#StateOfWomen
Posted by Michelle Moquin on July 31st, 2016
Good Sunday Morning!
I have been so focused on posting writes on this year’s presidential elections and all the atrocities that have been happening over the last month or so in support of the many who have lost their lives, that I’ve missed out on posting some amazing things that have been happening with women. The inaugural United State of Women Summit took place in Washington last month.
Here’s a write from NBC News that I found that summed up a lot of what I have been reading. Two of my fave ladies (FLOTUS & OPRAH) + our beloved POTUS.
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Monica Y. Johnson was just a baby when she lost her mother to violence. Her childhood was spent being shuffled around to multiple homes, she recalls, and her memories of that stage of her life are painful.
“I’ve dealt with abuse, abandonment…,” explains the Texas resident. “As a kid, I was never hugged.” Yet through the power of a college education, perseverance and faith, Johnson is now a successful businesswoman, life coach, minister and author. In 2015, she launched a non-profit called `That Girl is S.M.A.R.T.—Successful, Magnificent, Authentic, Resourceful, and Talented.’
The organization hosts bi-monthly meetings for girls and young women (ages 6-to-18), providing them with information on topics ranging from suicide prevention and sexual trafficking to building self-esteem. “I want them to know that what happens in your life doesn’t have to define you,” says Johnson, 47, who’s a wife and mother of an adult daughter. “You can succeed. It’s about empowering each other, especially the next generation.”
Johnson is among thousands of women who attended the United State of Women Summit hosted by the White House on Tuesday. The inaugural event was designed to bring stakeholders together for dialogue and advocacy around issues that impact women and families.
The confab was expected to draw upwards of 5,000 women (and some men) from across the country and world. Early Tuesday morning, a line of well-dressed participants eagerly awaited entry to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Inside the cavernous space, girl power anthems blared through speakers and large screen televisions gave a birds’ eye view of the stage that was filled throughout the day with heavy hitters and star power.
President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, First Lady Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, and actress/activist Kerry Washington were among those on the agenda. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Rep. Nancy Pelosi and mogul Warren Buffett addressed the audience, along with a host of business, political, and community leaders.
“Today, we come together to both celebrate the progress we have made, and turn our collective focus toward the future, and all we still must do—together-to achieve true gender equality,” said Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President and Chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls, which Obama established by executive order in 2009. Along with Tina Tchen—Chief of Staff to the First Lady—Jarrett hosted the historic summit.
Sessions ran the gamut: Educational Opportunity, Economic Empowerment, Violence Against Women, along with Entrepreneurship/Business Innovation, Leadership and Civic Engagement and Health/Wellness. Speakers such as Dr. Lori Wilson, a surgical oncologist at Howard University Hospital and a breast cancer survivor, shared stories and expertise. “It’s so essential that we address those issues that are barriers to women being equal.”
Early on, Biden gave a rousing speech, one that focused on combatting sexual violence against women. He spoke at length about what’s happening on many college campuses across America, where data shows that 1 in 5 female students have been sexually assaulted. He urged men to speak out against rape, too. “If we free women, we free men. We free humanity. We make it all better.”
Mid-afternoon, President Obama delivered an address that lasted about 30 minutes. The Commander-in-Chief was introduced by Mikaila Ulmer, 11, Founder/CEO of Me & the Bees Lemonade; the young African American entrepreneur gained buzz earlier this year after appearing on the television series “Shark Tank,” and nabbing a deal with Whole Foods.
RELATED: How This 11-Year-Old Turned Something Scary Into Something Sweet
“What an amazing young lady,” said the president after giving Ulmer a hug. “I will be back on the job market in seven months, so I hope she is hiring,” Obama joked.
Telling the crowd “this is what a feminist looks like,” the president spoke about changing the cultural paradigm around gender, which he said “shines a particularly unforgiving light on women and girls of color — about how they look, or how they feel or what they should and should not do.”
The president said the nation must reject stereotypes about the abilities of women and girls, and he praised the historic presidential candidacy of Hillary Clinton. Obama also spoke about the progress his administration has made to advance policies that impact women, while acknowledging that more work needs to be done. He appealed to Congress to help enact more laws that benefit women.
“We need equal pay for equal work. We need paid family and sick leave. We need affordable child care, we’ve got to raise the minimum wage,” said Obama. “If we were truly a nation of family values, we wouldn’t put up with the fact that a woman cannot even get a day off to give birth. We need paid maternity and paternity leave, too.”
The summit was a multigenerational gathering that drew different backgrounds and perspectives. Women networked, took selfies and moved among the dozens of exhibitors who represented government agencies, non-profits and think tanks. Sponsors included the Aspen Institute, Civic Nation, the State Department and the Department of Labor; the Ford Foundation, Tory Burch Foundation, Pepsico Foundation and others lent support.
US President Barack Obama embraces 11-year-old Mikaila Ulmer social entrepreneur of “Me and the Bees Lemonade” as he arrives to speak during the United State of Women Summit at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, June 14, 2016. (SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)
“Being among all these sisters—black, white, Indian, Hispanic—is a celebration of accomplishment,” said Nadine Thompson, a New Hampshire entrepreneur who founded the lifestyle company, Soul Purpose. “If you’re here, it’s because you are doing something to uplift women.”
Thompson was among a group of women selected to attend the event through the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women initiative, which provides a business and management education to underserved female entrepreneurs.
Jessica Johnson-Cope, who heads a Bronx-based family enterprise—Johnson Security Bureau—was also part of the cohort. “To see all the women who are here, being involved, being impactful, it’s been great.”
The day ended with Michelle Obama and Oprah engaged in a sit-down that encompassed topics such as self-worth and accomplishing one’s goals. The First Lady said that she often tells her two daughters and her mentees, “Our first job is to get to know ourselves.”
It’s worth clicking here to hear the wise words of this young lady.
❤️♀❤️
Readers: Thanks to all who attended this historical summit in support of women and girls. I so wish I could’ve been there. I have heard nothing but wonderful things. Were any of you there?
Blog me.
✌🏽♀ ❤️
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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July 31st, 2016 at 3:30 pm
I went to that Summit. It was very exciting and uplifting.
July 31st, 2016 at 3:32 pm
Will you women get over yourselves. How about we have a United State of Men Summit? We can talk about the best lines and just which city has the best pussy.
July 31st, 2016 at 3:35 pm
Lawrence#2, you’re an idiot. The Summit was about empowering women to be proud of who they are. Men are always swaggering all over the place about being men.
July 31st, 2016 at 3:39 pm
Lawrence#2, The United State of Women Summit is about women choosing a path to Equality. And we aren’t going to allow misogynists like you to turn us around.
July 31st, 2016 at 3:41 pm
Lawrence#2, Our Summit was about helping women understand they can be complete without being mothers or having a man. Yours appears to be about who can make the biggest fool of himself.
July 31st, 2016 at 3:44 pm
It is the patriarchal culture of this country that breeds the sort of intolerance that creeps like Lawrence#2 is displaying.
It is a short hop from intolerance towards women to violence towards women. Women have to unite to break the cycle. Let’s start with electing the first female POTUS.
July 31st, 2016 at 3:56 pm
#2 < yes that's your name now : )
Why don't you and your idiot friends go discuss lines on one of those 'pick up' sites and let the men who know how to set aside little head long enough to get what's happening here and in the US speak. Take a page from Obama bc he's not only a stand up man but I bet he rocks it out in the sack without discussing lines and whatever else you morons who got no game talk about.
~ ZL
July 31st, 2016 at 4:46 pm
George wp,
You may think you present a great case against Hilary Clinton and you can believe it’s all bad if it pleases you, however, Donald trump is downright DANGEROUS. I also know your self righteous enough that you wouldn’t vote for a female … regardless of who she is (so enjoy all your bashing bc no woman here truly values the opinion of a known and blatant sexist)
~ ZL
August 1st, 2016 at 6:18 am
Zen Lill#7
LOL so good it hurts.
August 1st, 2016 at 6:31 am
George,wp my brother went to jail following you people. He shot a 17 year old 8 times, then he and his friends hid the body. When I asked him why he did it, he said “because he was a nigger who didn’t know his place.”
He was 17 when he did it, but his companions were old racist bastards like you. He got 4 years and two of the other three got 2 years each for helping him dispose of the body. The third was acquitted.
When he came to dinner at my home, my father said 4 years was too much time for killing a nigger. He said he remembered with it was just a misdemeanor to whack a nigger. They laughed while my mother and I cried.
You people are sick.
August 1st, 2016 at 6:34 am
It will take a long time to gain equal rights if the likes of Michelle, Zen Lill, Social Butterfly, Alycedale, Helen 1, Irene, etc quit on us. I love this blog. You make the State of Women a proud place to be.
August 1st, 2016 at 6:37 am
I agree with you Jessica#11
“Our country is not just all about the Benjamins—it’s about the Tubmans, too. We need all our young people to know that Clara Barton and Lucretia Mott and Sojourner Truth and Eleanor Roosevelt and Dorothy Height, those aren’t just for Women’s History Month. They’re the authors of our history, women who shaped their destiny.” —President Obama at The United State of Women Summit: go.wh.gov/Women
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If he knew our blog heroines, he would have added their names to the list. They defend, encourage and make women proud every day.
August 1st, 2016 at 6:39 am
Jobs are down, the country is divided, Isis is knocking on our door, thugs are killing the police!!! Hillary brings out the moms of criminals that were killed by the police, for not doing what they were told! This country is screwed up and it needs a change! It doesn’t need another lifetime lair/politician.
Donald J. Trump will do just that. He WILL make America great again.
August 1st, 2016 at 6:42 am
Bitches tried to make the ERA law. That didn’t work. Don’t you liberals read the Bible. God, HE, make man first for a reason. Then he took a perfectly good rib and made man some pussy.
Deal with it bitches.
August 1st, 2016 at 6:47 am
Jessica#11, you are seriously in need of some Bible lessons. Those women, if you can call a bunch of dikes that, are supporting a woman for president who supported a man who countless dalliances with women while he was president of the United States.
I hoped for Bill Clinton’s impeachment and I certainly won’t vote for her. Donald Trump represents a strong man who will make this country great again.
August 1st, 2016 at 6:55 am
Leonard#14, watch us roar. White men got away with making feminism a dirty word then, just as they are doing with the “Black Lives Matter” movement today.
There’s a lot that’s been done by and for women and girls, but there’s still plenty to do. Convened by the White House, the Summit rallied all of us together to celebrate what we’ve achieved, and how The United State of Women and our allies are going to take action moving forward. Together, we can take on these key gender equality issues and make a powerful difference in our collective future.
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You noticed this ERA movement was Convened by a non white man in the White House, It will be finished by a non white man, Hilary R. Clinton, in the White House.
Deal with it.
August 1st, 2016 at 6:58 am
Oh, if you want to answer me Leonard, the name is Kali, and I was born in India, but I am a citizen of the USA. I’ve registered to vote and it will be for Hilary R. Clinton. As I said as Anonymous16,
Deal with it.
August 1st, 2016 at 7:00 am
Priscilla#15,
I really don’t give a damn how many women he slept with. He was just unlucky to have been caught, unlike the rest of the Presidents that came before him. I’m only interested in the issues that effected “me” and my family. Like Bill Clinton’s success with the economy and the safety of our nation. He balanced the budget, created jobs, and kept us safe. Now do you want to talk about George Bush? Oh, and he’s not running for President!
August 1st, 2016 at 7:03 am
Damn, Kelly#10, and you don’t think 4 years is too much time for a white man to serve for killing a nigger? Are you some nigger loving slut? You better look in a mirror and discover who you are.
August 1st, 2016 at 7:15 am
I agree with you in a way Leonard#14, you did shame women into abandoning the ERA movement. Even now we substitute the term “gender equality” for “Equal Rights,” for fear it will meet the same fate, as ERA.
But just as Hilary was around for the loss of her health for everyone bill, but was around to see it implemented under Obama, she will be around to see gender equality become the law of the land as POTUS.
As Michelle says everyday on her blog with the help of the likes of Zen Lill Alycledale, and Social Butterfly, get the hell out and vote girls ——– If I may, I would add, Bring as many women with you as you can.
This is OUR time, and unlike when it was the white man’s time, this time it is for EVERYONE because women only want EQUALL RIGHTS, unlike white men who only sought to preserve their special privileges when they argued against the ERA movement.
August 1st, 2016 at 7:17 am
Great topic Michelle. Sent it to my relatives in Russia. They could use the influence of a strong woman.
August 1st, 2016 at 7:35 am
Priscilla#15, here is what your bible thumpers are all about.
73-year-old accuses Guam clergy members of sexual abuse
Posted: Jul 31, 2016 6:26 PM PDT
Updated: Jul 31, 2016 7:19 PM PDT
By Jason Salas
Another person has come forward, alleging members of Guam’s Catholic clergy of sexual molestation. Born in 1943, Leo Tudela, originally from Saipan, openly wept before the community as he detailed a series of traumatic events involving clergy after he came to Guam to attend Catholic school in the summer of 1956. Tudela testified at a continued public hearing at the Guam Legislature over a substitute version of Bill 326, which seeks to lift the statute of limitations for cases involving child sex abuse. Last week, Archbishop Anthony Apuron’s accusers testified at a similar public hearing for the bill.
While strongly urging passage of the legislation, Tudela shared his very personal and painful recollection of a series of events that happened to him when he was 13 years old. Now 73, he tearfully detailed how on three occasions, he was molested and forced to perform sexual acts upon himself.
Tudela began by describing how he came to Guam in the summer of 1956 to attend Catholic school, residing at the monastery in Agana Heights. One night, he recalled, he awoke to discover a man touching his penis, who Tudela said identified himself as “Brother Mariano”. He also detailed that while later staying in the rectory, one night he felt someone massaging his penis, who he identified as “Father Luis”.
Additionally, he said that while in the Boy Scouts, he was also told by a scout leader to remove his pants and masturbate. Tudela explained that altar boys were required to join the Boy Scouts – if they refused to perform lascivious acts, they would be forced to work duties around the campgrounds.
Unable to tell his story without pausing to cry on several occasions, Tudela said, “He [Father Luis] was supposed to be a man of God. And this is what my grandparents taught me in Saipan.” He added, “To this day, 60 years later, I still have nightmares…I still hate Father Luis and Brother Mariano for what they did to me.”
“All I want is justice and due process of the law,” said Tudela.
Attorney David Lujan, who represents all Archbishop Apuron’s accusers, previously indicated that at least two more people would be coming forward with allegations against the leader of the island’s Catholic faith. Attorney Lujan was present at today’s public hearing. It’s unclear at this point if Tudela’s testimony was one of the people Lujan alluded to in June. Lujan has demanded information from the Archdiocese of Agana about an investigation, with Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, the Vatican-installed apostolic administrator for Guam, saying all matters are taken seriously. A $2 million libel and slander lawsuit has been filed against Apruon and the archdiocese.
Upon completion of Tudela’s emotional testimony, Senator Frank Aguon, Jr. concluded the public hearing.
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It doesn’t matter whether it’s catholic priests or christian preachers, or other religious cults run by men to prey upon the weak, or to regulate women to roles of virtual sex slaves, Church and State need to be separated.