4 Ways to #PressForProgress on International Women’s Day

Happy International Women’s Day!

I am all for celebrating women each and every day of the year, but having an official holiday to do so obviously makes my feminist heart happy.

International Women’s Day was officially adopted by the United Nations in 1975, but was first celebrated as early as 1909 in New York. (Learn more here.)

International Women’s Day is, of course, meant to be a day of celebration, but it’s also meant to be a day of activism. This year’s theme is #PressForProgress, calling for us all to motivate and unite our friends, colleagues, and communities to think, act and be gender inclusive.

The World Economic Forum’s 2017 Global Gender Gap Report indicates that gender equality is over 200 years away! So we’ve got work to do.

Here are 4 ways you can #PressForProgress this International Women’s Day.

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Why You Should Attend Black Writers Weekend 2018

Tamika Newhouse

When Tamika Newhouse started the African Americans on the Move Book Club (AAMBC) in 2008 she had no idea it would eventually lead to her hosting Black Writers Weekend, an annual event that is not to be missed by African American writers and bloggers.

“I stumbled into creating the online community,” Newhouse says. “I wanted to be part of a book club but I was in a new city, I didn’t have any friends, and I thought it would be pretty weird for a grown woman to walk up to other grown women and say ‘Hey, I like to read books. Do you like to read books? Let’s read books together.’”

So she started a MySpace page and created an online book club of her own, one that focused on reading and discussing the work of African American authors. She quickly realized that there were many black writers out there not getting the attention they deserved. So, in 2009 Newhouse launched the AAMBC Literary Awards in San Antonio, Texas to recognize and honor black writers. In the years following awards ceremonies were also held in Chicago and Baltimore. In 2015 the event grew to include a red carpet ceremony and was held in Atlanta. This marked the beginning of Black Writers Weekend.

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A Birthday Note to Self

Dear Javacia,

As you turn 37 today I want you to enter this new year with this reminder: You are enough.

You are enough because you are fearfully and wonderfully made.

Your worth is not determined by your blog, your business, your byline or even the work you do in your classroom. You are enough.

Your worth is not determined by the number of miles you run or the number of pounds you lose. You are enough.

Your worth is not determined by the things you have or even the things you have done. Your worth is determined by who you are and you are enough.

So go on and celebrate another year on this crazy, beautiful earth. Go on and make your 37 for 37 list. Go on and go after your goals.

But, as you chase your dreams, do not forget that you are enough.

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