I saw Barbie at a Sunday matinee ten days after it opened, in a sold-out theater in Milwaukee. Along with most of the audience, I cheered and hooted and burst into applause. I clapped for women standing up for themselves and for democracy. Since the film premiered, I’ve loved seeing a jump in people of all ages talking about patriarchy and toxic masculinity. And I’ve rejoiced at the conniptions the film sparked for right-wing politicians like Matt Gaetz and Ted Cruz. As Tabitha St. … [Read more...]
Celebrating International Women’s Day
The two of us have been celebrating International Women’s Day for nearly fifty years. Back then there were no proclamations in U.S. cities, no corporate hoo-hah. In recent years that’s all changed. We’ve seen McDonald’s flip the golden arches from an “M” to a “W”on March 8; Amazon declares they have five ways you can celebrate with them. So a quick reminder of the origin of the day. While it is, in fact, an international event, this holiday was inspired by garment workers in NYC, thousands of … [Read more...]
Standing Up as a Resource for Students
One thing we hear from workers who are organizing at places like Amazon and Starbucks is how much they wish they’d learned about the history of unions and organizing when they were in school. We were delighted that Linda Christensen, an extraordinary teacher and writer and one of the editors at Rethinking Schools, wrote this about our book: “A must read for anyone serious about working for change in the world and for anyone who loves a great story. It will be a wonderful addition to the … [Read more...]
A New Face for Amazon: Worker Leaders
No one should have to ask permission to use the bathroom, especially a 51-year-old woman of color working for one of the wealthiest men in the world and dependent on approval from a white guy fresh out of college. The day her supervisor said “no” to a bathroom break was the day Natalie Monarrez signed a card with the Amazon Labor Union at the JFK8 warehouse in Staten Island. “I had seen enough,” Natalie told me. “Before I was in survival mode, really needing my job. But I realized how … [Read more...]
What It Takes to Stand Up for Safety
Ten-year-olds massacred in their classrooms. Elders and community members gunned down at a supermarket with “Friendly” in its name. Two recent additions to a list so long, it makes us gasp. Mass shootings, many of them hate crimes, have become a horrifying reality – and a distinctly American one. So why does this keep happening? Because those who profit from gun sales have inordinate power in our rigged system. And, importantly, because those who benefit from the status quo try to convince … [Read more...]
Who’s the Real Larry Miller?
Larry Miller is a fairly common name. In the past, the other Larry Millers were people who had been arrested multiple times or skipped out on their bills. A simple display of identification helped my husband clear up the mistake. The publication of our novel, however, has proven to be more complicated. In February, before the official launch of Standing Up: Tales of Struggle, a friend emailed to say she’d looked for the book online and found it on a site called Google Books. They had a … [Read more...]
Reactions to “Standing Up”
My 97-year-old friend was disappointed the novel didn’t have more sex. Our older son told us he didn’t need to know that Sophie, the character based on his mother, thought that Nick, the character based on his father, had a “very nice ass.”Other than that, the response to Standing Up: Tales of Struggle has been overwhelmingly positive — including from the 97-year-old and this son. Larry Miller and I wanted to tell the stories of the people Imbolo Mbue calls “the deliberately unheard” — … [Read more...]
The Best Part of My Book Tour
It happened at every book talk. Someone would come up to me – sometimes a person I knew from long ago, often a stranger – to say, “This happened to me or to someone I love.” Readers who heard about the tour but couldn’t make their local event sent me emails or Facebook messages. One woman stopped me after total body conditioning class. We sweat together two or three times a week but barely know each other’s name. “I loved your novel,” she said. “My daughter was raped in college. At the time my … [Read more...]
What Will It Take To End Sexual Assault
What do Lady Gaga, President Obama and the head of Harvard University have in common? They’re all speaking out to stop sexual assault – and not a moment too soon. The headlines call attention to the problem on college campuses: "Survey: More than 1 in 5 female undergrads at top schools suffer sexual attacks." It’s important to have this information. But we need to remember that most rapes happen outside of campus, in every kind of setting – your kid’s school, your neighbor’s home, the … [Read more...]
Open Letter to Young Men Entering College
When my sons went to college, they worried about all sorts of things -- would they make friends, would they meet girls, would they be homesick, would they like their classes and would they do okay in them. They wondered about dorm food, having enough money and figuring out when they'd get sleep. They never worried about being accused of rape. I'd like to think that's because they had learned from me and their dad about respect for women. But I suspect they never thought about it. You … [Read more...]