Prejudice and Pride: June 5th-18th 2018

Hello Teen Resisters! We have a bit to cover in this intro. We hope you enjoy.

• Firstly, we wanted to officially welcome everyone to Pride Month (we unfortunately forgot last list). This is a month of celebration and progression! To our LGBTQI+ family: we love you and wish you a most iconic month. We're coming out with a Pride list later this month, but if you're itching for something to do now, support Voices4 in their efforts. They're staging a digital protest against Budweiser, which is sponsoring Pride and the World Cup, which is held in a country where queer people are tortured, at the same time. Want to help them out? Tweet and comment on Budweiser's social medias #prideovergenocide.
• Teens Resist was so honored to be featured in DAZED Magazine's Summer cover article "YOUTH IN POWER." We were repped by founder and co-director Sonia Chajet Wides, who appeared in the article's photos by Ryan McGinley, and in the roundtable conversation led by one of our favorite activists, Adam Eli. 
• A cool resource to check out: Stamps Licked prints and hand delivers your letters to policymakers on Capitol Hill.
• We're proud to publicize Teens4PR, an organization founded by teens who wanted to really do something about the devastation in Puerto Rico after seeing their politicians remain dormant on the matter. Teens4PR campaigns for funds for hurricane relief in Puerto Rico. They've raised over 25,000 dollars so far for community organizations in Puerto Rico. Consider joining them.
• Last Sunday, the 72nd annual Tony Awards were held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Like most recent award shows, many political messages were present throughout the evening.
  Lindsay Mendez, who took home Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Carousel, told a story of receiving advice to change her last name from Mendez to Matthews in order to book work, which she refused. “I am so proud to be part of a community that celebrates diversity,” said Ms. Mendez, who identifies as “a Mexican-Jewish girl.”
  Andrew Garfield was honored as Best Leading Actor in a Play for Angels in America. He dedicated his award to  “the countless LGBTQ people who have fought and died for the right to live and love,” and referenced the Supreme Court decision last week affirming a Colorado baker’s refusal to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding in saying: “We are all sacred, and we all belong, so let’s just bake a cake for everyone who wants a cake to be baked.”
  The highlight of the evening was a performance from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School drama club. They sang a moving rendition of “Seasons of Love,” the anthem of survival from Rent after their drama teacher Melody Herzfeld was given the award for excellence in theater education.​

What Went Down

Child Separation at the Border: Last Month, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a new “zero tolerance policy,” that resulted in the separation of many families, mostly asylum seekers, many of whom were entering at legal checkpoints. We recently outlined some of the atrocities in a special edition list.  
House Republicans drafted a proposed compromise on the immigration issue this last Thursday, June 14, the Border Security and Immigration Reform Act of 2018, in an attempt to appeal to both the conservative and moderate sides of the issue. Trump said on Friday that he wouldn’t sign the proposed bill because it was too moderate. This sparked confusion and caught many members of the House off guard because it
was believed that Trump would be backing that bill. Moderate Republicans and Democrats of the House came together on this bill in order to
push a vote to not only stop the separation of families, but protect DREAMers as well. 
Trump has falsely labeled the anti-trafficking law of 2008 under President Bush as a Democratic bill and blamed the Flores Act of 1997 under President Clinton as the reason for children being detained from their families when in actuality, the Trump Administration’s zero tolerance policy of 2018 is the only one that speaks of separation of families. The actions taken by border patrol are unprecedented: this has actually never been seen before on the border. 
The atrocities seem to get greater each day: cages in the buildings, cages in trucks, a child ripped off of her mother's chest while breastfeeding. The inhumanity is almost too much to bear. We've selected a few resources for learning and doing.

LEARN:

• Vox: Family separation, explained
• Thread by a journalist who visited the detention center
• Huff Post article that details some of the atrocities
• Audio of a center where children have just been separated (MAJOR trigger warning; PLEASE only watch this if you can handle it. It is very intense)

DO:

• READ this R29 article detailing things to do. 
• Donate to RAICES. It is the best way to help families who have been directly impacted. Their bond fund contributes to help families reunite by paying high pail. If you have the means- PLEASE DONATE. 
• Trusty Resist Bot: Text RESIST to 50409 for easy access.
• Call your reps and ask them to cosponsor bill S.3036, the Keep Families Together Act.
  Script: Hi, my name is ____ and I'm calling to demand you sponsor S. 3036. What is going on at the border right now is inhumane, abhorrent, and upsetting. Nothing can excuse the atrocities shown by border patrol in enforcing the zero tolerance policy. Please vote conscience over party and stand on the right side of history. Thank you.
  NUMBER: 202-224-3121 (Or try to find Republican reps' numbers)
  
• Email contractors who are running these centers: 
  [email protected]
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  EMAIL TEMPLATE: Hello,
  It has come to my attention that your business is holding immigrant children in jails while separated from their parents. They are children and asylum seekers. They should not be separated from their parents and they shouldn't be put in jails. 
  This is indefensible. Please ask your leadership to back out of this contract.
  Thank you,
  [your name]
  (info verified by Anna Elena Torres)
  
• *BIG ONE* Visit familiesbelongtogether.org to learn about actions on June 30th and petitions to sign. 

A mural inside one of the detention centers.

Deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain: *TRIGGER WARNING: suicide*
The issues of suicide, suicide prevention, and mental illness have come up a lot in the news recently. Acclaimed fashion designer Kate Spade died by suicide in her NYC home on June 5th at the age of 55, and internationally renowned chef Anthony Bourdain is assumed to have died  the same way in a French hotel room.
According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the US. Additionally, 44,965 Americans commit suicide annually and for every person that commits suicide there are 25 who have attempted to do so.

What You Can Do:

• Even if it seems like someone has no reason to be upset, make sure you’re always checking in with those you love. People struggling don’t always show it and often those who have lost loved ones to suicide almost never saw it coming.
• Click here to see what you can do to help spread awareness and advocate for suicide prevention with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
• 1-800-273-8255 is the number of the Suicide Prevention Hotline. Use it to get tips on helping others in need, or if you’re ever contemplating suicide.
• Want to be a more informed, better equipped ally for those in need? Use Be The 1’s website to learn about how you can be there for people who are suicidal and to learn other ways to get involved.

Anniversary of the Shooting at Pulse Nightclub: On June 12, 2016, a gunman opened fire at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, with an AR-15 assault rifle, killing 49 people and injuring 53. The Pulse shooting is the deadliest mass shooting in American history.
Several days ago, organizations and individuals in the U.S. and across the world recognized the 2 year anniversary of the Pulse shooting by honoring the lives lost, and taking steps to normalize LGBTQI+ acceptance across the world and introduce legislation to end gun violence in the U.S. Here are some steps that you can take to continue to do the same:

• Know their names. To change the way LGBTQ+ community is treated, it is important to honor the the history of the persecution of its persecution. Right now, commemorate the victims of the Pulse shooting by knowing their names and stories.
• Contribute to the #HonorThemWithAction movement at honorthemwithaction.org. This movement works to raise awareness about the Pulse shooting and actively make communities safer for LGBTQ+ people across the country. To participate, take a step in your daily life, big or small, that works to challenge harassment, discrimination, and violence towards LGBTQ+ people. Share it online with the hashtag #HonorThemWithAction to motivate your peers to do the same and spread awareness. Some examples provided by the organization:
  • “I called my state representative and senator to voice support for a bill that would provide clear, statewide nondiscrimination protections for the LGBTQ community. #HonorThemWithAction”
  • “I donated to an organization that works to end homelessness for LGBTQ people. #HonorThemWithAction”
  • “I volunteered with a group that works to end school bullying. #HonorThemWithAction”
• Support Gays Against Guns, by donating/volunteering (if you can) or publicizing their efforts. This inclusive action group of LGBTQ+ individuals and allies works to nonviolently combat gun violence in the U.S. For our NYC Resisters, the organization’s work is also specifically oriented around supporting marginalized groups in the city who are targeted by gun violence.
• Work to end gun violence on a broader scale, by fighting for a federal ban on assault weapons such as the AR-15 used in the Pulse shooting. Learn more about assault weapons/AR-15’s at this Teens Resist list, and ask your representatives to help with the following script:
  • NUMBER: 202-224-3121. Hi. My name is _______ and I’m calling because I care passionately about making the United States a secure and safe place to live, and I think [name of rep] should, too. I demand that they fight for a permanent federal ban of assault weapons today. Assault weapons are the most popular choice for gunmen in mass terror shootings in the US today; they were designed for the military, and should not be in the hands of individual civilians. I hope that [rep name] will take my concerns to heart, protect their people, and fight for a federal ban of assault weapons today. Thank you.​​

Resisters- it's been a heavy list.
Treat yourself with a nice hot tea and our puppy vid of the week. You deserve it.