“Selma” The Film

January 16, 2015 / Doreen Stratton / Leave a comment

On Monday I went to the theater to watch “Selma”, the film that relives the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. “Selma” recreates the thousands of African American citizen activists who rushed toward violence seeking their right to vote. I too am an African American, old enough to remember that dangerous time in American history when Black citizens in the south could not vote. I was a distant witness far removed from that struggle, living in California with my first husband who was stationed at Travis Air Force Base.

In Doylestown, my family experienced no pain or struggle to vote. Raised by parents who reminded us that civic responsibility included voting, my brothers and sisters continue our parents’ legacy and vote every election cycle. I remember on several occasions walking to our polling place with Daddy and Mom. Back then they voted in the old Doylestown Borough School on Broad and Court Streets, a three-block walk from our home. I went into the booth with them straining my neck to look up and see their fingers flip the levers for their candidates of choice. Then I heard that distinctive “click-click-click” as the levers on those reliable Eisenhower era machines assured that their vote was cast and would be counted.

“Selma” is a powerful narrative showing Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) clashing with each other over their ideological strategy on how to accomplish voting rights for Blacks. There is also a brief appearance of Malcolm X, weeks before his assassination. After the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law by President Lyndon Baines Johnson, the south abandoned him: Democrats below the Mason-Dixon Line switched to the Republican Party. The prejudice and hatred so prevalent in the 17^th, 18^th and 19^th Century of during slavery returned, this time with 20^th and 21^st Century discrimination. The whips, clubs, dogs and water cannons have been replaced by electronic voting machines, redistricting, voter-photo ID laws, the termination of early voting and most damaging, court rulings that continue to chip away pieces of the original 1965 Voting Rights Act. The poor and disenfranchised citizens are now included with Blacks as losing the right to vote.

The song ‘Glory’ from “Selma” received the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice Awards and is nominated in the Academy Awards Best Song category. Although “Selma” is nominated for Best Film by the Academy, Ava DuVernay is sorely missing from the Best Director category. She did a brilliant job pulling together the machinations that brought about the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. “Selma” is in the theaters just in time for the January 19, 2015 commemoration of Martin Luther King Day of Service. Thousands of Americans will honor his memory through volunteer projects in their communities. If no community service is scheduled near you, Get in your car or put on your walking shoes and make it to the nearest theater showing “Selma”.

G.O.P.: Keep your laws off women’s bodies

January 10, 2015 / Doreen Stratton / Leave a comment

Latest petition alerts from Daily Kos and Credo hit my email box letting me know that Sen. Mitch McConnell (my favorite turtle) plans to introduce a bill to ban abortions after the 20-week gestation period.

Here we go again. Another old white man playing doctor so he can legislate another reproductive part of a woman’s body.

On November 20, 2012 I published a blog about Ohio State Senator Nina Turner’s protest against her legislative colleagues who were proposing to cut $1.7 million from Planned Parenthood’s budget. At a press conference with a Planned Parenthood representative, Senator Turner wore the T-shirt shown above, transforming the Grand Old Party into a new acronym –“Get Out of my Panties!!!” Turner had denounced the Ohio legislature‘s recent introduction of the “heartbeat bill”–a radical piece of legislation that would ban abortions as soon as a fetal heartbeat is detected.

Ohio Senator Nina Turner is my heroine. She spoke and continues to speak loudly on behalf of women’s reproductive rights–a voice not heard here in Pennsylvania by the pitiful number of women now serving in the hallowed halls of the Harrisburg capitol. Earlier in March 2012, Turner had introduced a Bill in the Ohio Senate proposing that men should be subjected to invasive examinations whenever they seek a prescription for Viagra or any other penile enhancement pill. She was countering a proposal by her male dominated colleagues who had introduced a bill to disallow physician assistants from placing or removing intrauterine devices (IUDs). Checking the 2012 Ohio Senate bill history it appears that her legislation probably died.

Some time ago while chatting with an RN, she shared an incident with me about one of her former male patients, 70 years of age and hospitalized with a heart condition. The nurse described how after administrating the patient’s Physician-ordered medications he had asked her, “Where’s my blue pill?” She replied that there was no ‘blue pill’ on his list of authorized meds. He became so insistent that she checked with his doctor who told her the ‘blue pill’ was Viagra. Doctor then added, “His 50-year old girlfriend is expected in an hour. Give him the pill.”

I’m bewildered: television commercials for penile enhancement drugs always include a caution about health side effects, yet there was a physician allowing his patient to ingest Viagra. And yet, physicians are denied the right to assist women with choices that effect the health or financial well being of their bodies.

Takin’ it to the Court

January 1, 2015 / Doreen Stratton / 3 Comments

December 2014 marked two years of my support for the Thorpe First Nation Family Farm located near Newtown in Bucks County. As “Granny” I wrote four posts about the struggles confronting this 145 acre non-certified organic farm currently owned by Dale and Renee Thorpe. Dale, a distant relative of Olympian Jim Thorpe and Daniel Boone is the 5^th generation of Thorpe’s to work this land. At the end of 2012 when learning that the farm was in danger of being lost, nearly a hundred citizens–dozens of them Native Americans along with farmland advocates, banded together to Save the Thorpe Farm. We became very public with letters to newspapers, holding monthly Native American events at the Farm, organizing a protest march in front of the bank that was threatening foreclosure and making public comments at Township meetings. See link to public comments at the March 6, 2013 Upper Makefield Township meeting:

http://uppermakefield.pegcentral.com/player.php?video=db5c9abbca3d5f715c5c66a6aa908ec3.

Over seven years ago the Thorpe’s purchased the farm from Dale’s cousin. The outbuildings were in poor condition but the Thorpe’s, so passionate about farming, were and remain determined to transform this diamond in the rough into a farm equal or better than neighboring farms in their area. A major resource of their land is the rich soil for growing crops. In addition with an abundance of underground water, for years before and since Dale and Renee bought the farm, developers and other special interest groups were sniffing at the gate. The farm’s tumbledown condition was cause for the local municipality, Upper Makefield Township to file numerous code violations against the property. It should be noted that surrounding the Thorpe farm are homes large enough to board a baseball team. Many of these home owners dislike the farm spoiling the view from their windows.

Then in the fall of 2012, just like toast landing butter-side down on the kitchen floor, disastrous events strike the farm:

1) On October 13 a suspicious fire destroys the barn filled with machinery and tools; 2) Then on October 30 Hurricane Sandy rips the roof off the farm’s Market, taking with it some of the galvanized steel roof on the hay barn that is attached to the Market; 3) With little revenues to maintain the farm, the mortgage holder–Susquehanna Bank–threatens to foreclose on the farm.

Last summer Bankruptcy hearings were held and for now the wolves have been blocked at the gate.

Enough already with the bank and the township and the neighbors! The Thorpe’s are takin’ it to the Court. On October 28, 2014, Robert T. Vance Jr. attorney for the Thorpe’s, filed a Civil Rights lawsuit in the Philadelphia Office of the Pennsylvania District Court.

Thorpe et al v. UPPER MAKEFIELD TOWNSHIP et al.Case Number: 2:2014cv06154.

The document numbers over a hundred pages with a plethora of exhibits. It’s not over yet.

Always remember: No Farms No Food.

“Just Walk Away”

December 18, 2014 / Doreen Stratton / 2 Comments

My 17 year-old granddaughter is the victim of facebook bullying at her high school. What happened to her is probably a textbook case how this serious issue of bullying occurs in our schools every day and escalates if not stopped. My granddaughter is mixed race: African American, Native American and Caucasian. She attends a school where there are only a couple handfuls of students-of-color.

For the purpose of this post the names of the students and the high school will remain anonymous. I’ll refer to them as G for my granddaughter; Bully-Girl for the facebook writer; and Fat Girl for a student probably recruited by Bully-Girl. Dr. AP is the assistant principal at this un-named high school located in a county just north across the line from Bucks County. My daughter is M.

For the past several weeks my granddaughter G received harassing messages on her facebook page sent by Bully-Girl…dumb stuff that started after G happened to talk to Bully-Girl’s boyfriend. G, being a strong young girl chose not to let this nonsense pass by without a response. Throughout this episode I’m proud of G for keeping her cool. Soon messages were flying back and forth, hateful and nasty messages. When Bully-Girl referred to G as a “… fucking monkey cunt”, G told her mother (my daughter M). G was miserable and angry. She said that Bully-Girl was now hurling verbal taunts when they passed each other in the halls. When G described this harassment I too was angry but calmly cautioned G—“I know it’s hard, but when she gets in your face, just walk away. Just Walk Away.”

Last Friday a meeting was held between G’s parents and the principal. Dr. AP was able to view all the messages because G had saved them. M insisted that a meeting be arranged where Bully Girl’s parents will be sitting in the same room with G’s parents. The only commitment made by Dr. AP was to assure G’s parents that the school would monitor the behavior of the students involved in this bullying episode

The assistant principal also said he would speak to Bully-Girl and contact her parents. A future meeting will be arranged with the parents of Bully-Girl, G and the boy who initially became the catalyst of this problem. M insisted that if this incident got out of hand, she wanted the police to be contacted. Dr. AP promised that if there was an escalation of behavior, he would contact the police.

The next school day my granddaughter calls her mother from girls’ bathroom. Crying, she describes how more verbal taunts came from Bully-Girl. Apparently the assistant principal must have talked to Bully-Girl because as G walks down the hall, Bully-Girl follows behind her, calling her a “snitch”. G still holds her cool and turns around. She says to Bully-Girl, “Can’t you say that to my face?” G turns away from Bully-Girl and continues walking down the hall. Then a heavy set girl (Fat Girl) walks behind G and says, “You cunt, if you want to call me ‘fat’ say it to my face.” When G turns around she sees Bully-Girl standing next to Fat Girl.

G says, “Excuse me? I never said that about you and if your friend has a problem with me she can talk to me.”

Fat Girl says “This has nothing to do with Bully Girl– this is about you and me.”

As G walks away she says, “I’m not dealing with this.” Fat Girl catches up to G and trailing right behind G, pushes her into a row of lockers. A crowd of students gathers. G throws her books on the floor, ready to lunge at Fat Girl. Fortunately a male friend of G grabs her, picking her up and away from a disaster saying, “No, calm down”. Another student keeps Fat Girl from an altercation that could’ve been disastrous.

There was no call to M from the school about this. M is pissed, calls the school and asks to speak to the principal. She describes to the staff member on the phone the violent incident that happened to G and asks, “Why wasn’t I called?” The staff member replies that Dr. AP is in a meeting and “will call you back.” An hour later, no response to my daughter so I call with the same concern and am directed to Dr. AP’s voicemail. Two days later and no call back.

Is this the standard procedure for bully incidents in schools? No child should attend ANY school and be expected to learn in a toxic environment only to say, “I don’t want to go to this school anymore.” We learn from G that Fat Girl is on ‘in-house suspension’. Bully-Girl is still walking the halls. Both of those decisions by the school are worrisome to me.

I’ve sent an email to the Dr. AP asking for answers: What does it mean on their website to offer services of Mediation? Being familiar with restorative justice programs, I am disappointed as to not find a narrative attached to this Mediation program. And, Why does the School District’s website have a link called ‘Diversity’ and when I open it, find a list of national organizations associated with civil rights? A list that a worried parent or guardian must maneuver through to find help with their problem? One organization missing on the District’s Diversity’ list and that I recommended to Dr. AP was the Teaching Tolerance program under the Southern Poverty Law Center. I cannot understand why more schools are not using this excellent program to educate their students about racism or bullying.

I don’t expect a reply to my email from Dr. AP in a timely fashion. But hold hope he’ll respond. Soon.

The Reincarnation of ‘Granny’

December 8, 2014 / Doreen Stratton / 2 Comments

In 2010 I began posting The Bucks Underground Railroad as ‘Granny’ on the progressive website, ‘One If By Land Bucks County’. At the end of 2013 that site closed. I was, for nearly all of 2014 an orphan without a blog!

My posts stayed true to Pointing the Way to Freedom: Voting; local to global politics; the environment; religion; films; books; television; family; veterans; the criminal justice system; and civil rights for women and people of all colors. I’ll be archiving some of those posts for this site.

‘Granny’ on The Bucks Underground Railroad has been reincarnated with my real name. My blogger’s icon for this site remains the lawn jockey.

This jockey sits in my garden and for me symbolizes all that is necessary to overcome injustice and intolerance. During the decade of 1850 when the Underground Railroad was at its height, the lawn jockey was a message for fugitive slaves escaping out of the South and into the North. A familiar 19th century ornament by the roadside in front of homes and farms, whichever direction the arm pointed was the way to Freedom. A scarf tied around the jockey’s wrist or neck was confirmation that inside that home or farm lived a believer in anti-slavery. If at night the lantern was lit, it was a message to the weary fugitive that this was a safe place to enter and be out of harm’s way.

Posts on The Bucks Underground Railroad will bring struggles we all face, struggles that seem to have deepened in the year I was away. There’s much to write about.

Feels good to be back.