In February we observed Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. Oftentimes people do not include teen dating violence (TDV) under abuse or interpersonal violence, which is why it is important to recognize that TDV is a serious issue and impacts many individuals. According to DoSomething.org (a youth empowering online platform), in the past year 1.5 million high school students have reported to have been a victim of intentional violence perpetrated by someone they are romantically involved with. Students who are sexually abused are six times more likely to contact an sexually transmitted disease. Teen dating violence affects a lot more people than we think it does, and it is often not talked about.
On February 25, Monsoon’s Violence Prevention Program addressed the issue of teen dating violence during an event at the Des Moines Art Center. About 14 students came out -- an increase in attendance -- to learn about teen dating violence from youth advocates Kristy Nguyen, Sirena Backham, Kalen Truong and Manali Jama and pottery by Racheal Jackson, the. The presentation, which included an infograph and facilitated discussion, taught teens how to report dating violence, how to tackle the sensitive issue with families and loved ones, and challenged some of the myths of reporting. For example, a mandatory reporter is a person who is required by contract and law to report to authorities such as the police or the Department of Human Services if they know that a minor is being harmed or may be harmed. All Des Moines Public Schools administrators are mandatory reporters and many students do not know this. If students disclose to a mandatory reporter, they might be unwillingly placed in a process and in contact with authority figures, such as the police. Students also should be aware that there are advocates in organizations whom are not mandatory reporters and can provide confidential assistance. It is important that students know these facts in order for their choices to be informed. And because so many students and teens experience some sort of dating violence, they also need to know what resources they can access. Students also discussed the complexity of disclosing to families, especially immigrant family members where language and cultural differences are barriers making these conversations uncomfortable. One participant said that as they grew older, it became easier for them to talk to their parents; however, many teens cannot wait for that moment when the need is immediate. People’s ignorance of teen dating violence is a form of interpersonal violence. When people ignore violence, they are participating in the role of the perpetrator. That is also another reason why providing resources and educating about teen dating violence is important. If people do not think that teen dating violence is a form of abuse, then there would never be a step to fix it. Every year, Monsoon’s Violence Prevention Program holds an event to spread awareness on this important issue. To hear about what two students in the Des Moines area have to say about it, stay tuned for our podcast by Kalen coming soon. You can find this on Monsoon’s SoundCloud (https://soundcloud.com/monsooniowa).
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By Manali Jama Until recently Marvel Studio, home of the incredibly successful “Iron Man” and “Avenger” franchises, have concentrated on white heroes and white narratives. “Black Panther” has changed everything.
The movie introduces Wakanda, an imaginary country in Africa where most of the story takes place. Wakanda is beautiful and likely the richest and most technologically advanced society in the world: this is a total opposite of the images of Africa today. Most people think of Africa as a famine and poverty-stricken continent, which is not always true. Due to rich reserves of “vibranium,” Wakanda could be one of the most powerful countries but they instead choose to be low-key. Rather than imperialize or colonize, Wakanda hides and as a result other world powers do not know the amount of power Wakanda possesses and consider it a third world country. “Black Panther” not only does a great job in removing the stigma associated with Africa, it also beautifully and appropriately represents different African cultures by presenting various tribes and bringing them all together to show how united Africa can be. The character Shuri is a black female who is very talented when it comes to technology. She designs many brilliant inventions that helps Wakanda as a whole be a better country. She is a great representation of black women in science and technology fields. Although the movie is very empowering, it also shows some very hard truths. Erik Killmonger, who is portrayed by Michael B Jordan, is a great example of the hardships that many Black Americans face. Although his father is a Wakandian prince, others view him as very different since he grew up in America. He had a difficult childhood and struggled a lot growing up. Killmonger’s character showcases the moral failings of not only Wakanda but Black people in power who are not helping their own people. The king of Wakanda had a lot of power and resources but wasn't willing to share to help out other Blacks in need. The king was just used to keep things the way they were; in a world where Wakanda didn't get involved with other countries and maintained its privilege through isolation. Killmonger, who grew up in poverty and understood the struggles of the black community, was so determined to share Wakanda’s power and resources to empower these struggling communities of color. Overall, “Black Panther” had a very strong message behind it. It was a movie dedicated to Black excellence as well as bringing light to Black issues. The movie did a great job in allowing people to finally see Africa through a different lens. Source: http://wallpaperdp.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Black-Panther-2018-Movie-HD-Image.jpg Written by Manali Jama Dating back to the seventeenth and early eighteenth century an increase in the number of interracial marriages resulted in the passing of anti- miscegenation laws which prohibited marriage between blacks and whites. The first anti-miscegenation law passed was in the colony of Maryland in 1664, additional colonies quickly followed suit. In the years following the Civil War, there was an increase in racial tensions. These marriages were prohibited: the penalties included the enslavement, exile or imprisonment of the white perpetrators. These laws grew and evolved over the years, there were even attempts made to modify the Constitution to ban interracial marriage in all states. In the law, if any white person were to be convicted they would have to face time in a penitentiary or be sentenced to hard labor for two or more than seven years. The law also prohibited individuals from performing interracial marriage ceremonies, declaring these acts as misdemeanors which was punishable by a one-thousand dollar fine. Also if a black man, free or slave, raped or attempted to rape a white woman, he was legally subject to the death penalty. The issue that people had with interracial marriages was that these two groups of people were not seen as equal. White supremacy ideas at the time believed that if a black and white person were to have a child together that the white race would slowly become inferior. According to PBS, “The law stated that a person with seven white great-grandparents would be defined as black as long as the eighth great-grandparent was a ‘Negro’.“ Bans on miscegenation were made in order to limit white men’s ability to threaten whiteness by producing with their black partners children who could potentially pass for white. It took three hundred years for this law to be overturned. In 1967, Richard Loving, a white man, and Mildred Jeter, a Black woman, were married in the District of Columbia. When they returned home to Virginia, they were arrested and convicted of violating the state’s anti-miscegenation law. They each faced a year in jail and their case went to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court found in favor of the Loving's in the famous trial Loving v. Virginia. They ruled that prohibiting interracial marriage on state and local levels was unconstitutional; this meant that marriages between the races were legal in the country for the first time since 1664. Sources: http://www.pbs.org/black-culture/explore/interracial-marriage-relationships/#.WoSa2UxFyUl http://restorefairness.org/wp-content/uploads/replace_Anti-Miscegenation.jpg By Kalen Truong DMPS are not setting students up for success. Period. There are only a select number of students who are anticipated to succeed, but they most likely attend the magnet school, Central Academy. Central Academy consists of students from all five DMPS high schools and some out of district schools, and these students must show above average skills than their peers to be chosen to attend this prestigious school. This means that only gifted and talented students are predicted to successful. This especiAlly makes it harder for people of color because they struggle more in a dominant Caucasian society. Statistics show a huge gap in literacy proficiency between minority races and Caucasians.
Speaking from first-hand experience, at my home school, North High, I see students on their cell phones minding their own business while the teachers are teaching. However, some but not all, do not react to this absent-minded tradition causing students to further their hindrance in their education. Meanwhile, at Central Academy, a few to none are on their phones at all in class because teachers 1) collect them or 2) make them put it away or 3) put up rigorous lessons in which not paying attention could hurt them dearly or 4) students know not to take their phones at during their learning. We need more motivation from teachers, like at Central Academy, who care about their students’ education. Des Moines Public Schools is without a doubt, failing African Americans. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)’s average score for African Americans in Iowa is 195, while the national average is 206. The NAEP is the largest national representative, and assesses what students know in various subjects, such as mathematics, reading, etc. Elementary school Moulton Extended Learning Center, which I also attended, is one of the microcosms of Iowa that reveals the problems in education for minorities. Not only are these results appearing throughout all of the Des Moines Public Schools, but in other well-known Iowan cities as well. Johnston, for example, has a 95% literary proficiency for White third graders, while Black third graders have 61%. Coincidence? I think not. The state of Iowa may be on one of the top tier of education, but there are still problems that students of color face. It has been stated that a third grader's literary proficiency will determine their entire high school career, therefore, the idea of holding students back in third grade to better prepare students due to the educational turning point, which applies a demanding curriculum in fourth grade. However, this concept does have some flaws. Determining a future student’s ability to read proficiently using their third grade scores does not make sense because people change over time. It’s what we do. A solution that I think could work to prepare our students for the future is to propose an educational curriculum that begins early, with strict demands . Right now, the “rigorous” education program is only occurring in high school, to prepare students for their after school career. However, implementing a rigorous education course early will begin to make students think analytically, and could help students more ready for high school and life. The standard right now for some students is close to zero and this can play a reason in why students skip/ do not pay attention. The students that do this probably think that their classes are a breeze and gets boring, therefore there is no need to listen. The students struggling right now might not be if they started a strong learning habit early. Starting early at a young age sticks to students and will continue to use their skills throughout life. This is one plan out of many that could prepare many students for the future. Sources: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/education/2016/05/14/iowa-schools-failing-black-students/83491048/ https://www.dmschools.org/about/facts-figures/ Written by Manali Jama Last month Meek Mill was sentenced 2 to 4 years in a state prison for violating his probation on a conviction in 2008. Starting at the young age of 19, Robert Rahmeek Williams popularly known as “Meek Mill” has been fighting off the relentless grasp of the criminal justice system. This is just one example of how many young black men get pulled into the system. The system is set up in a way that makes it very hard to escape once you're trapped. This is a big problem because, the justice system was created in order to provide justice but that is not the case, it often times discriminates against black individuals. Blacks are incarcerated at higher rates than any other races. The criminal justice system; although it was created in order to uphold social control, and deter crime as well as punishing those who violate laws and commit crimes, it often times discriminates against African Americans. It is setup so that it can bring down these individuals. The rate of incarcerated black individuals is disproportionate and alarming. This then takes a big toll on individual communities. According to Ap News "African Americans constitute nearly 1 million of the 2.3 million persons incarcerated". This is concerning because black people alone make up more than half the incarcerated population. This in turn negatively affects families and communities. In a study done by "National Survey of American Life", it showed that the children of inmates do less well in school and exhibit behavioral problems. Mass incarceration of blacks isn't just an issue that affects just the individuals targeted, but it goes beyond and has an effect on children and family members. Others might argue that they are not targeted, but they just commit more crimes. According to Ap News once again, "Blacks are 6 times more likely to be incarcerated than their white counterparts for the same crime". A white person is more likely to get away with the same crime compared to a black individual which shows how unfair the justice system can be. The war on drugs is an epidemic that heavily penalize drug charges. It increases incarceration among the African American population especially. Some believe that the war on drugs was the new “Jim Crow”, like the Jim Crow laws, mass incarceration due to the war on drugs discriminates against blacks. The war on drugs seems to be targeting blacks more than any other race. In an article published by Huffington post showed that, "Whites also use marijuana, painkillers, meth, and other drugs at higher rates than people of color — and yet black individuals are arrested for drug possession more than three times as often as whites are" (Huffington Post). This shows how it directly affects blacks and how they are discriminated against when it comes to the war on drugs. The fact that whites use drugs at a higher rate than blacks but aren't sent to prison for it shows the unfair advantage they have. It also shows how unjust the Justice System can be. African Americans are having to constantly feel the target that’s been placed on their backs strictly due to the amount of melanin in their skin. It is very unfair and it is a problem that needs to be addressed. This can be first done by educating those who aren't aware of what is happening. Systems that were put into place to protect and provide justice are failing many black people. Cops are mistreating black individuals daily, and even resorting in taking innocent lives, under the assumption that if they are black, they are dangerous and guilty. There needs to be a change in the way that cops handle situations, a way that doesn’t automatically resort to violence. There also needs to be a change in the way the justice system handles cases involving black individuals. Mass incarceration is a big issue that tends to mainly affect blacks because they are found guilty more times than their counterparts of white people. These systems need to do a better job in not attacking and making the lives of black people any harder. By Sirena Backham
The Stonewall Riots are known as what first sparked the gay rights movement. Stonewall Inn was a gay club that was a place of gathering for LGBT people in Greenwich Village, NYC. Gay clubs were often targeted by police in NYC, but police used legal justification to say that Stonewall did not have a license for alcohol. Although they used this excuse, they arrested any people who were not wearing at least 3 articles of “gender appropriate clothing”. When the police began to load people into the police van, the people outside took action. They began to throw bottles and things at the police. Marsha P. Johnson is known as the person who threw the first brick. She was an LGBT trans rights activist, who was on the front lines along with Sylvia Rivera. The officers had to take shelter inside of the club, which created a large crowd of aggressive people. A group of 400 people were outside of Stonewall, anticipating and joining in to break down the barricade made by the officers inside. A large altercation broke out, resulting in Stonewall being set on fire. For several nights after the initial riot, many more protests broke out and acted as a catalyst for LGBT advocacy groups to be built in almost every major city in America. Stonewall may not have been the first time the LGBT community reacted to police brutality, nor the first time riots and protests broke out, but we take Stonewall as what sparked the official LGBT Liberation movement. Prior to 1969, we but also give credit to the rioters that who took action years before Stonewall, that built up Stonewall to be as strong as a movement as it was. During this time, there were also other movements happening that created an anger for police, such as the civil rights movement, and the anti-Vietnam war movement. Marsha P. Johnson said that the “P” stands for “pay it no mind”; a rhetorical answer to people who are meaning to find out if she was male or female. Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera were best friends. Together they formed the first trans-rights organization called STAR (Street Transvestites Action Revolutionaries) in 1970, the year after Stonewall happened. STAR focused on getting young transgender people off of the street and into a safe living community. Marsha also became a part of the Gay Liberation Front. The GLF sought for political protection for citizens based on their sexual orientation from oppressive laws. Sylvia Rivera was alone on the streets starting at age 10. She is often referred to as “The Rosa Parks of the Modern Transgender Movement”. She and Marsha P. Johnson were willing to be arrested, which was very courageous for transgender women of color in 1970. #MeToo is an online movement created due to the recent outburst of Harvey Weinstein’s sexual assaults of Hollywood actresses. Sexual harassment and assault are way too prevalent in today’s society, and in the acting business. Actors and actresses, such as Ashley Judd, Terry Crews, etc., have begun to share their own stories with Harvey and other male predators in power and are advocating against our culture normalizing sexual assault.
This trend was amplified this past Sunday by actress, Alyssa Milano. She encouraged those who have been sexually assaulted or harassed to tweet #metoo to amplify those stories. So #metoo, has helped many people share their stories in detail or simply just tweet #metoo, but there’s been some criticism. There are people calling out cis and white people for pressuring others, especially people of color, to share their stories. What does calling out Rape Culture look like? Celebrities are using their platforms in order to call out rape culture. Gabrielle Union tweeted against the norm of asking women “What were you wearing?” which is used to put blame on victims rather than the perpetrator of sexual assault. Also a writer by the name of Wikipedia Brown tweeted calling out Actress Mayim Bialik who claims her modesty is what prevented her from getting harassed. Brown goes on to say how Bialik is blaming victims and forgetting that rape is all about power not desire. If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault or harassment know that you are not alone. You can contact Monsoon’s violence prevention staff and we will be happy to connect you to resources or simply listen. Teen dating violence: Chat 24/7: loveisrespect.org Text: LOVEIS to 22522 Call:1-866-331-9474 National Sexual Assault Hotline 24/7: 1-800-656-4673 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 24/7: 1-800-273-8255 Written by Manali Jama In today’s society, there is a lot of backlash against the black community. The biggest would have to be the discrimination and unjust treatment that they face. As well as number of police murders committed against our black folks that police seem to get away with. These are all examples of things that have been occurring in the U.S. The Western society has a problem with the black community but this isn't anything new. We would think that this would have been a thing left in the past, but that is not the case. The funny thing is that there are many parts of the black culture that is unwanted, yet at the same time people still find ways to steal from it. For example, a black person will be made fun of for having large lips, but then white or non black beauty influencers such as Jessica Simpson, Lindsay Lohan, and Huda Kattan will go and inject their lips and now it's a hot new trend. Another example would be how black girls are made fun of for having nappy hair, and then the protective hairstyles that they use are considered “ghetto” and then taken from them and are appropriated. Black people are also made fun of for the darkness of their skin, yet people will spend money into getting fake tans and enjoy having tanner darker skin rather than their pale complexion. The black community doesn't only get resentment from white people, but yet from other communities within the POC (people of color) umbrella as well. In many communities, it is favorable to have lighter skin. People will go to the extent of bleaching their skin in order to have lighter skin. In some African communities, it is known that males prefer to marry a female with a lighter complexion than one who is darker in color. This creates self hate within the community of color. I have even seen this within my own community as well; my brother who is a tad bit darker than the rest of the family will get called things like “the literal black sheep of the family” or will make jokes about him being adopted. All because his skin complexion is darker compared to the rest of us. We should learn to be accepting to all and even ourselves. Today's society doesn't give enough credit to the creative ideas created by black individuals as well. For example PluggedNyc is a black owned clothing company that came up with camo designed clothing sets. Kylie Jenner had stole the idea from them after placing an order with the company. Without giving any form of credit, as a result taking business from the black owned company. It was wrong for her to take the idea in the first place for her own business benefit.
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AuthorSirena Backham Archives
March 2018
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