October 31, 2007 . . . the Day of Red. So, we are still uploading pictures of red as they are emailed to us .

be bold be brave be red stop the violence

Recent events in the United States have moved us to action. Violence against women is sadly, not a new phenomenon in our country or in the world, however, in the last year women of color have experienced brutal forms of violence, torture, rape and injustice which have gone unnoticed, received little to no media coverage, or a limited community response. We are responding to:

• The brutal and inhumane rape, torture, and kidnapping of Megan Williams in Logan, West Virginia who was held by six assailants for a month.

• Rape survivors in the Dunbar Housing Projects in West Palm Beach, Florida one of whom was forced to perform sexual acts on her own child.

• A 13 year old native American girl was beaten by two white women and has since been harassed by several men yelling “white power” outside of her home

• Seven black lesbian girls attempted to stop an attacker and were latter charged with aggravated assault and are facing up to 11 year prison sentences

In a Litany of Survival, Audre Lorde writes, “When we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak remembering we were never meant to survive.” These words shape our collective organizing to break the silence surrounding women of color’s stories of violence. We are asking for community groups, grass-root organizations, college campus students and groups, communities of faith, online communities, and individuals to join us in speaking out against violence against women of color. If we speak, we cannot be invisible.

Important Statement

Additionally, there are many stories of violence against women of color we did not highlight in our initial move clip, “How do you keep a Social Movement Alive?” Therefore, in the next coming weeks we will begin updating the movie clip with stories of violence that go unheard that affect various women of color communities as well as highlighting specific ways in which state violence and citizenship makes it very difficult for immigrant women of color to speak their stories of violence.

More things to come regarding the Be Bold Be Red campaign will be posted next week, November 10, 2007.

Join us and stand up to violence against women of color!!!

The Names: Regina, Fallon, Alana, Moya, Jessica, Cassandra, Babara, Marian Yalini, Rafeet, Paola, Lawrence, Cathy, Julie, Tammy, Veronica, Kweku, Zenobia, Izetta, Sayeed (aka blog name is Blkseagoat), Serena, Alexia, MOCSA (Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault, Kansas City), New Voices Pittsburgh: Women of Color for Reproductive Justice, Emory University Students, Spelman College Feminist Majority League, Project Grad Atlanta, The Office of Student Life~The University of Vermont, The Skillman Foundation in Detroit, MI, The Center for African & African American Studies at U.T Austin, . . . and more to come! (Most rallies are happening tonight)!!