In October 2007 people all over the United States gathered physically and in spirit to speak out against violence against women of color. Some of us wore red all day and explained that we were reclaiming and reframing our bodies as a challenge to the widespread acceptance of violence against women of color. Some of us wrote powerful essays about why we were wearing red and posted them on the internet. Some of us gathered with bold and like-minded folks and took pictures, shared poetry and expressed solidarity.

 

This year, on the first anniversary of the Be Bold Be Red Campaign, we invite you to make your bold stance against the violence enacted on women and girls of color in our society visible. In D.C., Chicago, Durham, Atlanta and Detroit women of color will be gathering to renew our commitment to creating a world free from racialized and gendered violence, and this time, we’ll be using a new technology called CyberQuilting to connect all of these gatherings in real time.

 

To learn more about CyberQuilting, which is a women of color led project to stitch movements together using new web technologies and old traditions of love and nurturing, visit http://cyberquilt.wordpress.com/

.

This letter is an invitation for you and yours to participate in a gathering in your city on Thursday, October 30th that will be webcast to similar gatherings in other cities. We are calling on you because we recognize and appreciate the work that you and the organizations you work with are doing everyday to make this a more loving and less violent world for women and girls in oppressed communities. Please join us on October 30th so that other warriors in this struggle can be strengthened and affirmed by the energy of our collective ferocity!

 

The locations where you can participate in the five city video conferening is located on the Document the Silence website: http://documentthesilence.wordpress.com/

 

Detroit, Michigan

Event Title: “

Be Bold Be Red: Speaking out against violence enacted on women and girls of color”

During this event we will discuss the issues, concerns and rights of women/girls of color through poetry, song, dance and stances! The event will include a focus on facilitating our involvement in the INCITE! track at the Allied Media Conference and also entail a five city – Atlanta, DC, Chicago, Detroit, and Durham – video conference to speak out against violence against women, and show how new emerging cyber technologies can advance the work and activism of women of color.

 

Sponsors: Detroit Summer, Allied Media Projects (AMC), Think Girl, Alternatives For Girls, Critical Moment, and Be Bold Be Red: The Cyberquilting Experiment Women of Color Network

 

The event will take place at the new Detroit Summer Studio at the 555 Gallery, between 6:30pm-8:30pm/est on October 30, 2008.

 

555 Gallery
4882 Grand River
Detroit, MI 48208
(313) 894-4202
www.555arts.org

 

Also we are asking once again that people wear Red on October 30, 2008 and send us your Pictures and Stories of RED to beboldbered@gmail.com

 

We created a new video entitled, How do You Keep a Social Movement Alive: Why We Can’t Wait

http://jumpcut.com/view?id=D9D7ADD0001E11DDA1F1000423CF382E

 

If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at beboldbered@gmail.com