Gender Justice Archives     51 articles   12/8/05 Leers and Loathing in Las Vegas -- Why Am I Mistaken for an Asian Sex Import? Editor's Note: It's hard being an Asian woman in America these days -- increasing trafficking of women from Asia for prostitution and narrow portrayals of Asian women on the big screen exacerbates notions of them as exotic, sexual creatures. LAS VEGAS--Lost in the crowd on the Strip among the replicas of world monuments, I never imagined I would also be on display -- for my resemblance to an Asian import for prostitution. Somewhere between the "Empire State Building" and the "Eiffel Tower" I was stopped twice on a recent afternoon, each time by Anglo-looking men who asked similar questions. They wanted to know where I was from, what I was doing there, how long I was staying. They stared at me like a plump, glistening prime rib roast centerpiece at a nearby buffet. newamericamedia.org     11/7/05 Kerry Proposes Rosa Parks Capitol Statue WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen. John Kerry filed legislation Thursday calling for a statue honoring the late civil rights leader Rosa Parks to be erected in the U.S. Capitol's famed Statuary Hall. "Rosa Parks sat down so we could stand up, but not so we could stand still," said Kerry, D-Mass., recalling the late civil rights leader's action in refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Ala. bus - an act of civil disobedience that helped spark the civil rights movement. AOLBLACKVOICES     10/31/05 Thousands Pay Tribute: Rosa Parks is the First Woman and Second African-American to Lie in Honor in the Capitol Rotunda WASHINGTON // Beneath the vast dome of the Capitol Rotunda, friends, family and politicians gathered yesterday to pay tribute to Rosa Parks, the soft-spoken seamstress whose single act of defiance 50 years ago would transform the civil rights movement and catapult her to the status of national hero. Parks is the first woman and second African-American to lie in honor in the Rotunda. She died at her home in Detroit last Monday at 92. "Some might say she is lying in repose," said the Rev. Harold Carter, pastor of Baltimore's New Shiloh Baptist Church, one of several speakers during a moving ceremony. "But we know she lives on as a reminder for us to rise up and keep the march moving." Baltimore Sun     10/14/05 C. DeLores Tucker, 78; Civil Rights Pioneer Led a Spirited Campaign Against Gangsta Rap C. DeLores Tucker, a longtime civil rights activist best known as a fiery antagonist of profanity-laced rap music lyrics that denigrate blacks and women, died Wednesday at a Philadelphia rehabilitation hospital. She was 78. The cause was heart failure, according to a spokesman for the National Congress of Black Women, based in Silver Spring, Md., which Tucker founded in 1984. Tucker chaired the Black Caucus of the Democratic National Committee for 11 years and became the highest-ranking black woman in state government as Pennsylvania's commonwealth secretary in the 1970s. latimes.com Vivian Malone Jones, 63; First African American Graduate of the University of Alabama Vivian Malone Jones, one of two black students whose effort to enroll at the University of Alabama led to Gov. George Wallace's 1963 "stand in the schoolhouse door," died Thursday. She was 63. Jones, who went on to become the first African American to graduate from the school, died at Atlanta Medical Center, where she had been admitted Tuesday after suffering a stroke, said her sister, Sharon Malone. Her enrollment at the school came during the summer of one of the most violent years in the civil rights movement. Days after she and James Hood enrolled, civil rights leader Medgar Evers was shot to death in Jackson, Miss. Later that summer, four young black girls were killed in the infamous bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. latimes.com     9/30/05 Constance Baker Motley, Civil Rights Trailblazer, Dies at 84 Constance Baker Motley, a civil rights lawyer who fought nearly every important civil rights case for two decades and then became the first black woman to serve as a federal judge, died yesterday at NYU Downtown Hospital in Manhattan. She was 84. The cause was congestive heart failure, said Isolde Motley, her daughter-in-law. Judge Motley was the first black woman to serve in the New York State Senate, as well as the first woman to be Manhattan borough president, a position that guaranteed her a voice in running the entire city under an earlier system of local government called the Board of Estimate. New York Times     9/28/05 'Beach Lady' Triumphed Over Tide of Development-A free-spirited voice for the preservation of a historic seaside enclave for blacks died recently, but not before seeing her dream take root. AMERICAN BEACH, Fla. — On her answering machine, she was still greeting callers in the warm, sonorous voice that once was schooled to sing Strauss and Puccini, but which for years cajoled, hectored and scolded neighbors and others into saving an endangered piece of American and black history. "If I'm not here, guess what?" MaVynee Oshun Betsch asks playfully in her recorded message. "It's because I've evolved into a butterfly and I'm flying down on the beach." The woman who called herself the "Beach Lady" died this month at the age of 70 after a long battle with stomach cancer. In a front-page obituary, one local newspaper eulogized her as the most famous resident of Florida's northernmost Atlantic Coast. latimes.com     8/16/05 Why I'm Still 'Thuy' and Not 'Jane' or 'Susie' Editor's Note: A young Vietnamese American woman tells why she kept her given name, but changed its pronunciation. SAN JOSE, Calif.--I chose to keep my father's name when my mother remarried. I chose to keep my given Vietnamese name when everyone was changing theirs to Cathy or Jennifer. Really, what else do I have to show that I am Vietnamese? On my mom's side, five out of the seven women in my family adopted American names, like Jasmine or Karen. In school, I would see girls named Linda, Anne or Susie whom I know weren't called that by their mothers. Pacific News Service, Youth Commentary     6/17/05 Spotlight Skips Missing Minorities When police in Spartanburg, S.C., began investigating the 24-year-old woman's disappearance, her loved ones swung into action. They distributed fliers, held news conferences and set up a Web site. Huston's story became a cause célèbre in the local media. (Related story: Aruban police search home of Dutch teen) Huston lived alone and obviously hadn't been home for days, if not a week or two. Her dog, Macy, had given birth to puppies. Rebkah Howard, Huston's aunt and a public relations professional in Miami, tried to get the national media interested in the case. "I spent three weeks calling the cable networks, calling newspapers — even yours," Howard said this week. Not much happened. USA Today     6/1/05 NY State Wants to Make Human Trafficking a Felony ALBANY, N.Y. — Last March, a Filipino-American Wisconsin couple — both physicians — was indicted for human trafficking for holding a Filipina as a domestic servant in their home for 19 years by threatening her with deportation, imprisonment and physical restraint. Last fall, a 60-year-old Filipino woman in California won an $825,000 lawsuit after claiming she was enslaved and assaulted, working 18 hours a day, and sleeping in a dog bed. And last month, federal agents broke up a prostitution ring in Brooklyn exploiting Asian girls. They are among as many as 20,000 immigrants smuggled into the U.S. each year headed toward possible slavery or prostitution often through the major ports of New York, California and Florida, according to federal officials and a study by Florida State University. Filipino Reporter     3/28/05 Black, Asian Women with College Degree Outearn White Women Seattle Times     3/27/05 Report Calls for Punishing Peacekeepers in Sex Abuse New York Times     3/24/05 Judge to Hispanic Mom: Learn English or Lose Child The New Standard     3/21/05 Hundreds of Women in Michigan Discuss Effects of Ending Affirmative Action civilrights.org     3/12/05 International Women's Groups Mobilize to Tackle Poverty: New Alliance Sends Powerful Message to Governments Zmag.org     1/26/05 Congresswoman Calls for New Black Leadership The Herald Sun Latinas Make Greater Strides in Higher Education Vida en el Valle, News Report/ncmonline.com     1/23/05 Young Women Hear Mixed Signals at Harvard and Beyond Pacific News Service, Youth Commentary     1/21/05 Women Pushed Aside As Men Seek Power   Zmag.org     1/13/05 Sexism in Rap Sparks Black Magazine to Say, 'Enough!' Christain Science Monitor     1/9/05 Study on Black Single Moms Debunks Stereotypes BlackAmericaWeb/ncmonline.com     12/12/04 Call for Equity for Indigenous Women IndianCountry.com     12/9/04 20 Years After Bhopal, Women Survivors Globalize Fight for Justice Pacific News Service, Commentary Businesses Owned By Women of Color Growing Faster Than The Overall Economy civilrights.org     11/23/04 Most Female Prisoners Are Black Black America Web/ncmonline.com     10/10/04 Female Muslim Comics Twist Bias into Comic Jabs Women'senews     9/27/04 Women's Groups Plan Affirmative Action Campaign in Michigan civilrights.org     9/15/04 In Sudan, Rape's Lasting Hurt latimes.com Black America's Problems Caused by Sexism? BlackPressUSA     9/7/04 One Vote: A Short Film About Women and Voting onevotefilm.com     9/2/04 NWLC Analysis of New Census Data Finds Poverty of Women and Children Increases for Third Straight Year civilrights.org     7/24/04 Testimonies of Rape in Sudan BBC Forum: Help Young Black Men; Role to Play for Students, Families, Schools, Churches HeraldSun.com     7/18/04 Feminists discuss sexism, racism and war Green Left     5/28/04 Novel Forced Labor Claims Filed on Behalf of Latina Workers  ACLU.ORG     5/16/04 Hispanic Lawmakers Object to Tecate Ads XPOSED.COM     5/4/04 Two Women Fuel the Freedom Rides Women's ENEWS     4/26/04 Black College Women Take Aim at Explicit Rap Videos The Seattle Times     4/20/04 Narrowing The Pay Gap civilrights.org     4/19/04 Administration Rolling Back Progress for Women and Girls with Policies That Are Out of Sight & Out of Touch civilrights.org     4/12/04 Black Women May Hold Vote Key To Election SacObserver.com     3/23/04 Central Valley Immigrant Women Organize for Political Influence Pacific News Service/ncmonline.com     2/28/04 Study: Battered Welfare Moms in California Denied Counseling, Other Services San Francisco Bay View/ncmonline.com Fans Complain Timberlake Wins on a Double Standard HoustanChronicle.com     1/8/04 Quota for Women in Afghanistan Cheers Indian Counterparts One World South Asia     12/22/03 Lila Downs and Rigoberta Menchu Feted By U.S. Oaxacans El Grafico, News Feature/NCM     11/12/03 Essays Chronicle Black Women's Plight In West DenverPost.com     9/29/03 Braun Paves Way To White House for Women In Future, Group Says DesMoine Register.com     9/25/03 Woman Sentenced to Stoning Death Freed cnn.com     9/7/03 Rich World, Poor Women: Women and Work PBS.org     1/8/03 Stakes Is High The Nation