bliss pierce

inspiring others to see things differently

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STORY 10 (of 10): Mary Church Terrell

I knew nothing of Mary Church Terrell when I selected her autobiography from my local library. In a sea of the oldest biographies and autobiographies, Terrell’s was the only one I could find about a woman of color. I’m still uncertain as to what I will connect with in her story, but I am truly excited to begin this journey into the foundations of this intersection of feminism and civil rights. 

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STORY 9 (of 10): Gloria Jean Watkins (bell hooks)

I recently finished “All About Love: New Visions” where bell hooks shares her perspective on loves power and reasons for it’s absence in society today. Though the book was written more than 15 years ago, hooks captures the essence of our violent culture that is most apparent in the current presidential elections. In a society where power is deemed more important than love, violence will be supported. 

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STORY 8 (of 10): Katharine Graham

Reading Katharine Graham's autobiography was a struggle at first. It was difficult to read about this woman of wealthy privilege and almost total ignorance of gender-based hierarchies navigating the world. I am still in the difficult middle of her story, but what seems to be happening now is that she is learning, she's growing and she's becoming a stronger version of herself -- the version that became the first female CEO of a Fortune 500 company.

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STORY 7 (of 10): Barbara C. Jordan I first stumbled upon her story when I was a student in undergrad taking a class on rhetoric. Jordan was the only orator we studied that I could connect with - being that she was black, female and queer - so I chose her Democratic National Convention speech for my final assignment in the class. What I admire about Jordan was her ability to see past the faults in others. She clung to the tenets of a Constitution that didn't include her and believed in the positive intent of this document. She created a unified vision with her speeches and compelled people to take action; in her own way, mobilizing people for progress.

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Story 6 (of 10): Eartha Kitt I first became enamored with Eartha Kitt when I saw this video clip where she discusses love and compromise (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGYwf7e_cr8). She's bold, no-nonsense, unapologetic, but there's also a warmth and tenderness there. I enjoyed discovering a few more of her layers and learning that so much of her effort outside of her performance career was put towards building a more peaceful and inclusive world.

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Story 5 (of 10): Wilma Mankiller

Sure. Wilma was the first female chief of the Cherokee tribe in modern times. Yes. She won the Presidential Medal of freedom. But it's not simply what she accomplished in her life that makes her story so wonderful; it's HOW she did.

Wilma was a gifted organizer in that she first listened to the people she was trying to help and then moved them to act with her to get things done. She's remembered for being an activist who helped people help themselves -- just as she wished.

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Story 4 (of 10): Gloria E. Anzaldúa

I only wish I had the chance to meet this woman before she died. Reading her work felt like what I imagine most people mean when they talk about 'home'. A place where you belong. Where you don't have to conform or choose sides. You can just...be. EXCERPT FROM HER ESSAY "LA PRIETA": "The whole time growing up I felt that I was not of this earth. An alien from another planet - I'd been dropped on my mother's lap. But for what purpose? 

...Think of me as Shiva, a many-armed and legged body with one foot on brown soil, one on white, one in straight society, one in the gay world, the man's world, the women's, one limb in the literary world, another in the working class, the socialist, and the occult worlds. A sort of spider woman hanging by one thin strand of web. 

Who, me confused? Ambivalent? Not so. Only your labels split me. 

...For the politically correct stance we let color, class, and gender separate us from those who would be kindred spirits."

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Story 3 (of 10): Alice Walker It may seem strange to some, but even as I am writing this post, I still have yet to see the film "The Color Purple." My interest in Alice Walker's work on feminism actually stemmed from reading the book (of the same name), which in her words, is NOT the movie. What I loved in the book was how she showcased systematic oppression, especially logged against women of color. In this fiction novel, she shed so much truth on our relationship with religion and how it can often be used as a form of further subjugation. I devoured this novel in merely two days. I simply could not put it down. The characters were so relatable to me -- their strength, their courage, the abuse, all familiar.

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Story 2 (of 10): Lucy Stone

There is so much that I took away from Lucy Stone's biography (written by her daughter, Alice Stone Blackwell). But my favorite parts were much too long to be included in the graphic, so I'll add them here...

(1) A. Blackwell writes, "The injustice of the laws was not due to any especial depravity on the part of men, but merely to the self-partiality of human nature. If the laws had been made by women alone, they would probably have been just as one-sided, only it would have been the other way around. Event though the best men though that the existing conditions were right. As Henry B. Blackwell said, 'No governed class was ever yet without a grievance. Yet no governing class has ever been able to see that the grievance existed.'" <--How true is this even today?!?!

(2) The second inclusion references the "Marriage Protest" drawn up by Lucy and Henry. Not that I'm particularly keen on marriage for myself, this type of promised equality, especially during that time, is so powerful to witness. -- While we acknowledge our mutual affection by publicly assuming the relationship of husband and wife, yet in justice to ourselves and a great principle, we deem it a duty to declare that this act on our part implies no sanction of, nor promise of voluntary obedience to such of the present laws of marriage, as refuse to recognize the wife as an independent, rational being, while they confer upon the husband an injurious and unnatural superiority, investing him with legal powers which no honorable man would exercise, and which no man should possess. We protest especially against the laws which give to the husband: 1. The custody of the wife's person. 2. The exclusive control and guardianship of their children. 3. The sole ownership of her personal, and use of her real estate, unless previously settled upon her, or placed in the hands of trustees, as in the case of minors, lunatics, and idiots. 4. The absolute right to the product of her industry. 5. Also against laws which give to the widower so much larger and more permanent interest in the property of his deceased wife, than they give to the widow in that of the deceased husband. 6. Finally, against the whole system by which "the legal existence of the wife is suspended during marriage," so that in most States, she neither has a legal part in the choice of her residence, nor can she make a will, nor sue or be sued in her own name, nor inherit property. We believe that personal independence and equal human rights can never be forfeited, except for crime; that marriage should be an equal and permanent partnership, and so recognized by law; that until it is so recognized, married partners should provide against the radical injustice of present laws, by every means in their power.

REFERENCE: Marriage Protest of Lucy Stone and Henry B. Blackwell (May 1, 1855). Quoted in T. W. Higginson, "Marriage of Lucy Stone Under Protest," The Liberator (Boston, Massachusetts), vol. 25, no. 18 (Whole no. 1085) (May 4, 1855), p. 71.

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Story 1 (of 10): Gloria Steinem I've never really liked staying in one place for too long. I love traveling because it challenges my perception of "normal". In Gloria, I found a kindred spirit. I'm grateful to her for 

(1) deepening my resolve towards feminism, 

(2) including ALL women in the women's liberation movement (most notably Native Americans and LGBT women at a time when this was a much more risky stance), 

(3) sharing her failures so I could see that even in the fight for something good, we are not without human frailty, 

(4) reinforcing the power of friendships to get things done, and 

(5) showing me that you learn as much from you adversaries as you do from your allies (if not more). WORTH THE READ: "My Life on the Road"

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About 2 months ago, my Goal Setting Crew challenged me to share women's stories. They know about my passion for women's issues and that I'm a part of Emma Watson's feminist book club (Our Shared Shelf). But it's one thing to read about women -- it can be a bit passive and really only benefits the reader unless they DO something about it. So this is me, taking one step in the direction of doing something, by sharing these stories in the best way that I know how.

In honor of Women's History Month (and to accept the push of my wonderful circle of friends), I have challenged myself to share 10 women's stories during in 10 days (or at least before the month is out). I encourage you to follow along, offer correction or commentary, and share your thoughts in a respectful manner so that we can all benefit.

With Kindness, Bliss