PDBH - Remix!

The movie screening in March was so powerful and moving we have decided to show it again. Remix!

In a few weeks at 1 PM on Saturday, May 5th Mothers' Awakening will show "Pray the Devil Back to Hell" at the Richmond Public Library (Main Branch). This screening will be free and open to all.

Note: This movie is set during a time of war and the tenuous peace that unfolds immediately after the war. Please use discretion when determining what is suitable for anyone under the age of 18.

Please pass this information around and consider bringing a friend. This powerful movie chronicles what peaceful, brave women accomplished in Liberia when they decided, "enough is enough" and demanded an end to the war.

Image from PrayTheDevilBackToHell.com/

The world cannot afford for the most empathetic to be apathetic. Come join us on Cinco de Mayo and see firsthand the results of what is possible when women come together!

Today's Picnic-In

Today was a GORGEOUS day for a Picnic-in at the Capitol. Somehow, I just love hearing my girls talk about "going to the Capitol" every Thursday. A month ago this wasn't a word in their vocabulary and now we regularly have conversations about what it is to live in a democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and how dissent is an important component of good decision making.

We had a smaller crowd today but were deeply honored to have Katherine Waddell, the newly elected President of Women's Strike Force, and her close friend, Joyce Scher, join us today. It was great to hear their passion and they opened our eyes a little further today... Did you know the House of Delegates passed a mandatory trans-vaginal ultrasound bill LAST YEAR but they were quiet enough about it and because Democrats controlled the Senate the bill didn't go anywhere? Sheesh. Talk about asleep at the kitchen sink just trying to get dinner made. I had no idea.

Speaking of not-so-little political items that I had missed as I focused on education, career, and family over the past 30 years. Did you know that Virginia is one of 15 states that still has not affirmed the Equal Rights Amendment? Seriously? This is an amendment women have been fighting for since 1923. Think about that. Women are not written into the U.S. Constitution as equals although we have been requesting such wording for 89 years. I think one of the most beautiful turnarounds we could see as a result of the 2012 spring follies would be to see this amendment passed as a direct result of women getting ACTIVE. What say you Mamas? Don't the women who posed in this picture back in 1915 deserve our commitment to their cause, which is really our cause and the cause of our daughters and granddaughters?

Image from Valentine Richmond History Center

Sorry. Off my stump. Back to the Picnic-Ins.

Those of us there for our third week in a row affirmed our commitment to maintaining a presence at the Capitol. We spoke of the Civil Rights protestors who pledged to walk EVERYWHERE for a full year after Rosa Parks' arrest for not giving up her bus seat. If they can walk everywhere for a year, we can pack up the kids and go to the Capitol every Thursday. It is a small effort and a monumental effort all at the same time. But we will make the effort to continue our physical presence because we plan to keep talking and identifying opportunities to make a difference.

We also talked about the importance of oversight and being a witness to political events. To that end, I spoke on the phone today to one of the women arrested on March 3rd and mentioned the idea that some of the mothers might like to come to the scheduled arraignment on March 30th. She was pleased mothers would make an effort to show support and continue to bear witness to the freedom of speech/freedom of assembly issue raised March 3rd. The other mothers at the Capitol today are very much behind this idea and we will begin to coordinate next Friday shortly. If you have any particular ideas about an appropriate way in which we can bear witness make sure to leave a note in the comment section. If we lose / give up our right to free speech and assembly, how much of a democracy will we really have left?

So. In a nutshell.

• Mothers are amazing and we will continue to observe, bear witness, and talk, talk, talk.
• This Saturday come get inspired at the Byrd Theatre at 1 PM.
• Next Thursday another Picnic-In (to accommodate the hot sun and small children we have moved to the big shade trees to the right as you stand on the steps and look down Bank Street)
• Next Friday we will have an actionable item related to the arraignment of those arrested on March 3rd.

We know you are busy. So are we. Find some time and do what you can. You will be welcomed anytime you can make it and missed when you cannot.

Next Move

I had an excellent conversation with a friend's father-in-law the other day, a retired lawyer who still takes the occasional trip down to the General Assembly. Among some of his comments:

I support you ladies and what you're doing. Are you organized yet? What's your next move?

He was really happy to see/hear that we went down and had a "Picnic-In" at the Capitol to make the point that it is the peoples' steps and that the First Amendment says congress shall make NO LAWS to limit freedom of assembly and freedom of speech. It was a small act, but a good act. He and his wife enjoyed the bit of news coverage we received and apparently flipped from channel to channel to watch it.

Which leaves his really good question on the table: "What's your next move?"

Image from PrayTheDevilBackToHell.com/

Well, our next move is a public showing of an inspiring movie, "Pray the Devil Back to Hell." Let us watch the power to be had if women spend personal time with the purpose and intent of changing their reality. Let us watch the triumph that can be had when two "sides" come together for the greater good. How does it look when women's strength and love triumphs over guns? We are lucky to live in the United States with enough rights and freedoms to change the direction of our country's politics, but we have to get involved.

Mothers' Awakening is about mothers waking up to the reality of our situation and that it is not in the best interest of future generations to sit on the sidelines and continue to hope for the best. We have got to get involved now. Climate change. Our industrialized, nutrient lacking food supply. Compassion in politics. Personal freedoms. We have all got to get involved to ensure the future is a kinder, gentler, more responsible future.

After the movie we will hear from local women who have "woken up" and are stepping out of their homes and into action.

We hope friends and neighbors will come out for a day together and to start talking. The kind of talking that has been missing for too long. Women must keep talking and turn the volume up, a notch at a time, until you can no longer drown out the voices that were once missing in the political conversation, mothers, fathers, grandparents, all busy people living their "normal" lives. We can live those normal lives, but we must all keep our eyes on the political machinery that shapes our future!

So come join us this Thursday at the Capitol for another Picnic-In and again Saturday, March 24th at 1 PM at the Byrd Theatre. Come watch the story unfold knowing that the women in "Pray the Devil Back to Hell" were eventually honored with the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize. Dare to be amazing.

PDBH - March 24

We have been quietly (and quickly) planning our first educational opportunity for this beautiful river city. Considering our tender age of almost two weeks old we determined that our first educational opportunity should give a nod to our muse. No, not Rush Limbaugh, silly... Our beautiful, strong, motherly muse: Leymah Gbowee!

On 1 PM on March 24th at the Byrd Theatre in Carytown, we will show "Pray the Devil Back to Hell." This movie documents the incredible story of Liberian women, both Christian and Muslim, who came together to stop a devastating civil war. The women involved were ordinary citizens. Mothers with busy and sometimes terrifying lives with nothing to lose except the future for their children.

This is a wonderful opportunity to reach out to mothers like ourselves; ordinary moms, busy with ordinary, everyday life, but mother who could be an incredible agent of change if they embrace their powers and engage in changing our world so it is a better place for future generations.

This state, country, and world cannot afford for the most empathetic to be apathetic. It is time to bring our loving compassion, strength, and resolve to the table. When we stand together we stand strong. Come stand with us!

Please grab a few friends and join us at the Byrd. Tickets can be purchased online at http://rvama.eventbrite.com

Whether you are able to make it yourself, consider downloading a flyer to e-mail and/or print and post around town. To do so, please click here. Also available is a page with five bookmarks if that is easier to print/cut/circulate for you.