I'd never
been to Salt Lake City before, so I was excited to check it out. After
a long drive in from Denver, I was even more excited to be greeted by a
plate of vegan cookies, freshly-baked by our host, Courtney Maguire
(thanks, Courtney!). Courtney is one of the folks involved with the Female Empwerment Movement (FEM),
a new(ish) feminist group created in response to the high rates of
sexual violence in Salt Lake. FEM also helped organize and get the word
out of the evening's events, and I'm grateful.
I'm also grateful to Angela Brown, Meghann Griggs, and the rest of the folks at SLUG magazine,
who responded almost immediately to our call for assistance in helping
put together the discussion and fundraiser in Salt Lake. SLUG was
founded in 1989 and remains Utah's oldest alternative paper.
Several months ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Nancy Gruver, founder of New Moon, a magazine aimed at girls ages 8 to 12. New Moon is great – they're ad free, have girl editors and writers. They have a girl blog. Oh, and they're also based in Minnesota.
Today in my inbox was a message from Nancy sharing the news that on September 1, they'll be launching New Moon Girls web community – like the magazine, it'll be ad free, girl-driven content. In the meantime, they're trying to raise money.
Help them out, won't you? It's a rare thing to find media aimed at building up girls' self-esteem rather than tearing it down.
When I moved to Madison to go to school several years ago, all I knew about the city was that people often referred to it as the "Berkeley of the Midwest" because of its history of radical politics. And while – like Berkeley itself – that intense thread of resistance is not nearly as palpable as it must've been back then, the vibe of the city is still very progressive. As one example, I don't know of any other city in the United States with as many worker collectives/cooperatives.
Ok, folks – here's my heart on the line: I organized my entire trip around Mother's Day so that I could combine the organization I love plus my mom and grandma, who – as much as they support and love me – really don't "get" what my work is all about.
So please, Twin Cities friends, come – and bring anyone special you want to appreciate – and let's celebrate Mother's Day with gratitude for the amazing people that allowed us to live the lives we have today.
If nothing else, do it for my grandma! She's 91 and she's incredible.
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