Hello from Shrill Society!

Happy Women’s History Month! Though that’s technically every month around here. This week we also celebrated International Women’s Day. We’re sure you saw that message all over the place, but do you know the roots of the day? It was inspired by a 1909 garment workers’ strike, led largely by Jewish immigrant women in their teens and 20s, “at a time when anti-immigrant sentiment was at a fever pitch,” as EJ Dickson points out in this nifty primer.

It’s fitting because the focus of our Nasty Woman planner in March is immigration and civil rights. We take our inspiration from Yuri Kochiyama, a tireless advocate for the rights of all people. Kochiyama’s family had been forced into an internment camp during World War II. And while she played a critical role in securing a government apology and reparations for Japanese-American internees, her experience resonates too hauntingly with the policies that continue to allow close to 15,000 immigrants to be housed in detention centers in the U.S. per day over 70 years later. In February alone, more than 76,000 people were apprehended for crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. It’s one of the most pressing human rights issues of our time and one at the very core of what it means to be an American. So this month, we’re highlighting stories of awesome women contributing to this important conversation from those working on the grassroots level in their communities to those expanding representation of first-generation Americans in media. Their actions, big and small, give us hope for the future of this country! Tell us what you think or share recommendations with us of change-making women to watch at hi@shrillsociety.com.

Fight on,

Amanda + Cameron

What we’re reading!

Trump’s immigration policies took center stage in the news again this week, as hearings got underway on Capitol Hill regarding the enforcement of immigration law, including the “zero tolerance” policies that led to the separation of families at the border last year. If you need to get caught up, we turned to CNN’s all-women reporting team to sum up the big takeaways. One of the most important statements of the day came from Democratic Representative Al Green that this issue is blatantly about color: “White babies would not be treated the way these babies of color are being treated.” Hear, hear! It’s a double standard (a function of both individual and systemic racism) echoed earlier in the week by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, in her defense of Rep. Ilhan Omar when she came under fire for remarks on the U.S. relationship with Israel and charges of anti-Semitism. NPR has a clear breakdown of that debate in case you missed it.

What we’re watching!

Representation matters! We know that’s as important on our TVs at home as it is on Capitol Hill. This month, each of our interviewees touched on how critical it is to see yourself and your community in the media. When we talked with Jen Zeano, the Mexican-born, Texas-based designer about growing her Latina empowerment brand, she could not stop talking about One Day at a Time. The Netflix reboot of a 1970s show that centers life in a Cuban-American family has finished its third season and its fourth is still up in the air. At Jen’s suggestion, we’re tuning in this month and rallying behind the show. For more on One Day at a Time and other binge-worthy shows, check out this Remezcla list of the top ten shows centering the Latinx experience.

What we’re talking about!

Read more from Jen on TV, building her brand, and working with formerly detained youth, in our interview with her this month. Here’s what Jen had to say about the inspiration behind the Latina Power shirt that got her business off the ground and has been worn by celebrities like Gina Rodriguez and Aimee Carrero.

“It was actually Trump. There’s really no other way to put it. I was feeling very disheartened, frustrated, and helpless. At the same time, I was feeling very upset and angry. So that’s when I decided to create the Latina Power shirt. It was around the election time. I did that mostly for myself. I didn’t think people would react the way they have reacted so far and still continue to react. It was more of, I think, “this is something I need.” Then the fact that people reacted so well, absolutely loved it, and felt the same sense of empowerment that I was trying to create for myself, that was just the cherry on top. Once I realized that people wanted that, that they wanted to feel that empowerment from our own Latina community, then that’s when I was like, “this is exactly what I’m meant to be doing.” I focused on that solely and it defined my whole entire brand. That’s when I decided JZD was going to be a Latina empowerment brand.”

Here’s the full interview and stay tuned for our next talk with the kickass lady podcasters focused on telling the stories of what they call “Mash-up Americans.”

See you next time for Issue #21!