V-Day Annual Report 2015 | Page 24

DIALOGUE THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES AND ONE BILLION RISING WERE AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE CONVERSATION ABOUT ENDING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND BUILDING TRULY INTERSECTIONAL MOVEMENTS. One Billion Rising supported several key international appeals for justice including getting a stay of execution for Mary Jane Veloso, a trafficking victim accused of smuggling drugs in Indonesia, the freeing of the Feminist Five in China, the One Fair Wage campaign, and the #ShutItDownA14 protest against mass incarceration with Dr. Cornell West and Carl Dix. #SAYHERNAME One Billion Rising partnered with V-Day Board member and founder of the African American Policy Forum (AAPF) Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw on a #SayHerName vigil in NYC on 20 May. For the first time, family members of Alberta Spruil, Rekia Boyd, Shantel Davis, Shelly Frey, Kayla Moore, Kyam Livingston, Miriam Carey, Michelle Cusseax and Tanisha Anderson came together to create a space to honor their lost loved ones. The family members were supported by community leaders, groups, artists and activists who gathered in Union Square. The vigil featured speaking, singing, poetry and art by Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, Piper Anderson, Eve Ensler, LaChanze, Aja Monet, Tonya Pinkins and more. The event created a space to lift up the stories of these women and recognize that although Black women are killed, raped and beaten by the police, their experiences are rarely foregrounded in our popular understanding of racialized state violence. 24 I am RISING to lift up the possibility that this moment will be fully transformative for everyone involved. We are rising against police misconduct and brutality. We are rising against violence against women. I want to make sure the marginalized people in both of those movements are at the center. –Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, V-Day Board Member