#issuetime

[postitforward]

Today’s world is a difficult one. It is becoming evermore digital and can be all the lonelier for it. And with it can come anxiety in abundance. But we have someone who we think might be able to help: Jasmine Marie, CEO and Founder of black girls breathing®, who is here to explore the many big questions in this strange new world.

We will be partnering with @blackgirlsbreathing, a safe space for Black women and girls to manage their mental health and reflect on and heal their trauma through breathwork and community. They aim to offer free and accessible mental health resources to one million Black women and girls by 2025.

COVID-19 harmed us in more ways than one, and some more than others. It widened the gap of accessible mental health resources available to Black and Brown communities at the same time many in these same groups were experiencing isolation, compacted grief, and depression. Jasmine’s work is focused on providing preventative tools to combat a taxed nervous system, and black girls breathing® is here to provide free and accessible mental health resources to Black women and girls by offering not just breathwork, but a community. So if you’re a Black woman or girl, take the pledge to take one action to better your mental health by grabbing your free mental health toolkit and signing up here. And don't forget to ask her a question, and join us back here on March 27th to see her answers.

Want to learn more about @blackgirlsbreathing?

Check out their website!

Breathe with us on March 27th @12pm EDT during their Mindful Monday Breathwork for Anxiety session on Tumblr Live

Get to know black girls breathing's founder, Jasmine Marie on her Tumblr Spotlight

Take the pledge with black girls breathing®

[action]

What would you say to young voters who are disengaged and don’t think they need to vote?

I am concerned about people in this demographic who may be targeted by disinformation that makes them want to stay home. Thanks!

Since the 2020 general election, at least 8 million young people will have turned 18 and are eligible to vote in this year’s General Election. My School Votes is excited to work with a new generation of voters ready to get involved in their communities on the issues they care about. 

There is so much at stake. This November, all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and thirty-five Senate seats (about a third) are up for election.

If young people are engaged this year, they have the power to make their voices heard in the 2022 Midterm Elections across the country.  

Through monthly trainings, students acquire organizing skills, connect national issues to the local level, and learn how to develop highly effective student-led registration campaigns capable of registering over 90% of a given student body. 

First, head over to weall.vote/tumblr to check your voter registration status. Second, ask one to three friends to pledge to vote with you.

It’s people like you who will make all the difference this fall—whether that’s by casting a ballot or by organizing your communities to make sure all your neighbors can do the same.

[historyandmemes]

Hi guys, 

Harvard recently released an Implicit Bias Test which can supposedly uncover our unconscious biases. No, the test isn’t gonna deem you a terrible person. You can do different categories like -- race, sexuality, ability, religion, etc.. 

It’s simply a tool to uncover the ways in which society has taught us to think in manners that may negatively impact one another. These same learned patterns of bias materialize through our everyday interactions, and reinforce the very issue at hand as others interact and observe such bias.

Anyways, there’s gonna be an IssueTime about it tomorrow on @action if you have any questions. If you’re a skeptic, go ask industry experts some tough questions -- I’m all for holding information under scrutiny! 

Also, don’t forget ... 

[glblctzn]

Today on World Refugee Day, we commemorate the courage, strength, and perseverance of refugees, asylum seekers, and internaly displaced people. There are currently over 65 million refugees in today’s world--the highest number in recorded history. They have been forced to flee their home due to life threatening conditions ranging from drought and famine to religious persecution or war. Now, more than ever, it is time to #StandWithRefugees and raise awareness to the plights and obstacles they face.

We hosted our first Issue Time dealing with how the global community can support, improve the position of and stand in solidarity with refugees, and communicate how and why refugees are human beings, just like us, first and foremost. Our panel, Madge Thomas, Deputy-Director of Global Policy and Advocacy, Global Citizen, Piper Perabo; Actress, Activist, and IRC Voice; International Rescue Committee, Elmo, Sesame Street Muppet, Sherrie Westin, EVP for Global Impact and Philanthropy, Sesame Workshop and Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait, answered your questions here.

Looking for for some actions you can take right now?

- Millions of children around the world are in crisis -- because of conflicts and disasters, many of them will never learn to read or write, or even enter a classroom. Ahead of World Refugee Day, Global Citizen will host our first Issue Time panel on our Tumblr page. Sign the petition to ask world leaders to pledge to the Education Cannot Wait fund for kids in crisis.

- The worst humanitarian crisis since World War II has ripped apart families, left children out of school, destroyed homes and revealed some ugly sides of humanity. But many people around the world have continued to support and provide for refugees with open arms, whether they’re individuals or governments. Write a letter to a refugee to show your support.

- Globally over 65 million people are forcibly displaced. They have left everything behind, fleeing from conflict, violence and natural disasters. Ahead of World Refugee Day, Global Citizen will host our first Issue Time panel on our Tumblr page. Sign the petition to urge the 20 most powerful countries to protect and support refugees everywhere.

[zabrakian]

As a former heavy opioid user I can confirm that it IS a epidemic.

[plannedparenthood]

Should i even bother renewing my healthcare from the aca if theres a chance it will get repealed?

Yes, you should still enroll in coverage before the January 31 open enrollment deadline. When you enroll in coverage, you and the health insurance company enter into a contract that is generally binding for a year (no matter how the law changes). This means that if you enroll in coverage now then you will have coverage throughout 2017.

[refinery29]

Submit your questions for a new Issue Time on transgender body positivity! 

You can submit questions here until Wednesday 2/22. Answers will be posted on Refinery29′s tumblr Saturday 2/25. Anyone is welcome to participate, but we especially want to help transgender and nonbinary people of all genders.

And now, meet our panelists...

Rylan Jay Testa, Ph.D., Psychology Professor

Dr. Rylan Jay Testa is an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at Rhodes College and the Director of the Health Behavior and Disparities Lab. Dr. Testa is a clinical psychologist and transgender man whose research focuses on understanding and preventing self-destructive health-related behaviors, such as suicide, eating disorders, and substance abuse in marginalized communities.

Daniel Friedman, Founder of Bindle & Keep

Daniel Friedman is founder of Bindle & Keep, a NYC-based custom suit company serving all gender identities. He also costars in the HBO film SUITED which follows the stories of five gender nonconforming people in their journey to wear clothes that accurately reflect the way they feel. 

Justice Roe Williams, Executive Director of BodyImage4Justice & Fitness Coach for JusticeBodies

Justice Roe Williams is a published poet originally from Atlantic City, New Jersey.  He is a founding Director of BodyImage4Justice (BI4J), an holistic wellness and fitness program for the LGBTQ community that primarily focuses on Trans Bodies. Prior to his work at BI4J, Justice organized to free political prisoners for low income communities and young people in the South End, Dorchester, Jamaica Plain and Roxbury areas of Boston.

Aydian Dowling, CEO of Point5cc and Point of Pride

Aydian Dowling is a Transgender Activist and Entrepreneur, owner of Point5cc Clothing and President/Founder of Point of Pride, Non Profit. Aydian has documented his transition since 2009 via his Youtube Channel, ALionsFears, and is most commonly known to be the first Transgender Man on the cover of the worlds biggest mens magazine, Men’s Health.

Precious Davis, Diversity & Inclusion at Columbia College Chicago and LGBTQ Activist

Precious Davis is lauded nationally as an award winning diversity professional, social justice facilitator, and educator.  She currently is the Assistant Director of Diversity Recruitment Initiatives at Columbia College Chicago, her alma mater from which she received a BA in Liberal Arts. Precious currently implements and oversees the Campus Wide Diversity Initiative and is the first woman of color to hold this position.

Davis finds deep meaning in engaging individuals in conversations surrounding bias, bigotry, and prejudice in their communities on the basis and belief that humans can coexist with one another positively through the embracing of each other’s differences and the celebrating of  each others human diversity. With over 15 years of diversity training, leadership development, and social justice education experience Precious is a highly demanded speaker and panelist who has been featured at: The University of Chicago, Northwestern University, The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, The University of Michigan, The Chicago Community Trust, Reed College, Hampshire College, and Loyola University Chicago.

SUBMIT QUESTIONS HERE

[freedomforallamericans]

It was awesome joining @staff and @action for an #IssueTime event about #LGBT equality featuring Mayors Against LGBT Discrimination, including Jess Herbst, the first openly transgender official in Texas. See her answers – and more from the mayors of Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Providence, and West Lafayette, Indiana! https://action.tumblr.com/tagged/mayors