By Megan Schwindler
The Event
Join us for an afternoon of spoken word and activism about ending gender-based violence and creating a safer campus community for everyone. Even if you don’t have an original song or poem to perform, consider reading a piece from an artist who inspires you. We will also provide free cookies!
The event will be held this Friday, March 2 from 12-1:30 pm at Jazzman’s Café at the Student Union, 5100 Cherry St. The event is sponsored by the UMKC Women’s Center and is co-sponsored by the Violence Prevention and Response Program.
What is One Billion Rising?
According to their website, One Billion Rising is “the biggest mass action to end violence against women in human history.” The campaign was launched in 2012 on Valentine’s Day and “began as a call to action based on the staggering statistic that 1 in 3 women on the planet will be beaten or raped during her lifetime.” Their 2018 campaign focuses on the theme of solidarity in light of the “fierce escalation of fascist, imperialist, neo-liberal attacks on the lives of people around the world.” They also advocate for Artistic Uprisings from February 14 to March 8. These Artistic Uprisings, “use art forms from storytelling to theatre, poetry and music, and dance and film as radical calls to action [that] will bring together women from the marginalized and most oppressed sectors of each community to tell their stories through monologues, spoken word, song, music, and dancing.” Our event, One Billion Rising: Feminist Open Mic, will give a voice to those who need it and educate those on campus about ways they can help create a safe campus community for everyone.
Questions? Email us at umkc-womens-center@umkc.edu or give us a call at 816-235-1638.
We hope to see you there!
One Billion Rising shows us that women play a crucial role in this resistance, creating solidarity movements, as they lead from the forefront of local, national and international struggles. It shows us that women are continuing to organize everywhere, harnessing collective energy, building hope and solidarity, and using creativity and vision as they raise political consciousness in their unwavering and fierce determination towards a future of freedom, equality, respect and dignity. -OBR