Booked by INA

I've been in Tulsa, Oklahoma for the last month getting teacher training and teaching summer school. One of the things I've been able to do is get to know Tulsa and learn about it's history. That is when I found out about a crucial part of history that has been hidden, denied to me by our white centric history books and media. The 1921 Greenwood race riots, the biggest race riot in American history. In the earlier part of the 1900's Greenwood was the Black Wall street. A vibrant and financially powerful community that boasted having two newspapers, more than have a dozen hotels, two theaters, 15 churches and dozens of restaurants and grocery stores- not to mention the thousands and thousands of homes all black owned. This was a time when segregation ruled the land, black folks made their own piece of the state, they forged their way and created a place of their own. It was amazing for me to know what these folks accomplished in such difficult moment in history and it...

A surprising, pleasant thing I've learned as a dog owner is that there is a vast loving dog community. Getting Alexei and Amber was a really spontaneous thing. I didn't have much knowledge of dog ownership, I didn't think about the commitment or all it takes to have a dog. A dog is basically a child. It's a huge responsibility. A lot of what I've learned about properly caring for my dogs I've learned from other dog owners. Dog owners are always loving towards my dog, and full of tips, advice and wisdom which have been very useful to me in my journey into dog ownership. From tips about keeping my dogs healthy, to grooming, child birth and discipline they've given me so much advice and support. I actually enjoy going to the veterinarian's office because of all the great stories that dog owners share about their dogs, because of all the love and comfort they offer Alexei and because it feels good to be part of such a supportive community. All of this has be...

I have been running a young women's circle at my organization every month since August of last year, turn out has been low lately I decided to spice things up a little by watching a documentary about women in media called "Miss Representation". I discovered "Miss Representation" a couple of years ago but had not had the chance to watch it. We opened this screening up to everyone in the organization because we thought the men should also learn about this since many times they support and spread sexist messages and act out in sexist, violent ways towards women at times influenced by the messages that the media spreads about women. There was some rich points made that I want to highlight and reflect deeper on. 1. The representation of women in politics, and powerful positions in the media. The documentary shed light on how sexist, disrespectful, shallow women like Hilary Clinton, Condoleezza Rice, Sarah Palin, Nancy Pelosi are constantly being represented in th...

Leading Women on TV: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries "Defining conventions for her time she's charming, not ashamed of her sexuality, smart and highly skilled and doing all that with an impeccable sense of style." Lately I've been bothered by the lack of female characters on TV that I can relate to, that I consider real, complex, that look like me. I am a feminist, I don't conform to the traditional gender roles assigned to women. I am sick and tired of seeing women as victims on TV. I have a penchant for watching detective shows. Many times in these shows, in most TV shows on TV really, there's a male lead and women always play second fiddles or victims. A male lead that's genius but broken. Unable to maintain relationships, full of secrets that need to be unraveled, we tune in to figure him out- often times a white man. Lately I've grown tired of that. Women are often times the victims of male perpetrators rather then heroes who bring vi...