Kat O'Rourke

She was the kind of girl who would say things that weren't that funny.

[clawmarks]

A book of studies in plant form with some suggestions for their application to design - A. E. V. Lilley and W. Midgeley - 1896 - via Internet Archive

[foreverthesoniag-deactivated202]

“When last did you stop and take some time to check in with yourself; to find out how you’re doing and where you’re at? Maybe now is the time. #Art and words by @recipesforselflove ….. Take a breather. Go over your to do list. But also see how your heart and gut is doing. I’ve been feeling a bit all over the place today and I had to just sit in silence and regroup… . #recipesforselflove #support #love #life #bodypositive #allbodiesaregoodbodies #selflove #selfcare #loveyourself #smashthepatriarchy #check #youareperfect #lifestyle #fuckthepatriarchy #effyourbeautystandards #feminism #femme #intersectionalfeminist #feminsta #feminist #zine #illustration #digital #drawing #adobe #design #graphic #art #women #yourself

[guerrillamamamedicine]

(via (111) SZA - Doves In The Wind (Audio) ft. Kendrick Lamar - YouTube)

[fernsandmoss]

Georgia O’Keeffe, Green Oak Leaves, 1923.

[excursio]

Marjane Satrapi is the queen of everything

[regardintemporel]

Yayoi KUSAMA

[katorourke]

Cuyuna country.

[katorourke]

Mykki Blanco - I Want a Dyke for President

[katorourke]

M.I.A. Finally

[superheroesincolor]

The Complete Persepolis (2007)

“Persepolis is the story of Satrapi’s unforgettable childhood and coming of age within a large and loving family in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution; of the contradictions between private life and public life in a country plagued by political upheaval; of her high school years in Vienna facing the trials of adolescence far from her family; of her homecoming–both sweet and terrible; and, finally, of her self-imposed exile from her beloved homeland. It is the chronicle of a girlhood and adolescence at once outrageous and familiar, a young life entwined with the history of her country yet filled with the universal trials and joys of growing up.

Edgy, searingly observant, and candid, often heartbreaking but threaded throughout with raw humor and hard-earned wisdom–Persepolis is a stunning work from one of the most highly regarded, singularly talented graphic artists at work today.”

 by Marjane Satrapi

Get it  now here

Marjane Satrapi (Persian: مرجان ساتراپی) is an Iranian-born French contemporary graphic novellist, illustrator, animated film director, and children’s book author. Apart from her native tongue Persian, she speaks English, Swedish, German, French and Italian.

Satrapi grew up in Tehran in a family which was involved with communist and socialist movements in Iran prior to the Iranian Revolution. She attended the Lycée Français there and witnessed, as a child, the growing suppression of civil liberties and the everyday-life consequences of Iranian politics, including the fall of the Shah, the early regime of Ruhollah Khomeini, and the first years of the Iran-Iraq War. She currently lives in Paris, where she is at work on the sequel to Persepolis. She is also the author of several children’s books.

[Follow SuperheroesInColor faceb / instag / twitter / tumblr / pinterest]

[katorourke]

[guerrillamamamedicine]

(via The Overlooked Black Women Who Altered the Course of Feminist Art)

In 1977, the Combahee River Collective, a black feminist organization, gathered in New Jersey for their second retreat, where they worked together to formulate a collaborative letter.  

The Heresies Collective, whose membership consisted predominately of white women, had just published its third feminist art journal, titled “Lesbian Art and Artists,” but had neglected to feature a single woman of color. The Combahee River Collective, which was formed to raise consciousness about race and gender issues, had assembled to craft a response.

“We find it appalling,” they wrote, “that a hundred years from now it will be possible for women to conclude that in 1977 there were no practicing Black and other Third World lesbian artists.”

The critical debate that it provoked was an expression of the complex and often tumultuous relationship between mainstream feminism and the black women who were so often excluded from it—a tension that continues today. The activities undertaken by black women to push back against their erasure, in the late ’60s through the early ’80s, effectively amounted to a desire for a revolution.

It is from this fervor that a current exhibition at the Brooklyn Museumgets its title: “We Wanted A Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965-85.”

The show, which is one part of the museum’s year-long initiative to reimagine feminist art, “A Year of Yes,” highlights the work of black women artists during the height of second-wave feminism and serves as a record of their stories—to be remembered for the next hundred years and beyond

[katorourke]

Just say No:  Simply saying no can be a radical act in the face of systemic oppression.

Ask them to Clarify: No one wants to be blunt about the bigotry implicit in a joke or generalization. That’s why coded terms exist.

Don’t Laugh:  Refusing to give into this subtle social intimidation will send a powerful message about your principles without escalating the confrontation.

Avoid Insults:  Then, outline why you believe that comment is offensive in the simplest terms possible

Call Out Hypocrisy:  When someone makes a sweeping generalization, respond by equating them with someone else that has committed deplorable acts and matches their social identity.

Attack Their Assumptions: Confront these misconceptions. 

[geniusbee]

Resistance can take many forms - from education to litigation, from within a small community to throughout the globe. Though I have omitted highly important figures like Yuri Kochiyama and Fred Korematsu, I wanted to spotlight lesser-known individuals who resisted injustice in a variety of ways. They demonstrate that we too can act against oppression and inequality, however we are able.

[Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga] [Ina Sugihara] [Mitsuye Endo] [Norman Mineta] [Aki Kurose] 

Many thanks to The Densho Project for the research materials

I’ve put a printed zine version of these drawings and stories on my Storenvy for preorder, all profits from sales of the zine will be donated to the ACLU. Zines will be shipped out in early March. 

[childofzami]

Photographer: Lauren Soleil-Downer 

On Monday, January 19, 2015, We, @Werqatl and the Black queer community of Atlanta marched under the banner of ‪#‎ReclaimHERDream‬ to RECLAIM the radical legacy of ALL Black women in the Civil Rights Movement.

After the march, we disrupted the rally to hold memorial/mock funeral service for ALL Black women, cis and trans, queer and straight.

Brief of the opening statement: 

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today because Black women are DYING and we need to begin fighting for the freedom and safety our BLACK WOMEN with the same URGENCY that we hold for our Black men.  - @WerqATL

WERQ responded to a national call from Ferguson to #ReclaimMLK. In doing this work, we wanted to place Dr. King within a larger movement of Black working class women (cis and trans, queer and straight), who with Dr.King, risked their lives on the frontlines of the Civil Rights Movement, only to be relegated to the sidelines of history. 

We marched for Harriet, Ida B., Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer, Septima Clark, Pauli Murray, Audre Lorde, June Jordan, Diane Nash, the Four Little Girls, the women of SNCC, SCLC, CORE, and the other countless and nameless women and girls who lives did not MATTER in the making of history. Because we believe #BlackWomenMatter!

We marched for Kathryn Johnson, Kim Jones, Sakia Gunn, Mia Henderson, Islan Nettles, Renisha McBride, Marissa Alexander, Rekia Boyd, Islan Nettles, Yaz’min Shancez, Tiffany Edwards, Aiyanna Jones, Yvette Smith, Tarika Wilson, Tyisha Miller, our mamas, our sisters, our grandmamas, you, and so many others.

Black women are MORE than the mothers and sisters of Black men who are murdered by the police. 

We are beaten, terrorized, raped, choked, shot, and murdered.

Black women are MORE than the daughters and lovers of revolutionary Black men.We are the revolutionaries!  We are freedom fighters, we are activists, we are organizers and we have stood on the front lines of every movement for freedom in this country!  We will not remain on the margins of your headlines or your movement. We will fight for Black Women! Because in the words of June Jordan: “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”

For more info: 

Tumblr: @werqatl

Twitter: WerqATL

Email: [email protected]

Follow some of WERQ’s members:

@queerasiwannabe

@daughterofzami

@resilient22

[rz-evn]

Very important reminders, to those of us with the skin color privilege and/or the gender privilege to “not know” this struggle: remember, and act accordingly. 

[katorourke]

“Your privilege. What’s up with that?

Your power. What’s up with that?”

[saintheron-blog]

Get into our Jams Of The Month Playlist for the month of November!

xx