raza at the Berkeley La Raza Law Journal and La Raza Law Students Association. Ay! And of course, the Tamale Lady in the Mission! (There was even a film made about The Tamale Lady ~ but that is a blog for another day).

Currently, I think the film is only playing in California and Texas ~ if you live in another state, try contacting the filmmakers by email to see when, or if, the movie will have a wider release.

Como siempre, spread the word, spread the love.
Adelante pués!