Tamar of Georgia

Tamar of Georgia was a queen of Georgia who reigned from 1184 to 1213. 

The daughter of King George III of Georgia, Tamar is known for her successful military campaigns against neighboring countries and her promotion of Georgia as a major power in the region. She is considered one of the greatest rulers in Georgia’s history and is often referred to as “Tamar the Great” & “King of Kings.”

Tamar is remembered for her efforts to unite Georgia, expand the kingdom’s territory, and strengthen the country’s cultural and economic ties with Europe. She is also remembered for her patronization of the arts and her efforts to spread Christianity throughout Georgia.

References:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamar_of_Georgia
• https://theculturetrip.com/europe/georgia/articles/a-brief-history-of-georgias-only-female-king/
• https://www.worldhistory.org/Queen_Tamar/

Princess Takamatsu

Princess Takamatsu (1894-1961) was a member of the Japanese imperial family and the younger sister of Emperor Hirohito. She was the third child of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken and the younger sister of Emperor Taishō. Princess Takamatsu was married to Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni, who served as the Prime Minister of Japan from 1945 to 1946.

Princess Takamatsu was known for her philanthropic work, and she was particularly interested in promoting education and cultural exchange. She supported various charities and founded the Takamatsu Foundation, which supported education and research in the arts and sciences. In addition to her charitable work, Princess Takamatsu was also involved in the Japanese Red Cross and served as its president for many years.

Princess Takamatsu died in 1961 at the age of 67.

References:

• https://royalwatcherblog.com/2019/12/18/princess-takamatsu/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meiji_era
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kikuko,_Princess_Takamatsu

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Barbara Jordan

Barbara Jordan was the first African American to be elected to the Texas Senate, the first African American woman elected to Congress since 1898 in the Southern US, & the first female to be a keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention.

• Barbara Charline Jordan was born in Houston, Texas on February 21, 1936.  She was the youngest of 3 daughters born to Benjamin & Arlene Jordan.
  • Her great grandfather was Edward Patton, one of the last African American members of the Texas House of Representatives prior to Jim Crow laws excluding Black Texans from participating & serving.
• Barbara graduated from Phillis Wheatley High School in 1952, of course with honors, & attended Texas Southern University.
  • Her first choice was the University of Texas at Austin, but UT was still segregated at the time.
  • TSU was created to avoid desegregating UT, she was inaugural class
• Barbara dominated at Texas Southern University, majored in political science & history, became a national debate champion (she beat fellow students from Yale & Brown, tied Harvard). During her time at Texas Souther University, she became a member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, Delta Gamma chapter.  
• After graduating magna cum laude, she attended law school at Boston University & graduated in 1959.
  • One of 2 AA women in her class
• She taught political science for a year at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, & returned to Houston in 1960 to open her own law practice.
• Upon returning to Texas, Barbara served as a volunteer in JFK’s 1960 presidential campaign, & her efforts led to an 80% voter turnout in Harris County.
• Barbara ran for the Texas House of Representatives in 1962 & 1964, but was not elected.  But in 1966, she ran & won her seat in the Texas Senate, officially becoming the first African American senator in Texas since 1883 AND was the first Black woman to serve in the Texas State Senate.
  • During her time in the Texas Senate, she focused her efforts on antidiscrimination, environmental, & urban legislation (all of which were quite challenging in the rural state Texas still is)
• She was re-elected in 1968 & served until 1972 in the Texas Senate.  During her time, she served as president pro tempore (elected by her peers), becoming the first African American female to do so, & even served for one day as acting governor of Texas on June 10, 1972.  Thus, she became the first AA woman to serve as a state governor.
• Barbara was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1972, becoming the first woman elected to represent Texas in the House.  
  • During her time in the US House of Representatives, she focused her efforts on legislation to strengthen the Voting Rights Act of 1965, expand worker’s compensation, & improve the lives of the poor, minorities, & disenfranchised citizens.
  • She was a great legislator, eventually becoming known for her great ability to compromise with sacrificing her ideals but was still relatively unknown.  She was also surrounded by white men, commonly racist & sexist
  • President LBJ was a big supporter, & helped her get on the House Judiciary Committee
    • And here’s where Barbara is probably best known:
      • Barbara delivered a 15 minute speech to the US House Judiciary Committee during Richard Nixon’s impeachment process.  This speech continues to be considered one of the most important & greatest speeches in 20th century America.  
      • Already known for her staunch defense of the Constitution, her speech was intricately woven with urgings that Nixon was untrustworthy, that Americans would never trust the government again if not dealt with appropriately, support for the checks and balances system, & the facts definitely supported impeachment.  
      • “I am not going to sit here & be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion, the destruction of the Constitution.”
      • Apparently she was like a celebrity after this speech – she earned national praise, people sent fan mail to her house.
• In 1976, Barbara became the first AA & woman to deliver a keynote address at the Democratic National Convention, & helped to campaign for Jimmy Carter.
  • She also apparently received one vote for president at the DNC.
• Barbara served until 1979 & retired from Congress after 3 terms.
  • But did she sit back & chill?
  • She published her autobiography later that year, accepted an adjunct professor position at UT in the LBJ School of Public Affairs, served as an advisor on governmental ethics to Texas Governor Ann Richards, was a chairman in the US Commission on Immigration Reform, gave the 1992 keynote address at the DNC, & was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Bill Clinton in 1994.
    • Apparently Clinton considered nominating her to the Supreme Court but Barbara was already experiencing health issues
  • Even though she wasn’t in Congress anymore, she still remained highly influential in politics & managed to squash Robert Bork’s nomination to the Supreme Court by George Bush.
• Barbara had been experiencing multiple sclerosis since 1973.  She was actually wheelchair-bound when she delivered the 1992 DNC keynote address.
• She passed away on January 17, 1996 due to pneumonia, a complication of her leukemia.
• Awards:
  • Barbara was awarded some 25 honorary degrees, including from Harvard
  • Inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame 1984
  • National Women’s Hall of Fame 1990
  • NAACP Spingarn Medal 1992
  • Hobart & William Smith Colleges Elizabeth Blackwell Award 1993
  • 1994 Presidential Medal of Freedom
  • 1995: US Military Academy’s Sylvanus Thayer Award (second ever female)
• Private life:
  • Barbara was fiercely private about her personal life, including her health & relationships.
  • It’s believed that her life partner was Nancy Earl, an educational psychologist Barbara met back in the 60s, & who eventually became Barbara’s caregiver as her health declined.
    • Nancy Earl also saved Barbara’s life when she almost drowned in the backyard swimming pool during physical therapy…
  • The National Archives notes Barbara Jordan was the first LGBTQ+ woman in Congress.
• Barbara Jordan became the first African American to be buried in the Texas State Cemetery, an honorary burial ground for politicians

References:

• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Barbara-Jordan
• https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/barbara-jordan
• https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/16031
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Jordan
• https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/barbara-c-jordan
• https://www.humanitiestexas.org/programs/tx-originals/list/barbara-jordan

Barbara Lee

Representative Barbara Lee has served the people of California since 1998 & is the HIGHEST ranking African American woman in Democratic Leadership.

• Born in a segregated El Paso, TX on July 16, 1946 to parents James Lewis and Mildred Massey
  • Father was an Army veteran, mother “broke many glass ceilings and racial barriers” (lee.house.gov)
  • Raised Catholic, attended St. Joseph’s Catholic School and was instructed by the Sisters of Loretto, an order devoted to promoting justice and peace
  • Family moved to LA in 1960 for military reassignment, where Lee graduated from San Fernando High School in 1964 
    • As a teen, loved music and won two music achievement awards from the Rotary Club and Bank of America
    •  At age 16, Lee had an illegal abortion in Mexico “There were two things I was afraid of. First of all, that I was going to die because unsafe septic abortions were the main cause of death for black women in the 1960s. And that I was going to be put in jail.” (The Guardian US)
• Lee enrolled in Mills College in Oakland, attended with public assistance as a single mother of two
  • Was president of the Black Student Union, invited Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm (first AA woman elected to Congress) to speak on campus
  • As a result, Lee registered to vote for the first time, served as Chisholm’s delegate at the 1972 DNC in Miami
  • Volunteered for the Black Panther Party’s Community Learning Center, worked on mayoral campaign for Bobby Seale
• Graduated with B.A. in psychology from Mills College in 1973, went on to obtain her MSW from Cal Berkeley in 1975
  • Founded Community Health Alliance for Neighborhood Growth and Education (CHANGE), providing mental health services to vulnerable populations in the Bay Area
  • Served as a legislative intern for Congressman Ronald Dellums while in grad school, and joined his staff upon earning her masters, rose to position of chief of staff 
    • One of the few women and POC to hold a senior position on Capitol Hill
• Continued to work with the congressman until she was elected to the California State Assembly in 1990, then California State Senate in 1997
  • Elected to US Congress in a special election when Ron Dellums’ resigned and left a vacant seat
• As a member of Congress, Lee has been heavily involved in issues surrounding education, public safety, environmental protection, health, labor, women’s rights, and gay rights
  • Currently serves on the Budget Committee, Appropriations Committee
  • Appropriations subcommittees: State and Foreign Operations; Labor, Health, and Human Services, Education; Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA)
  • Co-chair of the Policy & Steering Committee
  • Co-Chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus & Cannabis Caucus
  • Former chair of Congressional Black Caucus, and co-chair of Congressional Progressive Caucus
• Controversially, only member of Congress to vote no on Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists bill
  • “I am convinced that military action will not prevent further acts of international terrorism against the United States…there must be some of us who say ‘Let’s step back for a moment and think through the implications of our actions today–let us more fully understand the consequences,’” for which she received death threats and required police protection
• One of five Congress members arrested in 2005 for protesting outside the Sudanese Embassy in DC in response to ongoing genocide in the nation’s Darfur region
• One of the most liberal and outspoken members of Congress
• Her favorite color is orange, favorite time of year is summer, and favorite vacation spot is Granada (thehistorymakers.org)

References:

• https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/lee-barbara-j-1946/
• https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/honorable-barbara-lee
• https://ballotpedia.org/Barbara_Lee_(California)
• https://lee.house.gov/about/biography
• The Guardian US Instagram page

The post Ep. 22 – Barbara Jordan & Barbara Lee appeared first on The Riveting Rosies.

Frida Kahlo was a 20th century Mexican artist, celebrated for her autobiographical paintings & continues to be a symbol of the feminist, LGBTQ+, & Chicano causes.

• Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderón, better known as Frida Kahlo, was a Mexican painter, political activist, & icon.
• Frida Kahlo was born on July 6, 1907 in Coyoacán, Mexico.  Her father Guillermo Kahlo was German & her mother Matilde Calderon y Gonzalez was a mestiza (Spanish & Indigenous descent).  Frida had 2 older half sisters from her father’s first marriage & was the 3rd of 4 daughters that her parents had.
•  Frida grew up at La Casa Azul, the family home in Coyoacán, which is located outside Mexico City.
• The Mexican Revolution began in 1910, & Frida recalled hearing gunfire & soldiers jumping into their backyard.
• Frida contracted polio at 6 years old, which left her right leg smaller than her left.  She hid this by wearing skirts for much of her life.
  • One resource noted that she might have also experienced spina bifida which may have also contributed too.
  • Kahlo later recalled that due to polio, she spent much time away from her peers & a lot of time with her father who taught her about photography, art, philosophy, nature, & also encouraged her to play sports in order to regain her strength. In school, Frida participated in several sports, including boxing.  
  • Once she enrolled in school, she began a bit later than her peers.  She went to kindergarten & primary school with her sister.  Kahlo was homeschooled for 5th & 6th grade, then attended a German school per her father’s wishes.  However, this was brief because she was expelled due to disobedience.  She then went to a vocational teachers school, but quickly left after she was sexually abused by a teacher.
• In 1922, Kahlo enrolled in an elite Mexican school called the Preparatoria, one of only 35 girls (of 2000 total students)
  • Frida was an excellent student, read voraciously, & became very immersed in the indigenismo identity (Mexican identity that prided itself in its indigenous heritage, & wished to rid itself of colonial European mindset).
  • Frida formed a club called the Cachucas with 9 schoolmates – several went on to become leading elite Mexican intellectuals.  
    • Apparently this group pulled lots of pranks, rebelled against all things conservative, put on plays & debates.
  • Frida fell in love with Alejandro Gomez Arias, who was the group leader.  
  • At this time, Frida was planning to attend medical school after high school graduation.
• At 18 years old, Frida was riding the bus home from school with Alejandro when it collided with a streetcar, leaving her in a body cast for 3 months
  • Several people died in this accident, & Alejandro suffered minor damages.
  • Frida was impaled with an iron handrail through her pelvis – Alejandro along with help from others removed the handrail
  • She suffered a fractured pelvis, punctured abdomen & uterus, broken spine, broken R leg, crushed & dislocated R foot, broken clavicle, & dislocated shoulder.
  • This accident left Frida in chronic pain & suffering illness for the rest of her life.
• Frida’s bedrest ended in 1927, & she began to spend time with friends & her community again.  She joined the Mexican Communist Party & began socializing with a variety of political activists & artists.
  • At one such party, she met Diego Rivera (they previously crossed paths when he painted a mural at her school in 1922, but they were officially introduced in 1928).
  • He was impressed with her art right away (obviously).
  • They soon began a relationship (despite Diego being 20 years older than Frida & already having 2 common-law wives)
  • They were married on August 21, 1929 in a civil ceremony at the Coyoacán town hall.
    • Her parents referred to the union as “a marriage between an elephant & a dove” – Mom did not approve, but Dad approved because Diego could financially support Frida, since she couldn’t work due to her injuries & needing expensive medical treatment.
    • Since Diego was quite famous at the time, the press reported on the wedding & they were known as Diego & Frida in the media.
  •  Frida & Diego moved to Cuernavaca in late 1929, where Diego was commissioned to paint murals in the Palace of Cortes.  
    • Life in Cuernavaca contributed even more to Frida’s Mexican identity & style – she began wearing traditional indigenous Mexican clothing as an homage to her mestiza heritage – huipils, rebozos, jewelry, & long colorful skirts. 
    • It was through these that she really expressed her feminist & anti-colonial ideals.
  • In late 1930, Diego had finished his commission & he & Frida moved to San Francisco, where Diego was commissioned to paint murals for the San Francisco Stock Exchange Luncheon Club & the California School of Fine Arts
    • It’s likely Frida began her long-lasting affair with Nickolas Murray at this time – he was a Hungarian-American photographer.
  • In fall 1931, Diego & Frida traveled to NYC for Diego’s exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art.
  • They then headed to Detroit, where Diego was commissioned to paint murals at the Detroit Institute of Arts
    • Kahlo was becoming bolder in her own right as an artist & wasn’t afraid to tell the media she was the better artist of the couple
  • Frida was frustrated with the colonial & capitalist-centric American society that she had spent the last few years in, but her misery intensified when she became pregnant while in Detroit.  A physician performed a shoddy abortion – it didn’t work.  She continued the pregnancy but then suffered a miscarriage, that led to a serious hemorrhage.  She spent 2 weeks in the hospital.  Soon after this, her mother died from surgical complications in Mexico.
• Frida & Diego returned to NYC so Diego could paint a Rockefeller Center mural – he was fired from this, & then went on to paint another mural elsewhere.  During this time, Frida continued to give interviews to the press, worked on her painting My Dress Hangs There, & at Frida’s urging, they returned to Mexico in December 1933.
• They moved into a new house in San Angel, a wealthy neighborhood in Mexico City.  Their house was 2 sections, connected by a bridge (Frida’s section was pink, Diego’s section was blue).  Their home became a meeting place for many local & international artists & political activists.
• Frida continued to face health problems, requiring an appendectomy, 2 abortions, & gangrenous toe amputations.
  • And if this wasn’t bad enough, her marriage to Diego was falling apart – he continued to be unfaithful to her, this time with her sister Christina
  • Frida moved to an apartment in central Mexico City in 1935 after discovering the affair, & had an affair with Isamu Noguchi.
  • Frida reconciled with her husband & sister in late 1935, moving back to San Angel & became a “loving aunt to Christina’s children,” whose father left them several years earlier.
  • Frida & Diego reconciled, but still continued their own affairs.
• In 1936, Frida re-initiated her political activities, & even petitioned the Mexican government to allow Leon Trotsky & his wife to seek asylum in Mexico City.  They lived for a time in La Casa Azul.
  • Frida & Trotsky had a brief affair during this time as well.
• Frida had an exhibition in Paris, & upon her return to Mexico City, Diego requested a divorce.  They divorced in 1939, but remained friendly – she even managed his finances & correspondences.
• Friday moved back to La Casa Azul & began to create art again.  This began another very prominent & productive period in her career, & she pulled upon her international experiences to create her pieces.
  • Some of her art during this time includes The Two Fridas, The Wounded Table, & Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace & Hummingbird.
    • Her art was featured in the 4th International Surrealist Exhibition in Mexico City, the Golden Gate International Exposition (held in San Francisco), & NYC’s Museum of Modern Art exhibit Twenty Centuries of Mexican Art 
• Leon Trotsky was assassinated in August 1940 & Frida was briefly a suspect since she knew the murderer.  She & her sister were arrested & detained for 2 days.
  • After she was released, she went to San Francisco for medical treatment for her continued back pain & a fungal infection – her health continued to decline after her divorce & her worsening alcohol abuse.
  • In San Fran, Diego & Frida reconciled & remarried on December 8, 1940.
    • They were more independent in their second marriage, continuing affairs with other people, living apart.  During this time, Frida is noted to have affairs with both men & women, as she was a bisexual.
• Unfortunately, her health continued to decline – her spinal injuries required the use of supportive corsets, she had leg pain, chronic fungal infections, syphilis, & depression.
• But while her health declined, her fame continued to grow in Mexico & she continued to produce great works like The Broken Column & The Wounded Deer.
• In her last years of life, Frida spent most of her time confined to her home La Casa Azul in a wheelchair.  She rejoined the Mexican Communist Party & dedicated her efforts to campaigning for peace.
• Her right leg was amputated in August 1953, & suffered tremendously from depression & anxiety.  In the 
• Frida Kahlo died at age 47 on July 13, 1954.  The official cause was pulmonary embolism, but her biographer argues that it was likely suicide as she took an overdose, gave away possessions leading up to her death.
• Her body lay in state at the Palacio de Bellas Artes & was cremated.  Her ashes are on display at La Casa Azul, which is now a museum.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frida_Kahlo

https://nnart.org/style-guide-frida-kahlo/

https://www.fridakahlo.org/

https://www.frida-kahlo-foundation.org/biography.html

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Frida-Kahlo

https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/05/19/frida-kahlos-medical-recordsobtained-by-her-grand-niecereveal-decades-of-negotiating-pain-and-painting

The post Ep. 20 – Frida Kahlo appeared first on The Riveting Rosies.

In the early 1970s, a young woman named Jane Roe was facing an unwanted pregnancy. She wanted to get an abortion, but she was living in Texas, where abortion was illegal unless it was deemed medically necessary to save a woman’s life.

So Roe filed a lawsuit against Henry Wade, the DA of Dallas County. She argued that this law was unconstitutional because it violated her right to privacy under the Fourteenth Amendment.

In 1973, the Supreme Court agreed with Roe and overturned Texas’s abortion ban—a decision that would come to be known as Roe v. Wade.

On January 22, 1973, the United States Supreme Court ruled that women have the right to abortion under the Fourteenth Amendment.

The 7-2 ruling in Roe v. Wade overturned state laws that prohibited abortion, except when necessary to preserve a woman’s life or health. It also established that states could not interfere with a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy before viability (the point at which an unborn baby can survive outside the womb).

It was a landmark decision that changed American society and laws forever.

In today’s episode, Elise & Corissa discuss the uncertainty of Roe v. Wade in light of the recent Supreme Court leak.

Support Abortion Rights with these organizations:

Yellowhammer Fund

New York Abortion Access Fund

Indigenous Women Rising

Abortions without Borders

References:

• Oyez – Roe v. Wade
• Wikipedia – Roe V. Wade
• Brittanica – Roe v. Wade
• University of Utah Health – When is it safe to deliver your baby?
• Oyez – Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey

The post Ep. 14 – Roe vs. Wade appeared first on The Riveting Rosies.