Alice Milliat, Who Fought for Women's Inclusion in the Olympics, is Now Being Recognized

Alice Milliat welcomed the world to Paris as founder of the International Women’s Sports Federation, known in her native France as the Fédération Sportive Féminine International. In 1922, she said, “I hereby declare the first female Olympic Games open,” she said.

The male-dominated world of the mainline Olympics, busy preparing for the Paris Games of 1924, ignored the 1922 event, other than to complain about Milliat’s unauthorized use of “Olympics.” They dismissed the rising idea that women should compete at all.

Milliat, 100 years after the last Paris Olympics, is finally getting recognition as a pioneer, Billie Jean King of sorts for her age. Biographies are being published in France. A new documentary has been shown in theaters and on television. In Nice, The National Sports Museum has a temporary exhibit highlighting her achievements. A plaza outside a new Olympic arena was named for her.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/10/olympics-women-milliat.html

The Top, Christianity, Assumes Laws Only Apply to Them, But Wait!!

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is pushing for more religion in education. Of course he and his followers assume that means more Christianity in schools. 

However, dark messengers of satanism could soon be walking the hallways of Florida’s public schools. Members of the Satanic Temple say they are poised to act as volunteer chaplains.

Although HB 931 leaves the implementation of chaplain programs to individual school districts, and only requires schools to list a volunteer’s religion “if any”, DeSantis has made clear its intent is to restore the tenets of Christianity to public education.

A terrific way to counteract privilege that the top expects is to demand the same situation for other groups too. 

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/08/florida-satanic-temple-ron-desantis

Iowa Cubs and Chicago Cubs to celebrate Deaf Culture at Ballgames

Dylan Heuer started Iowa Baseball Camp for the Deaf (IBCD) in 2015 because children who are deaf or hard of hearing have difficulty accessing Little League. On Thursday the Iowa Cubs, in partnership with Heuer and IBCD, will celebrate Deaf Culture Night at Principal Park in Des Moines.

After receiving feedback from Deaf and hard-of-hearing guests, the Chicago Cubs also introduced closed captioning late last season — a permanent change at Wrigley Field. Similar to the Iowa Cubs, the Chicago Cubs will host a Deaf inclusive night on Sept. 19 with interpreters present for player announcements, the national anthem, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” and more. A special ticket offer includes a T-shirt with “Cubs” written out in ASL and the option to select seats in sections that will have an interpreter.

https://sports.yahoo.com/iowa-cubs-celebrate-deaf-culture-233100843.html?ck_subscriber_id=2584165745&utm_source=convertkit&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Pedestrian+safety+is+trending+up+-+14283414

Hindu Leader Seeking to Have Sanskrit Scriptures Posted in Louisiana Classrooms

One way to deal with hierarchical people who believe their views are the best and must be forced on everyone else is to insist that they are not the only ones occupying their top spot they created. 

A spokesperson of the Hindu community is seeking to have ancient Sanskrit scriptures displayed in public classrooms alongside the Ten Commandments in Louisiana.

https://wgno.com/news/politics/louisiana-politics/religious-leader-wants-to-display-indian-scriptures-in-louisiana-public-classrooms/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=Louisiana&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0Xhy6VZMeC0s03XwQEzdCYhrEONs-YO-Q91TRCYznPTbpQEdYg4vMg3_M_aem_EgisZqvft_i-G8tYSLcfNQ

Center Opens in Rapid CIty, South Dakota for Indigenous Two Spirit Persons

On the north side of Rapid City surrounded by around 30 community members, Monique “Muffie”  Mousseau and Felipa De Leon opened the city’s first Indigenous-led LGBTQIA+ center, Uniting Resilience, on Thursday, Feb. 29.

For 19 years, the Oglala Lakota lesbian couple has fought for the right to be together. The two have experienced discrimination, homophobia and barriers to expressing themselves. Now, they’re hoping to stop other Two-Spirit couples from facing these challenges.

When same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide in 2015, the couple was still unable to be married on their reservation. Instead, the couple was married in the Black Hills. “That (homophobia) isn’t traditional. That’s a colonized way of thinking,” Mousseau said.

The term "Two-Spirit" refers to a person who identifies as possessing both a masculine and feminine spirit and is used by some Indigenous people to describe their sexual, gender and/or spiritual identity. Two-Spirit is an umbrella term for what in western culture may be referred to as the LGBTQIA community.

https://ictnews.org/news/a-place-for-acceptance?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR10fdn_ZdybmzxNbWWtY7kdoiXTMHNG2U6KOjkcZ914E2K53cVMFbqEbSM_aem_PM63aynX3GZlspoalTd9XQ

Not Even Dolly Parton is Not Immune from the Right-Wing Christians

In her article, "There’s Nothing Loving About Dolly Parton’s False Gospel,” Federalist writer Ericka Andersen criticized Parton for her nonjudgmental approach to life and her claim that she loves everyone — including members of the LGBTQ community.

Andersen argued that if Parton is a Christian, as she proclaims, she should call out homosexuality as a sin. “Parton’s version of love, which includes condoning immoral sexual behavior (‘be who you are,’ she’s said), is unaligned with God’s vision for humanity,” Andersen wrote.

After extensive backlash, Anderson has stated that "I regret using Dolly as the example for the point I was making in the article."

People who continue to support hierarchies and use their hierarchical religion to justify their actions will go after anyone, including the beloved Dolly Parton.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/author-says-she-regrets-using-dolly-parton-in-essay-that-sparked-widespread-backlash-184718105.html

Now Named Marian Anderson Hall, Philadelphia Orchestra Honors Hometown Legend

June 8, 2024, was declared Marian Anderson Day in the state of Pennsylvania.  

June 8, 2024 is also the day that the Philadelphia Orchestra, with whom she had made her hometown debut in 1937, renamed its concert hall in her honor. Many of us recall her most famous moment.

"On April 9, 1939, the 42-year-old American contralto and international star Marian Anderson walked onto a temporary stage on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and began to sing. She opened with 'My Country, 'Tis of Thee,' a pointed choice given the events that had led to those first notes. Anderson had come to Washington at the invitation of Howard University, and the venerable Constitution Hall had been chosen as the venue for her much-anticipated appearance — until the Daughters of the American Revolution, who owned the hall, made clear that they would not allow a Black artist to perform on their stage. What the group did not count on was the dissent of one of their members, first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who resigned from the DAR in protest and assisted in the effort to find an alternate venue, producing an event that would highlight the ongoing national struggle for racial equality. Where better than in the shadow of Abraham Lincoln himself?"

https://www.npr.org/2024/06/11/nx-s1-5001292/philadelphia-orchestra-renames-hall-after-marian-anderson?utm_id=11998314&orgid=374&utm_att1=