Keeping it going: May 7th-21st

Hello Teen Resisters! What a week it has been. We hope you have all been able to revel in a little happiness, perhaps through the beautiful wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (look at our instagram for an adorable video of Meghan as a young activist), or through other means. Things have been pretty jam packed. We're here to fill you in.

FIRSTLY: At 7:30 A.M. on Friday morning, 10 students were killed and 10 more were injured by a gunman in Santa Fe, Texas. The shooter was a classmate of the victims, and he used a shotgun and a .38 revolver hidden under his trench coat. This  puts the number of students killed in schools by mass shootings this year higher than the number of military personnel killed in active service this year.

Don’t let mass school shootings become normalized. Keep calling, writing, protesting, and speaking out; some real change in terms of gun control did happen in Florida after Parkland, and youth have an insane amount of power to keep the change coming.

Check out this easy-to-read, comprehensive list on gun control (Some Things You Should Know About Gun Control) for ways to take action.

WHat Went Down

Net Neutrality Update: People across America rejoiced at the news last week that the Senate had voted to keep net neutrality in place, despite the major blow it took when FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced it would be repealed in mid-December. (Confused about what Net Neutrality is and why it’s important? Read our Net Neutrality briefing from December.) However, the fight is far from over. The important ruling now goes to to the House of Representatives, which is unfortunately currently Republican controlled. While public opinion highly favors net neutrality, Republicans have refused to listen.
    What you can do:
    Call Republican reps around you! Search for their office numbers on google and call using this script:
    Hi, my name is ________. I’m calling to ask that you choose to vote against the repeal of net neutrality in the upcoming vote. A large majority of Americans believe in net neutrality, and repealing it would jeopardize free speech, an open and free internet, and important leaps being made in online communities. I urge you to choose the interests of the American people over party lines in this crucial vote. Thank you.
​

Chikesia Clemons' Assault: On the 22nd of April, a woman by the name of Chikesia Clemons was arrested in a Waffle House in Alabama. A video circulated the internet of her being assaulted by police officers, being pushed forcefully to the ground while her top was pulled down, exposing her breast. This conflict stemmed from Chikesia and her friend Canita Adams asking for plastic utensils. When told that they would have to pay fifty cents for them, the two of them refused, claiming that they did not need to pay for utensils when they were there the night before. According to her mother, Chiquitta Clemons-Howard, the waitress they were speaking to cancelled their order while Clemons was waiting for the card of the district manager so that she could file a complaint against one of the waitresses. At no point before or during this interaction was Chikesia asked to leave the establishment.
While the staff of the Waffle House was retrieving said card for her, the police arrived. The video that went viral depicts one of the officers gripping Clemons’ wrist and shoulder while she argues, repeating, “We haven’t did nothing…. The only thing I asked for was corporate’s number.” She then resisted arrest, telling the officer not to grab her while he was trying to get her wrists behind her back, and addressed her friend, saying, “C’mon… let’s just go outside.” Her friend, who appears to be the person who took the video, says, “All she did was ask them what they number was,” referencing the Waffle House staff. The clip then cuts to two officers forcing Chikesia on the floor and pulling down her top, leaving her breast exposed. During the struggle, Clemons asked the officer what he was doing, to which he responded, “I’ll break your arm, that’s what I’m about to do.” She was eventually arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, and then later released on $1,000 bond.
Actions you can take:

1. Visit www.joincampaignzero.org and figure out actions you can take to resist police brutality. Visit justiceforchikesia.org for info specific to Chikesia's case.
2. Repost the video of her harassment on various social media handles. Keep it circulating-- don’t let Chikesia’s story be forgotten!
3. Boycott Waffle House until they take further action to prevent situations like this from happening again.

New Anti-Choice Laws: The Trump administration announced on Friday that they were to cut federal funding from clinics providing abortions to their patients. It is the newest tactic in the conservative anti-choice agenda to prevent women from getting abortions. In 1988, Ronald Reagan instituted a rule that abortion clinics have “physical separation” and “separate personnel” from other family health services. This purposefully prevents providers of other pregnancy or family planning services from providing or giving specific details about abortions.

These laws specifically target Planned Parenthood. Current federal laws prevent the direct funding of clinics who suggest abortions as a family planning method. Many conservatives are fighting for more aggressive legislation that bans abortions from happening entirely in clinics that receive this federal funding.

What you can do:
- Click here to donate money directly to Planned Parenthood. Click here to learn about other opportunities that exist to get involved with Planned Parenthood without donating money.
- Use ResistBot on Facebook Messenger or test RESIST to 50409 and follow the prompts to send a message to the President. Here is a template you can use:
My name is _____ and I am a [___-year old] in [your town/state]. I am writing because I believe that a woman’s right to have control over her body and decide to have an abortion is a right that should not be infringed upon. I urge you to think twice before taking detrimental actions against vital organizations like Planned Parenthood and keep women's health at you highest priority.

Islamophobia on the Rise: Recently, there have been major bouts of Islamophobia, which, despite some popular belief, is most definitely on the rise in the US. Just last week, at a California coffee shop, a Muslim woman dressed in a niqab was verbally assaulted by a random man. This is just one example of amplified Islamophobic harassment and assaults around the country over the last several months. Here are a few ways to combat Islamophobia in daily life and on a national scale:

• Donate to and support organizations that work to fight Islamophobia across the country such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which combats obstruction of free speech, hate crimes, and more, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which works to advocate for Muslims, start dialogues about Islam, and protect Muslim civil liberties in the US, and the Muslim Legal Fund of America (MLFA). Check out this article in Bustle to find more beneficial organizations that you should support.
• Educate yourself on Islam so that you properly understand the faith when engaging in discussions with or about Muslim individuals. Islam is one of the most misrepresented religions in the world, and taking a few minutes to learn the facts will help combat discrimination against Muslims across the world.
• Research your local representatives and make sure they work to actively protect, include, and represent Muslims in their communities. If they do not, write to them or call them (or, even better, pay them a visit!) and ask that they add it to their initiatives.
• The Trump Administration continues to pursue discriminatory and exclusionary “Muslim bans,” which heavily regulate/ban the immigration of individuals from predominantly Muslim countries to the US. Although fortunately, the bans have been shot down multiple times by federal courts, it is important to stay persistent and make sure they are not permanently put in place. Stay updated on the evolution of Trump’s Muslim Ban at this link, and check out old Teens Resist scripts to call your reps and demand that they fight the ban.​

Pup Video of Week: In honor of royals, a corgi video.

All our best,
TR