Art from: dei.gsu.edu/2021/02/womens-history-month

Our heroine's can come from anywhere: art, literature, history. Maybe she's a heroine of our generation, or a courageous lead in a Jane Austin Novel. To celebrate Women's History Month we've compiled literature with stories of empowered, historical, and fantastical heroine's. Find a story that inspires you:

EMPOWERED WOMEN

Stories of self-acceptance and creating change

The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl

Issa Rae

Being an introvert in a world that glorifies cool isn’t easy. But when Issa Rae, the creator of the Shorty Award-winning hit series The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, is that introvert—whether she’s navigating love, the workplace, friendships, or “rapping”—it sure is entertaining. Now, in this New York Times bestselling debut collection written in her witty and self-deprecating voice, Rae covers everything from cybersexing in the early days of the Internet to deflecting unsolicited comments on weight gain, from navigating the perils of eating out alone and public displays of affection to learning to accept yourself—natural hair and all.

The Women I Think About at Night

Mia Kankimäki

What can a forty-something childless woman do? Bored with her life and feeling stuck, Mia Kankimäki leaves her job, sells her apartment, and decides to travel the world, following the paths of the female explorers and artists from history who have long inspired her.

The Women I Think About at Night is “an astute, entertaining…[and] insightful” (Publishers Weekly) exploration of the lost women adventurers of history who defied expectations in order to see—and change—the world.

Where to Begin

Cloe Wade

If you are ready to be a part of building a society rooted in love, acceptance, justice, and equality, Where to Begin is the ultimate inspirational guide.

Building on the wisdom of Cleo Wade’s national bestseller Heart Talk, this heartfelt collection will help you stay connected to hope during difficult moments and remind you that no matter what, you still have the power to show up and effect positive change.

HISTORICAL WOMEN

Women who have shaped the world we live in today

A Woman's Place Is at the Top: A biography of Annie Smith Peck, Queen of the Climbers

Hannah Kimberley

Annie Smith Peck is one of the most accomplished women of the twentieth century that you have never heard of. Peck was a scholar, educator, writer, lecturer, mountain climber, suffragist, and political activist. She was a feminist and an independent thinker who refused to let gender stereotypes stand in her way. 

My Own Words

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Hailed as a champion of women’s rights, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away in 2020, but her opinions on everything from gender equality to the inner workings of the nation’s highest court to her love of opera live on this 2018 collection of writings from the feminist icon.

FANTASTICAL WOMEN

Fictional and fantasy stories about women

Circe

Madeline Miller

The 2018 bestseller offers an epic feminist adaptation of the story of the goddess Circe — the misfit daughter of Helios, god of the sun, and Perse, an Oceanid nymph — whose powerful sorcery leads to banishment.

Over thousands of years, Circe crosses paths with a wide cast of characters: the Minotaur, Medea, Jason and other mortals, including Odysseus, with whom she falls in love and has a child. In the end, will she choose to live among mortals or gods? If you’re looking for female empowerment, Greek mythology style, you’ve found it.

The Mercies

Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Inspired by the 1620 witch trials, this novel transports readers to Norway, where a traveler and his wife come upon a coastal village only inhabited by women. 

Absalom Cornet has been summoned to bring the women of the island to heel. With him travels his young wife, Ursa. In her new home, and in Maren, Ursa encounters something she has never seen before: independent women. But where Ursa finds happiness, even love, Absalom sees only a place flooded with a terrible evil, one he must root out at all costs....

Get a Life, Chloe Brown

Talia Hibbert

After a near-death experience, chronically ill website coder Chloe Brown makes an agenda to ensure she lives her life to the fullest and she finds the perfect man to help her cross the experiences off her list.

Sender One is also celebrating Women's History Month by fundraising for Girls Inc. LA. Our goal is to raise $2,000 through our Send With Womxns Climb-a-thon. So grab your climbing shoes and rally up your pledges, because we'll be climbing all day March 26th!

Rock climbing provides an experience full of thrill, excitement, and commitment. It builds physical and mental strength as you reach new heights on each route you try. It’s an experience that Sender One wants to make accessible to everyone in our communities, which is why we’re pleased to announce our Send Forward Program. 

The goal for the Send Forward Program is to break down barriers that limit underrepresented groups, especially amongst youth, from participating in the sport of climbing. Additionally, we want the youth participating in the program to build self-esteem, develop life skills and grow confidence in overcoming obstacles, so that what they perceive as possible will transform beyond their current veils.

The Send Forward campaign will offer these groups of youth an opportunity to explore a world outside of what they know, to experience challenges that will push them beyond what they envisioned they were capable of. It will also offer them a chance to get to know our State and National parks through climbing.

We’ve had the opportunity to partner with Andrew King and Outward Bound Adventures who have helped make this dream program a reality. Learn more about these amazing partners below ↓

We look forward to building partnerships with even more organizations to help this program grow.

About Andrew King

Andrew King is an African American explorer who has climbed over 50 different mountains around the world from Kilimanjaro to the highest mountain in the Atlantic, Indian, and the Pacific Ocean to the highest mountain in Western Hemisphere. He is currently training and climbing towards being the first African American to climb the highest mountain and volcano on each continent.

He is a dedicated advocate, providing help and digital media exposure to individuals, non-profits, developing communities battling sexism, racism, climate change, and other economic barriers along his nature expeditions.

Andrew is climbing, surfing, and diving for an inclusive outside with brands including Black Diamond, who will be donating shoes and harnesses to the participants of the Send Forward program. 

About Outward Bound Adventures

Outward Bound Adventures (OBA) is the oldest non-profit in the nation created and dedicated to providing outdoor education, conservation and environmental learning expeditions for primarily low income, urban and rural youth and their families who would not otherwise have the opportunity to experience time spent in wild places and open spaces. 

We are thrilled to partner with them on the Send Forward program to bring rock climbing into the lives of these young adventurers. 

References

The Between Worlds Project | Outward Bound Adventures

In effort to continue bringing Black Health and Wellness to the forefront as we celebrate Black History Month, below you'll find Black-owned businesses who provide services and products for self-care, fitness, sustainability, and more  for our local communities and online. 

If you haven't had the opportunity yet, don't forget to check out our earlier blog for Black History Month which highlights non-profit organizations and podcasts to follow/support that work to empower Black communities, as well as encourage self-love and healing. 

FITNESS & HEALTH

Intrinsic Provisions

intrinsicprovisions.com

A joy-focused outdoor lifestyle shop connecting customers to the highest quality brands. They offer a curated brand experience for your life both out and about and in.

WELLNESS & SELF-CARE

Nappily Naturals

nappilynaturals.com

A full service beauty wellness center in Leimert Park that offers organic, plant-based and herbal formulas that support holistic health and beauty lifestyles that will combat certain issues that has become ubiquitous throughout Black communities all over the world.

Laguna Candles

lagunacandles.com

Women-owned and family-run business Laguna Candles has been whipping up candles for over 15 years. Each candle is hand-poured and crafted locally and made with a proprietary soy and wax blend sustainable, ecologically-sound and free of pesticides, Phthalates, parabens and sulfates.

APPAREL & HOME

Renowned LA

Renowned.la

Renowned is a Los Angeles based brand created by John Dean III. Dean, born in Cleveland, Ohio, developed Renowned as a creative outlet to share and tell stories from a perspective that is relatable to anyone chasing a dream.

 The theme of Black History Month in 2022 is centered around Black Health and Wellness. 

In the midst of Covid-19, Black Health and Wellness has become a prevalent conversation piece. Throughout the pandemic, Black communities have been disproportionately affected on all levels – physically, mentally, and emotionally. Black men and women are at a higher risk for serious illness, and many report that the pandemic has had a profound negative impact on their mental health and emotional well-being.

Through art, Black communities have had a platform to express the challenges of this global tragedy and share stories through color and movement. One recent exhibition "In the Midst of All That Is"  featuring the artwork of LA based artists Tiffanie Delune and Kaye Freeman provokes a conversation about current global challenges in regard to the Covid-19 pandemic and other social, political and economic ills (a piece of this exhibit can be found above. Both artists insist on searching for the silver-lining in these fraught times, mainly through the use of vibrant color palettes that are invoked through their real and imagined cityscapes and dreamscapes. These artists imbue their paintings with the hope that this uncertain future that we are living through will bring kinder days ahead for humankind.

Exhibition for "In the Midst of All that Is" at the Band of Vices, an LA based art and culture company committed to providing a platform to often overlooked creative communities a narrative. Learn more about the artists and this exhibition. 

Thankfully the future isn't being left to total uncertainty, as many non-profit organizations are at the forefront of bringing these kinder days to light through advocacy programs, outreach, policy, and education. Not only do these organizations provide support and resources  for Covid-19, but many other issues that Black communities face in access to healthcare and wellness.

Below you'll find information on a few of these organizations, where you can educate yourself on the these issues in order to be a voice for the cause, be empathetic ear for those around you, and share or use the resources they provide. Lastly, we've also included Podcasts that aim to empower Black communities, as well as encourage self-love and healing.

Black Health and Wellness Organizations

California Black Women's Health Project

About Them: The California Black Women's Health Project (CABWHP) is the only statewide, non-profit organization that is solely committed to ​improving the health of California's 1.2 million Black women and girls through advocacy, education, outreach and policy. We focus on empowering Black women to take personal responsibility for our own health and to advocate for changes in policies that negatively affect Black women's health status.

Health Resources: Utilize their Health Toolkits under the 'Our Health' section as a resource for Mental Health, Maternal Health, COVID, and more.

Get Involved: You can get involved by donating, or volunteering your time.

Podcasts

The Self Love Fix

The self love fix podcast is a podcast all about helping WOC delve deeper into self love, self worth, personal development, self esteem and self care. Here on the self love fix we get relatable, we laugh, we cry, we heal, but most of all we learn about the truth of who we are and what we deserve.

Listen on Spotify or Apple

It's the Year of the Tiger! But what exactly does that mean...?

Chinese New Year, one of many Lunar New Year celebrations, begins on the new moon which marks the end of Winter and beginning of Spring. One of the many components of Chinese New Year that makes it unique from other Spring Festivals is the Chinese Zodiac, which is a repeating 12-year cycle of animal signs based on the lunar calendar. 2022 is the year of the tiger!

With her passion for climbing and desire to share Chinese Culture with the community,  Co-Founder and CEO Alice Kao was inspired to launch a Tank that celebrates both. Alice share's more with us about her inspiration for the tank top and her own  Chinese New Year Traditions below in a Q&A.

Celebrating Chinese New Year Through Art

These Chinese-inspired Climbing Tanks designed by artist Ariel Lee are available for purchase in-person and online. Sender One will donate 50% of proceeds during February 2022 to the Asian Pacific Island Forward Movement, a group dedicated to cultivating healthy, long-lasting, and vibrant Asian and Pacific Islander communities through grassroots organizing. 

Q&A with Co-Founder and CEO, Alice Kao 

Q: What was your inspiration to share this part of your Asian culture with the community? 

A: "Actually the idea was inspired by Andrew Hou at Uplift Climbing in Seattle, WA.  Wes and I went to Seattle last September to meet up with other climbing gym owners and we checked out Andrew's new bouldering gym.  He sells a shirt at this gym that says "Climbing Gym" in Chinese.  I was so intrigued by it I told him I'd like to copy his idea (and send him a shirt when Sender One prints one!)

The truth is I've always wanted to share Chinese culture with the community, since we started the company almost 10 years ago, but it didn't feel like it was a good time until now.  We attended our first Climbing Wall Association summit in 2012 and we were the ONLY Asian people who were climbing gym owners.  I might have been the only woman of color who owns a climbing gym in America for a very long time.  It has definitely changed over the past few years and the climbing industry is becoming more diverse across all levels.  I'm really proud to be a part of this transformation."

Q: Sender One has 6 Core Values, why did you choose 'Climb Together' to be represented in this design? 

A: "Because "Climbing Together" is what has gotten all of us through the past 24 months, and because the Chinese phrase for Climbing Together sounds and looks cool."

Q: Does your family celebrate Chinese New year, and if so how do you celebrate? 

A: "Yes! I was born and raised in Taiwan and moved to the US when I was 12.  My memories of Chinese New Year as a kid were lots of family gatherings, mahjong, and lots of red envelopes.  My mom and I have tried to carry some of these traditions with us now that we're in the US.  We still eat hot pot on Chinese New Year's eve, dumplings on Chinese New Year's day, and give the kids red envelopes.  Hopefully soon we'll start teaching the kids how to play mahjong, it'll help them learn Chinese characters."

Q: What is your Chinese zodiac? 

A: "Year of the Sheep. To illustrate how much my family cares about this, my Chinese name has the character of the sheep in it!"

Q: What's something you'd like to accomplish in the Year of the Tiger?

A: "To be courageous like a tiger and open another gym 🙂 "

About the Artist

Ariel Lee is an Asian American artist and illustrator based out of Southern California. Just like her Chinese Zodiac animal, the Ram, her heart seems to be in the colorful mountains shown in her art. She shared with us that some other AAPI artists that inspire her include Josh Cochran, Tomi Um, and Andrew Hem. See more of her colorful paintings on her Instagram @lee_ariel_, or visit her site. 

Mural by Ariel Lee, Photo by: Andrea Ceseña

Horizon Showers, Gouache on paper, 2021, 15x11 in