Keep on Keeping on
Dear Leading Ladies,
The bad news keeps coming. Programs are ending. People are losing jobs. Vaccinations may no longer be available to children. We continue to feel vulnerable and fearful for ourselves and others.
Are we helpless? Sometimes it’s hard to know. What we do know is that we can choose to be silent and passive or we can speak out and act, and hope it matters. As difficult as it is some days, we choose the latter.
So here are two new actions we encourage you to take:
Print cards in different languages from a template created by The Immigrant Legal Resource Center to help immigrants respond if they are stopped by ICE. Laminate the cards and distribute them to friends, colleagues, employees, acquaintances at places of worship. Consider giving a stack of them to a shop, restaurant, or business you know that has many employees who may be at risk. The link to download cards in a variety of languages is here. Cards can be printed on a home computer or at Staples or another office supply or print shop where they can also be laminated. Cards are best accompanied by a short explanation that they are meant to provide those who may be confronted by ICE officials with a concise and accurate statement of their rights. Contact us if you need assistance. Thanks to LL volunteer Beth Gillett for making us aware of these cards.
Download the app 5calls where you can find in-depth information about the issues you care about and directions for how and who to contact to make your voice heard. Thanks to two of our readers for telling us about 5calls.org.
And here are some that we’ve suggested before and still deserve attention:
Write to your legislators to oppose the SAVE Act (Safeguard American Eligibility Voter Act), which would result in the disenfranchisement of millions. Find your legislators here.
Keep informed about upcoming elections such as the April special House contest in Florida, where Dems Josh Weil and Gay Valiment are running for seats previously held by Republicans. Donate, phonebank, write postcards. Here is a website to help in the Florida race.
Continue to consult Vote Forward, Swing Blue, and Force Multiplier to learn about other races and how to support candidates who represent your values and priorities.
Lastly, mark your calendars for Wednesday, March 26, when Leading Ladies will partner again with The Cabot to present, “Books Are for Reading, Not Banning: A Community Conversation About Censorship.”
We know that book banning and censorship are real threats to truth and knowledge right here in the United States when books by Toni Morrison, Jodi Picoult, James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, Harper Lee, Madeleine L’engle, Shirley Jackson, John Steinbeck, JK Rowling, Sherman Alexie, Khaled Hosseini, Margaret Atwood, Mark Twain, J.D.Salinger, George Orwell, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Golding, and Ken Kesey are routinely banned from students’ reading lists. When books such as The Bluest Eye and Huckleberry Finn, The Kite Runner and 1984, Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird have routinely found their resting place in the trash heap after being deemed dangerous to the moral fiber of our children.
Beginning at 7 pm, a panel of experts will discuss the definitions of book banning and censorship; their history in the US; why these infringements matter; recent threats and trends in schools and public libraries; and what we, the public, can do about it.
Barb Fecteau will be our moderator. Barb is a Beverly High School librarian, president of the Mass School LIbrary Association, and a former Jeopardy contestant and winner! She will be joined by Laura Saunders, associate dean and professor at Simmons University School of LIbrary and Information Science; Jennifer Varney, librarian at Martin Luther King Jr. School in Cambridge; and Reba Tierney, Waltham High School librarian recognized by the Massachusetts Commission on LGBTQ Youth “for her unwavering commitment to advancing LGBTQ+ equality and diversity within her school and community.” A Q&A will follow the panel discussion.
Recognition of the winners of the fourth annual Leading Ladies Art as Activism contest for high school students will precede the discussion. This year, contestants were asked to create posters that raised awareness about and encouraged action to combat, book banning, and censorship.
Hard as it may be, together let’s keep on keeping on. We need to be able to tell our children and grandchildren that we fought for freedom and kindness, for decency and fairness, for their rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Therese (she/her/hers)
Judy (she/her/hers)
Didi (she/her/hers)
Leading Ladies Executive Team