Stop Patriarchy Launches Crowdfunding Campaign for Take Patriarchy by Storm, Mississippi 2015, July 31-August 9
July 20, 2015 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
On Friday, July 17, Stop Patriarchy launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise the $20,000 needed to bring activists from across the country to Take Patriarchy by Storm into the Deep South and to fight for Abortion On Demand and Without Apology in Jackson, Mississippi for 10 days (July 31-August 9).
Visit the campaign here.
Stop Patriarchy is calling on everyone who cares about the future of women, everyone who does not want to see women forced to have children against their will, everyone who supports abortion rights, to donate generously to this effort—and to spread the word to everyone they know to do the same.
Everyone who donates not only contributes to making this critical mission possible, they also join a growing community of people across the country who are throwing their weight behind the full liberation of women. Part of how crowdfunding works is that every time a person donates, they can immediately see their contribution reflected on the campaign page, they can leave a comment or a photo about why they are donating, and they can claim a “perk” (a special thank you) for their donation. You can also scroll through and see who else has donated and why. The campaign is also set up to make it very easy to share through Twitter, Facebook, and other social media.
Many of the thank you perks are things like stickers, T-shirts, and buttons that allow those who contribute to be part of spreading the same political message wherever they are. One particularly special perk, available to the first three people (or groups) who donate $1,500 or more, is that a free abortion will be provided to a low-income woman in Mississippi in their name. This perk was donated by Diane Derzis, the owner of the Jackson Women’s Health Organization (the last abortion clinic in Mississippi), as a way of supporting and appreciating Stop Patriarchy’s campaign. More perks will be announced in coming days.
Stop Patriarchy is aiming to raise the first $14,000 of the needed funds by July 30, the day before they travel to Mississippi, and then to continue to raise the remaining $6,000 while they are taking to the streets across Jackson. Their hope is that hundreds of people will join in giving smaller donations of $5-$100 each and that this will encourage those who are able to give more to throw in the thousands of dollars that will be needed to make this campaign a success.
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Here is a bit more background on this campaign, taken from Stop Patriarchy’s crowdfunding page:
Why is Stop Patriarchy going to Mississippi?
“Mississippi, which has only one abortion clinic left, is a concentration of the whole vicious war on women. Women travel to this clinic from hundreds of miles in every direction. Without this clinic, women face being forced to have a child against their will. Or these women would risk their lives and prison for self-inducing their own abortions.
“Stop Patriarchy recognizes that not only is it immoral to abandon these women, but it is delusional to think that what happens in Mississippi won’t affect women everywhere if we do not turn the tide. Already this year, more than 330 anti-abortion laws have been introduced across this country. In Indiana, a woman is serving 20 years in prison for allegedly inducing her own abortion. Everywhere, women are harassed, demeaned, and shamed for getting abortions.”
For 10 days, Stop Patriarchy will converge in Jackson to bring a spirit of defiance and shine a national spotlight on the conditions women face. They will reach deep into the community to change people’s thinking and bring forward new fighters. They will disrupt business as usual and wake people up to the emergency. On Friday, August 7, they will nationally live stream a People’s Hearing with testimony of what women went through before abortion was legal, of what women are forced to go through today, and of the courageous clinic staff and escorts who battle every day to keep abortion available to women.
All this will culminate in a rally at the Jackson Women’s Health Organization on Saturday, August 8—together with coordinated actions across the country for: Abortion On Demand and Without Apology!
Throughout the entire time, Stop Patriarchy will be taking on all forms of degradation and enslavement of women—popping up in protest at sites of women’s oppression throughout Jackson and projecting this nationwide.
What will the funds be used for?
“$20,000 will help make possible for young activists and others from around the country to be in Jackson for 10 days. Most of this amount is for airfare as well as lodging, living expenses, and car rental. Also, thousands of flyers, palm-cards, stickers and more. In particular funds are needed to produce a beautiful full-color brochure to be broadly distributed in Jackson which will provide a clear, accessible explanation on the fact that fetuses are not babies, women are not incubators and abortion is not murder. This will also fund the live stream of the People’s Hearing on the abortion emergency.”
Who is Stop Patriarchy?
“Stop Patriarchy is a force like no other! We recognize that the war on women is national and must be met with a national counter-offensive. We recognize the need to completely reset the terms of the fight over abortion—it has never been about babies and has always been about women’s enslavement or women’s liberation. And we recognize that we cannot rely on the courts or politicians—we must rely on ourselves and build massive, uncompromising political resistance to defeat this assault.
“We have an amazing track record over the past several years of bringing people forward to fight for abortion rights without compromise all across this country. This July 1st, we held dramatic protests and civil disobedience against new abortion restrictions that passed in Texas, Tennessee, and Kansas. With your support, this must go much further.”
THANK YOU
“Whatever you do, THANK YOU for being part of a movement that can really make a huge difference for the future of women everywhere!”
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