Memorials for Memorial Day

Monday is Memorial Day. A day to remember those who we have lost to injustice. A day to remember those that others would like us to forget. Here are a few individuals to remember and memorialize on this Memorial Day.

Mental Health Warriors:

All those who are currently mental health warriors and all those who have been lost to mental health-related causes. We remember you.

Transgender Women of Color:

All those Transgender women of color who have been killed by individuals and by unjust systems. Including the following from this year. We remember you.

• Dana Martin, 31, a Black transgender woman, was fatally shot in Montgomery, Alabama, on January 6. Reports stated that she was found in a roadside ditch in her vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. Daroneshia Duncan-Boyd, an Alabama-based trans advocate, said that “she was a person that was loved by many.”

• Ashanti Carmon, 27, a Black transgender woman, was fatally shot in Prince George's County, Maryland, on March 30. Few details are yet known about the crime, and the investigation is ongoing. “Until I leave this Earth, I’m going to continue on loving her in my heart, body, and soul,” said Philip Williams, Carmon’s fiancé. “She did not deserve to leave this Earth so early, especially in the way that she went out.

• Claire Legato, 21, a Black transgender woman, was fatally shot in Cleveland on April 15. Local media reports that Legato was shot in the head after an argument broke out between her mother and the suspect. She was taken to a nearby hospital and died from her injuries on May 14. Friends and family took to social media to mourn Legato’s death, remembering her as someone who was “full of life.”

• Muhlaysia Booker, 23, a Black transgender woman, was fatally shot in Dallas on May 18. Local media reported that Booker was found dead, lying face down with a gunshot wound near a golf course in east Dallas. In April, Booker was viciously attacked in what Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings described as “mob violence.” Officers say that there is no indication as of this point that the April attack is linked to Booker’s killing.

• Michelle "Tamika" Washington, 40, a Black transgender woman, was fatally shot in Philadelphia on May 19. Police responded to reports of shots fired in North Philadelphia’s Franklinville neighborhood, according to the Philadelphia Gay News. Washington, who was also known by the name Tameka, was found with several gunshot wounds and transported to Temple University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. She is remembered by friends and loved ones as a beloved sister and “gay mother.”

Children who have been killed in US detention facilities

Too many children are dying in US custody at the border. We remember you.

• 10-year-old girl from El Salvador (Last Year)

• 16-year-old Carlos Gregorio Hernández Vásquez from Guatemala 

• 2-year-old Wilmer Josué Ramírez Vásquez from Guatemala

• 16-year-old Juan de León Gutiérrez from Guatemala

• 8-year-old Felipe Alónzo-Gomez from Guatemala

• 7-year-old Jakelin Caal Maquin from Guatemala.

Individuals who have been shot and killed by police

So far in 2019 363 have been shot and killed by police, In 2018 992 were shot and killed by police. We remember you

On this Memorial Day remember all those who have been killed by injustice and unjust systems. As Summer begins how are you going to take a moment to help prevent deaths such as these from happening in the future? Who are you going to write? Who are you going to talk too? What groups are you going to support? How are you going to make a difference?

Courage ....

So after a few days of "Riding the night elephant"* I realized one of many causes was the recent criminalization of being a woman. And that is what the laws which have been passed in several southern states amount to "The Criminalization of being a woman".

We as a nation have a tendency to Criminalize being human:

Criminalize Skin Tones,
Criminalize Identities,
Criminalize Orientations
Criminalize Places of Birth
Criminalize Running for your lives

And now once again The Criminalization of being a woman

Being a woman is NOT A CRIME! Being human is NOT A CRIME!

There are so many memes going around which put the bills in context and show the horrors of them and I am not going to go there right now. Each and every person has the right to make their own choices about their reproduction or lack of reproduction. I really don't know what else to say right now.

So I will take a deep breath, and put on my sword and shield, and continue to fight the good fight. As Lin-Manuel says we are not alone. We are over half the population. You can push us down and criminalize us but we will survive. We are women, We will roar. Have courage.

*Right now for me "Riding the night elephant" fits better than "Black Dog". Elephants are very large and very unintentionally destructive because of their size. The word Night is less racist than using the word Black. And "Rode the night elephant" helps make anyone dealing with mental health issues into warriors. 

DePaul: A celebration of Disney

This weekend was the 7th annual DePaul Pop Culture Conference and like each of the past years, it was a great time. For me, it was a little different because for the first time I was on the other side of the table as a presenter.

The panel I was on "Disney and Feminism" went well and we had a good blend of topics. At one point I was a little worried because someone else had a similar sounding topic using a more academic lens but we each took different angles and did well.

A longer version of my talk "Moana and the Importance of Female Support Networks" is presented in this years "A Celebration of Disney DePaul Pop Culture Conference 2019" book. I have been told soon it will be available on Amazon.  Check it out.

Other Panels

I went to the Panel Women in Animation which gave a history of women animators from the beginning when they were not allowed to be involved in the creative process* (see the picture below), to the indie women animators of today.

The Academic Keynote was by Dr Rebecca Williams on The Haunted Mansion. It was interesting to learn how fans gave this ride a lot of outside meaning/storyline. It is also interesting like how some details are still being debated today between the creators of the ride and the marketers of the ride. 

The Profesional Keynote was by Philo Barnhart who was an animator on The Little Mermaid among other projects. Most of the panel became him showing how quickly we recognize these characters (often with a sketch of only a few shapes and a line or two and we were able to identify the character) and then went into how to draw these characters. 

I enjoyed the panel on Fandom and the Disney Industry which covered everything from how Disney has been using copyright to shrink the public domain and how they are legally stealing our common heritage of stories to how Disney movies are translated overseas. Sometimes details like what food a character does not like to eat (from broccoli to green pepper) and sometimes changing the language in such a way it accidentally references language used by Hitler yuck. I ended with 2 interesting panels one on Disney Brand Extensions and one on seeing the other in Disney.

So once again DePaul Pop Culture Conference had a hit. Hope to see you all next year.