Salons at Stowe: #RadicalBrownies Inspire Action and Justice

Welcome to the conversation!

Welcome to the conversation!

Harriet Beecher Stowe's (1811-1896) best-selling anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), made her the most famous American woman of the 19th century and galvanized the abolition movement before the Civil War.

The Stowe Center is a 21st-century museum and program center using Stowe's story to inspire social justice and positive change.

The Salons at Stowe programs are a forum to connect the challenging issues (race, gender and class) that impelled Stowe to write and act with the contemporary face of those same issues. The Salon format is based on a robust level of audience participation, with the explicit goal of promoting civic engagement. Recent topics included: Teaching Acceptance; Is Prison the New Slavery; Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North; Creativity and Change; Race, Gender and Politics Today; How to be an Advocate

This blog will expand the reach of these community conversations to the online audience. Add your posts and comments to keep the conversation going! Commit to action by clicking HERE to stay up to date on Salon and social justice news.

For updates on Stowe Center programs and events, sign up for our enews at http://harrietbeecherstowe.org/email.

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

#RadicalBrownies Inspire Action and Justice

Oakland's newest band of radical activists is a group of fourth-graders. The "Radical Brownies" out of Oakland, CA, are a politically conscious, socially active version of the Girl Scouts designed for young girls of color. Members wear berets in the style of prior activist groups, like the Black Panthers and Brown Berets, and earn badges on "Black Lives Matter" and "LGBT allyship."

Co-founder Anayvette Martinez started "Radical Brownies" with the intention of creating an empowering, inclusive group where young girls of color could learn and develop as social justice activists. Created just a month ago, the group has 12 members in the Oakland area and is looking to expand to more cities soon.

What do you think of the "Radical Brownies"? How can we create more spaces where young people can participate in politically relevant practices?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...: This is great! How can we bring it to CT?; January 28, 2015 at 8:47 PM
Jamie Claiende said...: Everything about this is amazing- hoping it expands to other communities! How can we get schools in CT involved in something like this? Seems like it would make for a great after school program.; January 28, 2015 at 11:01 PM