Abortion rights supporters’ voices thunder at #StopTheBans rallies across the nation

Thousands of #StopTheBans supporters – fueled by fury over a string of state laws aimed at restricting access to abortions – rallied Tuesday across the nation in a powerful statement for abortion rights. The ACLU and NARAL Pro-Choice America were among the sponsors of the national day of action, featuring more than 450 events in all 50 states. “Politicians, take notice: If you come for our reproductive freedom, you’ll have to get through ALL of us,” the ACLU said in a statement. Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio and Mississippi recently approved legislation that would restrict access to abortions in their states. Kentucky and Missouri are among states considering action. Abortion foes are hoping that the Supreme Court, with the addition of conservative justices appointed by President Donald Trump, will back the measures and reverse or weaken the court’s landmark Roe v. Wade ruling. Protesters march to the Alabama Capitol to protest a bill to ban abortion that passed last week , Sunday, May 19, 2019, in Montgomery, Ala. (Photo: Butch Dill, AP) Hundreds of protesters packed the high court’s steps in the nation’s capital Tuesday, toting signs that vowed to “protect safe, legal abortion” and putting lawmakers on notice their voices would be heard.  “We are not going to allow them to move our country backward,” U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn, told the […]

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Dance Theater Celebrates Role of Women in Social Movements

Dance Theater Celebrates Role of Women in Social Movements

Social movements — whether they concern race, economic equity or environmental justice — often have one thing in common: They are led and sustained by women. That’s a theme at the core of Ananya Dance Theatre’s latest piece, “Shyamali: Sprouting Words,” which looks at the role of women in fostering dissent, and how protest in turn leads to progress. Dancer Felicia Perry said that throughout the dance, there is an analogy between women who protest and the grass beneath our feet. “Grass can be pretty annoying … in the ways that women are annoying when we speak up and we speak out, but we keep coming back.” “Shyamali” features Ananya Dance Theatre’s signature mix of classical Indian dance, yoga and martial arts. The moves are at times dreamy and sensual, at other times fiercely physical. The dancers are beaten down, and they come back.

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