Today, in honor of Black History Month, we remember Flo Kennedy, who was born on this date February 11, 1916, in Kansas City, Missouri. Kennedy was a lawyer, feminist and civil-rights activist. As a lawyer, she represented Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Assata Shakur, H. Rap Brown, and Valerie Solanas (for her attempted murder of Andy Warhol). In 1972 she formed the Feminist Party and filed an Internal Revenue Service complaint alleging that the Catholic Church violates tax-exempt requirements by spending money to influence political decisions. "I'm just a loud-mouthed middle-aged colored lady . . . & a lot of people think I'm crazy. Maybe you do too, but I never stop to wonder why I'm not like other people. The mystery to me is why more people aren't like me."
She grew up at a time when the KKK was quite active in Kansas City. She remembered her father had to have a shotgun to keep them safe. "My parents gave us a fantastic sense of security and worth. By the time the bigots got around to telling us that we were nobody, we already knew we were somebody." As a young woman, she moved to Harlem and enrolled at Columbia. She was refused admission to their law school because she “was a woman.” She knew it was because she was black. So, she threatened to sue them and they admitted her. She was the only black person among the eight women in her class.
As an activist, she once said, "we have a pathologically, institutionally racist, sexist, classist society. And that niggerizing techniques that are used don't only damage black people, but they also damage women, gay people, ex-prison inmates, prostitutes, children, old people, handicapped people, native Americans. And that if we can begin to analyze the pathology of oppression… we would learn a lot about how to deal with it." As early as 1966, she was picketing and lobbying the media over their portrayal of Black people. She played a prominent role in the protest against the 1968 Miss America Pageant. After the Attica prison uprising, she said, “We do not support Attica. We ARE Attica.” She also participated in the 1973 protests at Harvard over the lack of women’s bathrooms. When asked why she participated in the pouring of urine on the steps of Lower Hall, she said, “I'm just a loud-mouthed middle-aged colored lady with a fused spine and three feet of intestines missing and a lot of people think I'm crazy. Maybe you do too, but I never stop to wonder why I'm not like other people. The mystery to me is why more people aren't like me.
In addition to her activism and legal work, Kennedy also acted in the films “The Landlord” (1970), adapted from Kristin Hunter's 1966 novel, and the independent political drama “Born In Flames” (1983), directed by Lizzie Borden. She also acted in “Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow” alongside Morgan Freeman.
Flo Kennedy, c1972, wearing a leather cowboy hat and vest, and a t-shirt that says “bullshit” while flipping the middle finger and smiling at the camera. By http://www.reclaimthemedia.org/files/images/kennedy.jpg, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36268845
Many women and marginalized people have experienced mansplaining, but what if you have just an autistic person in front of you, who wants to connect over their special interest or correct a mistake you made to provide knowledge? How can you distinguish the two?
From my personal experience the answer is "precision".
Autistic people are often very detail focused and have a strong need for being precise and correct, especially when it comes to their special interest. Because of communication differences this might come across as impolite and annoying and it's perfectly fine to say stop and protect your inner peace, but the intention is a different one.
Mansplaining is about getting attention, admiration and a feeling of superiority while providing superficial knowledge and rough concepts or just few facts communicated out of context.
And of course it can happen that autistic people mansplain, because they are raised in patriarchy too, but then it doesn't just comes across as annoying or impolite, but as seeking for admiration. In this case they don't care if you understand what they are talking about, they are talking down on you.
These are just my personal observations as an autistic woman who has experienced both and has been critisied by NTs for being impolite and attention seeking when wanting to connect over sharing knowledge and experiences more often than I can count.
I am very interested in the perspective of other autistic people on this topic.
Hi. This blog mostly features my adorable cats, Joey and Sheena. Thank you for occasionally indulging me when I post non-feline things.
I just published my novel, Water Dogs. It's the best book about midwestern teens from the 1970s discovering punk rock and saving the universe that I've ever written. Please buy lots of copies from Barnes & Noble (or Amazon).
#Introduction time! This is the official account for the YYC Dyke and Trans March located on Niitsítpiis-stahkoii (Blackfoot / Niitsítapi), Ĩyãħé Nakón mąkóce (Stoney), Michif Piyii (Métis), Ktunaxa ɁamakɁis, and Tsuut’ina land.
This march has been active for over a decade. It is joyful resistance, uniting our community to continue pushing for protections, safety, and happiness, while also reminding us that we are not alone in this struggle. We welcome anyone who would march with us.
In 2025, anti-trans legislation is expected to take effect August 30th, the day of this march. This legislation cruelly and unfairly targets trans and queer experiences, particularly those of trans-youth. This transphobic government wants to legislate us back into the closet. We won't let them.
Join us in our rally cry for respect and safety! Stand up for Queer Rights in Alberta!
LIVEdammit is a mental health support site with stories, tools, free e-course, bookstore & inspiring wearables — for stubborn souls doing the work to stay here, stay human, & stay strong.
‘Nailing Descartes to the Wall’: animal rights, veganism and punk culture ( theanarchistlibrary.org )
Authors: Chris P. Kale, Len Tilbürger ...