I Just Love a Protestor in a Seersucker Jacket

I would have taken a picture of the preppiest gentleman arrested on March 3rd at the courthouse yesterday, but cameras and cell phones were not allowed. So I'll have to go with this photo from the Brooks Brothers website (which is not nearly as lovely as the shade of coral he was wearing).

The men and women who were arrested had their day in court yesterday - well, actually their first of a number of days. Today was an administrative date to meet with the judge and set the pending court dates for the defense attorneys to request dismissal of the case, the prosecution to respond, a motions date, and finally a trial date. I think I have that right. LOL!

I believe the official charge was trespassing at the Capitol. There were about 4-5 lawyers representing the 30 people arrested and lots of personalities giving lots of hints today as to how it may unfold. It is simultaneously exciting and unnerving, particularly if your only concern is that the Capitol steps be returned to the people of Virginia for (peaceful) assembly and freedom of speech.

The MOST IMPORTANT THING that came out of the courtroom today is the news that the men and women arrested are now able to again go on the grounds at the Capitol. The prosecution requested the judge remove this restriction set by the magistrate (there was confusion as to why this restriction was ever placed on them) and Judge Cheek removed the restriction, as long as each person agreed to uphold the laws of Virginia and every other state. I was a little confused as to why our national laws weren't thrown into the mix, but I figure that's probably just my CPA brain wanting all the details neatly tied up with a bow on top.

Watching a courtroom in action could definitely be a good sporting event if you like watching people. The body language, the ordering around, the stumping for air time. Fascinating. I have never spent time in a courtroom and have never really thought much about how much our judiciary branch and penal system is so deeply filled with dominating, male energy. Perhaps this is part of the reason we say "penal system" ;-) Sorry - I couldn't resist a good penal joke.

I'll write a little more about the power trip on display later, but for tonight just be thrilled along with me that all the citizens are once again allowed to walk on the capitol grounds!

Picnic-In - March 29th

I think yesterday was perhaps my favorite Picnic-In thus far. Just to make a point, the day before the arraignment of those arrested on March 3rd, we put a call out for our friends to join us for a photo opportunity. We gathered to take a picture on the Capitol steps hunkered down, arm in arm, just as the peaceful protestors had sat behind the line of SWAT officers immediately preceding their arrests.

The mood was jovial but the kids were hot and asked to move to the big shade trees, so we quickly snapped this pic before moving to the shade:

Image courtesy of Christophile Konstas

Just to point out a few things I love about this pic. First, a DAD joined us - men are definitely welcome to join us and I hope he found us charming and hospitable :)

Second, two nursing kiddos in the front row. Love it!

Finally, thirty-four citizens, some voting and some non-voting, sitting on the steps peacefully and NOT being arrested. Right before the photo was taken, in jest I hollered, "If anyone tries to pick you up just go limp." So if we're all laughing it may either be from that or from my next immediate thought, "WAIT! What are we teaching our children?" These kiddos may possibly end up advocating against us for their own rights as teenagers, but I welcome an active citizenry in our household!

So if hanging out with friends, talking about our beautiful state, and discussing the politics of the day sounds like fun to you, please join us next Thursday, April 5th. The majority of the moms are picking up preschoolers so the crowd doesn't really arrive until about 1 PM. But it is a load of fun. Here is the Facebook event / invite if that is something helpful to you.

Where Would You Have Stood?

Where would you have stood for this historical picture?

Image from Valentine Richmond History Center

Front and center? A little to the side? With your closest girlfriend in the back holding a banner? Does the average Virginian even know/remember/think about what these women went through on our behalf?

This Thursday it is our turn. Where do you want to stand? We have another beautiful Thursday with gorgeous spring weather and we will eat our lunches on the steps this Thursday since the weather is gorgeous and we don't need the shade trees. We are hoping to get a lovely pic of all the Mamas and kiddos so please come dressed with a gorgeous smile.

xoxo

- Kati

Right to Assemble (Peacefully)

This is going to be a big week in Virginia politics. The District Attorney has said he intends to prosecute the protestors rather than drop the charges. The Richmond-Times Dispatch had a good update regarding the situation and the online version includes comments from readers. Here is another summary on the issue at hand from a Charlottesville paper (online) and below is a screenshot of my comment posted on that online site. You may notice I said 31 arrested protestors - the official count according to the RTD was 30 and I won't make that mistake when posting again (but I cannot delete that error). ;-)

The people arrested on March 3rd will be arraigned by Judge Cheek this Friday, March 30th at the courthouse on 920 Hull Street. This courthouse is located at the corner of Hull and Commerce (which is what the 9th St. bridge becomes).

Judge Cheek does not allow children in the courtroom so if parents would like to come and be present we can gather in the area around 8:30 and decide who will stay outside with children and who will go into the courtroom. If you have any friends who would like to come along, kids or no kids, we will figure it out. Some of us will be inside to observe and some of us will be outside supporting those arrested and the observers. Just as "it takes a village" to raise a child it also takes a village to keep watch over our rights as citizens. We cannot rely just on the reporters, lawyers, and judges. We should continue to observe first-hand as citizens.

A little bird told me that our Picnic-in protests could actually be helpful evidence to those arrested, primarily because it shows the arbitrary nature in which the "law" is being applied. So, JOIN US this Thursday around 12:30 for yet another fun day at the Capitol. I love that my girls are really starting to feel the Capitol grounds are theirs as citizens - to roll down the hill, eat a picnic with mom, and play with friends. The Capitol grounds has never felt so vibrant to me as it does with children running around.

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.

Right to Assemble

This week, Thursday, we will again host a Picnic-In on the Capitol steps. In today's Richmond Times-Dispatch there is an excellent editorial summarizing "the issue," an illegal arrest of women's rights protestors, that kicked off the organization of Mothers' Awakening. In this editorial a former member of the Virginia House of Delegates outlines the law protecting peaceful assembly in the Commonwealth and the various groups that have, perhaps inadvertently, created a policy of disallowing assembly anywhere on the Capitol grounds except the Bell Tower. Here is an excerpt from the summary of his letter to the editor:

Without question any guidelines adopted should permit citizens to assemble on the steps of the Capitol or anywhere else on the grounds that doesn't interfere with the business of making laws. Anything less violates Virginia's Constitution.

Along those same lines, major kudos to Meghan McSweeney for posting this quote and gorgeous picture on the MA!!! facebook page:

I don't know about you all but I will show up every day that I can to make sure that these beautiful people have equal rights.

Image provided by Meghan McSweeney

Come join us again this Thursday!!! These are the peoples' steps and we will assemble :)