03 Mar A Great Weekend For Women, Food Justice, And Inspiration (VIDEOS)
Other than The Walking Dead, I don’t really watch much television consistently. I love to see the characters overcome unthinkable challenges week after week. Michonne and her katana sword are my favorite characters in the show. Even though there may be a lot of great things to watch, I simply don’t have the time for it. That said, I did catch parts of two important events, one on television and the other on my computer. I came away really inspired by what I saw and it gave me hope that everything is not just crappy scripted “reality” TV.
This weekend TEDxManahatan took place. I gained a lot more knowledge of the food justice movement and with information on how to support local organizations that are doing tremendous work in our communities and beyond.
Saru Jayaraman is the Co-Founder of ROC (Restaurant Opportunities Centers) United. In her powerful presentation, she talked about workplace rights for restaurant workers and asked us if we really eat ethically? For those who eat local, organic, free-range, biodynamic, and sustainable food, the answer to this question might shock you.
Dr. Regina Bernard-Carreno discussed her quest to access healthy food after being displaced from her Hell’s Kitchen home and relocating with her family to Queens 17 years ago. Her poignant talk discusses how gentrification, race, and class impact how we eat, particularly for those in low income neighborhoods in New York City.
After The Walking Dead finished, I switched channels and watched what was left of the Oscars. I had just enough time to catch Lupita Nyong’o POWERFUL and EMOTIONAL acceptance speech. She is just the 7th black female to win an Academy Award. This was particularly important for me because I took my 3 young daughters to see 12 Years a Slave and found that I had to justify my actions after being told that it was inappropriate for children. To date, it was the most difficult movie I have ever seen but I thought it was important for them to learn about our history as descendants of Africans and to see a smart woman on the screen who is also dark-skinned and embraces her natural hair texture. Lupita’s win validated my actions last night when I heard her gracious words. I made sure we all watched it together this morning.
Are you an inspirational woman? Tell us what you’ve overcome or what you need support with in the comments section below.
Related Posts:
Eileen Z. Fuentes Presents at TEDMED 2013 (VIDEO)
The Role of Immigrants and the Local Food Movement
Fresh Produce: Access and Equity
I invite you to Subscribe to my blog | Follow me on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Follow on Pinterest
No Comments