Gestures of Defiance

I'm an artist, educator and activist particularly interested in learning from tactics, props and gestures used as protests. I use this blog as a platform to archive and communicate examples of what I call 'gestures of defiance'-exciting, urgent and relevant actions that link protest histories and present radical potentials. On this blog I'm simply compiling and reposting examples I find as they happen. Months may go by with out a post but the blog as an archive is still active.

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Woman praised for breaking up a Planned Parenthood protest by shouting 'yeast infections!' and carrying a sign thanking the organization for helping with her problems

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3290635/Woman-praised-breaking-Planned-Parenthood-protest-shouting-yeast-infections-carrying-sign-thanking-organization-helping-problems.html

A resourceful woman broke up a protest outside a Planned Parenthood building by chanting 'yeast infections' and carrying a cardboard sign thanking the non-profit organization for 'helping' her with the chronic issue - even after a man called her 'whore'.

Mary Numair, 29, from Portland, Oregon, was working at Purringtons Cat Lounge on Sunday when she saw a woman carrying a sign outside Planned Parenthood that read: 'Abortion Kills Children.' Mary sprung into action and created a sign of her own out of masking tape and a piece of cardboard that she found in the dumpster, before starting her own counter-protest.

'They do so much beyond abortions. I’m very much pro-choice, but if you want to take it beyond pro-choice and pro-life, there are… all these other things that are uncomfortable to talk about and [get treated if] you don’t want to wait two weeks to see your primary doctor or you don’t have health insurance,' she explained to Slate.

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Taking action: Mary Numair, 29, from Portland, Oregon, broke up an anti-Planned Parenthood protest by shouting, 'Yeast infections!'

Getting personal: Mary created a homemade sign out using masking tape and a piece of cardboard that she found in a dumpster, writing: 'Dear P.P., Thanks for helping with my yeast infections'

'Dear P.P., Thanks for helping with my yeast infections!' she wrote on the sign.

Mary explained that before ObamaCare, she was unable to obtain health insurance because of a pre-existing condition, and she relied on treatment at the local Planned Parenthood in her hometown of Everett, Washington to help sort out her medical problems.

It was there that she received birth control and medication for her chronic yeast infections.

'They’re also the ones who so graciously informed me, after I freaked out after losing my virginity, that I had a latex allergy and there was no reason to panic,' she added.

Mary said she had no idea why she started enthusiastically chanting, 'Yeast infections!' and doing high kicks, but her methods proved to be effective.

Fighting back: The Planned Parenthood supporter started her own counter-protest after she saw one woman outside of the clinic with a sign that read 'Abortion Kills Children'

Standing with Planned Parenthood: Within a half-hour, Mary's antics prompted the protests to leave, and she proudly tweeted about her victory

Abandoning ship: Mary also snapped a photo of this protester walking away from her, noting that no one wanted to take a selfie with her

While most passerby honked or gave her thumbs up in support, one man did call her a 'whore' when she walked out there, but Mary kept chanting.

The Planned Parenthood supporter boldly asked if one of the protester's children knew about yeast infections, and a religious leader led the protesters in a prayer circle on Mary's behalf - but she only got louder.

The protesters went from spread out to huddled together to abandoning their cause within a half hour of her counter-protest.

Mary said she had never seen protesters at that Planned Parenthood before, but she believes the recent uproar over the organization's fetal tissue programs may have inspired the protesters.

She is the champion: Mary proudly held up her sign and posed for a photo after all of the protesters left the Planned Parenthood location

Can't win them all: While most people honked their horn and gave Mary a thumbs up in support of her actions, she admitted that one man called her a 'whore'

Keeping up the good work: Mary said she plans on having similar protests in the future

After the protest, Mary proudly took to Twitter to reveal what she had done and share photos of her sign.

'Hey I just single handedly broke up a planned parenthood protest by chanting the words "yeast infections".' she wrote.

Many Twitter users were quick to praise Mary for her actions, with Tori Timms tweeting: 'Hearing that @MaryNumair broke up a #PlannedParenthood protest by shouting about yeast infections is best thing that happened to me today.'

And one person going by 'BracketMarch' on Twitter added: '@MaryNumair I hope you are not a bot and this is real. If so, you are amazing. [sic]'

'@BracketMarch It was very real! I hope this chant spreads. Side note: no one there wanted a selfie with me [sic],' she replied, while sharing an image of one of the female protesters walking away from her.

Mary, who also shared a photo from the moment when all of the protesters left the Planned Parenthood location, told Slate that she definitely plans on having similar protests in the future.

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Radical Brownies: is this the future of girl groups?

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/womens-blog/2015/jan/26/radical-brownies-future-girl-groups-social-justice?CMP=share_btn_fb

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Hannah Giorgis

Hannah Giorgis

@ethiopienne

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Oakland, California, has played host to a powerful league of revolutionary spirits over the years. The Black Panther Party, Brown Berets and Yellow Peril all called the bustling Bay Area city home at some point in their interwoven histories. And now, in the spirit of radical foremothers Angela Davis, Grace Reyes, and Yuri Kochiyama, comes a pint-sized girl group with every bit of the political passion of their predecessors.

The Radical Brownies, a social justice-oriented version of the Girl Scouts, was set up only a few weeks ago to “empower young girls of colour to step into their collective power, brilliance and leadership to make the world a more radical place”. The group of 12 girls are not affiliated to the Girl Guide movement and there are no badges for hostessing. Instead, the members, aged between eight and 12 years old, learn about black history, civil rights and social justice; their reward system includes a “Black Lives Matter” badge and lessons in sustainable agriculture for a “Food Justice” badge. “Radical Beauty,” “Radical Self-Love,” and “LGBT Ally” badges are also on the curriculum.

Co-founder Anayvette Martinez says the idea stemmed from her own daughter: “I saw the need for a group that would empower and encourage her to form bonds of sisterhood with other girls in her community. I began to imagine what a radical young girl’s social justice troop looked like; a group that centred and affirmed her experiences as a beautiful and brilliant brown girl against so many societal pressures to conform to mainstream ideals of girlhood.”

The group also arrives at a time when non-white girls in the US find their identities policed on multiple axes. In schools, they already face disproportionate (and stratified) discrimination and are suspended at rates that far eclipse those of their white peers. Studies repeatedly show that suspensions can serve as a gateway in the “school-to-prison pipeline”, and often they are issued for reasons that boil down to the girls not being “ladylike” enough.

Radical Brownies gives them the opportunity to find comfort outside the classroom. They are offered a new vision of girlhood that, for the girls who are least likely to see the full range of their complexities captured in media, fiction or even textbooks, is distinct and powerful. It reminds them that they are not alone – they stand on the shoulders of all those who have dedicated their lives to fighting for their rights. In a world that tells girls to shrink themselves every day, the knowledge of that history of resistance can inspire them to become leaders in their own right.

Being a Radical Brownie would have helped me understand the world around me at an age when I first started to have big, burning questions about why things are the way they are. Better yet, it would have allowed me to do that alongside other young girls asking similar questions, while being taught to respect each other’s creativity and quirks. Girl power is real, and I can’t even imagine how much more self-assured I would have been during my hilariously awkward teenage years if I had been part of something so inspiring in the formative years preceding them.

Any space that supports young girls and their infinite contributions to the world is a positive thing. As the group states: “In these trying times for our communities of colour, with histories of struggle and resilience, this space is rare, necessary and should be celebrated.”

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Zora Neale Hurston-Writer, Anthropologist, Civil Rights Activist

http://www.biography.com/people/zora-neale-hurston-9347659

Activists and Residents Light Up Bushwick with Anti-Gentrification Signs

http://hyperallergic.com/265264/activists-and-residents-light-up-bushwick-with-anti-gentrification-signs/

Activists and Residents Light Up Bushwick with Anti-Gentrification Signs

by Claire Voon on December 31, 2015

Illumination Against Gentrification signs outside a bodega (all photos courtesy Illumination Against Gentrification)

Since Christmas Eve, some lights along the streets and in the houses of Bushwick have spelled out a number of messages quite different from the festive wishes one usually finds during the holiday season. “GENTRIFICATION IS THE NEW COLONIALISM,” “NOT 4 SALE,” and “NO EVICTION ZONE,” some read. Found around major streets and intersections, the signs are part of “Mi Casa No Es Su Casa: Illumination Against Gentrification,” a community resistance art project to give voice to those concerned with the gentrification of their neighborhood and threats of displacement. The project, organized in conjunction with social justice group NYC Light Brigade, was spearheaded by longtime Bushwick resident Pati Rodriguez, who said she and her family are “tired of being harassed by developers and real estate agents looking to buy us out of our home in Bushwick to displace us, just like they did with most of my childhood friends.”

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Members of the community hold up a “Not 4 Sale” sign (click to enlarge)

The signs, 21 in total, all glow with firm declarations of tenacity against such intimidation techniques. Lights that read, “3 GENERATION HOUSEHOLD” make clear that buildings are not just portions of real estate up for carving, but homes; others say, “NO ME MUDO” (I’m not moving”), reminding passersby of the ever-present possibility of families being forced from their residences.

“We’ve had a good mix of long-time/native New York tenants, homeowners, and businesses who are currently displaying the signs,” activist Will Giron — who led protests this year against the Bushwick Flea — told Hyperallergic. “We hope that the signs not only raise awareness about the displacement of people of color in the community due to gentrification, but we also hope that the signs makes it clear that we are fighting back.”

The collective lighting, which ends today, is the culmination of a six-week-long project that involved a community workshop to create the signs. Made with trails of Christmas light bulbs, the new signs repurpose decorations that usually spread holiday greetings to instead spell out struggles in a jazzed-up version of a protest sign. The very blatant results may breed unease, but they certainly attract the eye.

“Our project’s message is very clear,” long-time Bushwick resident Bianca Perez said. “We are here, we have been here, we matter, and we will make sure YOU are aware of that.”