Motherhood at the DNC: Our Favorite Mama Moments

Motherhood is always on our minds at Mama Said, so we were so excited to hear so much about our favorite topic at the DNC last week! Check out some of our favorite motherhood-related highlights below!

First Lady Michelle Obama:

First Lady Michelle Obama: "You see, Hillary understands that the President is about one thing and one thing only-- it's about leaving something better for our kids. That's how we've always moved this country forward-- by all of us coming together on behalf of our children-- folks who volunteer to coach that team, to teach that Sunday school class because they know it takes a village."

To read a full transcript of the First Lady's speech, click here. 

The Mothers of the Movement:

Geneva Reed-Veal: "I'm here with Hillary Clinton because she is a leader and a mother who will say our children's names."

Lucia McBath: "She isn't afraid to sit at a table with grieving mothers and bear the full force of our anguish. She doesn't build walls around her heart. Not only did she listen to our problems, she invited us to become part of the solution."

Sybrina Fulton: "This isn't about being politically correct. It's about protecting our children... Hillary is the one mother who can ensure our movement will succeed."

To read a full transcript of the Mothers of the Movement speech, click here. 

Chelsea Clinton

Chelsea Clinton: "I’ve seen her holding the hands of mothers, worried about how they’ll feed their kids, worried about how they’ll get them the healthcare they need. I’ve seen my mother promising to do everything she could to help. I’ve seen her right after those conversations getting straight to work, figuring out what she could do, who she could call, how fast she could get results. She always feels, like there isn’t a moment to lose, because she knows that for that mother, for that family there isn’t."

To read a full transcript of Chelsea Clinton's DNC speech, click here.

Democratic Presidential Nominee Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton: "Standing here as my mother's daughter, and my daughter's mother, I'm so happy this day has come. Happy for grandmothers and little girls and everyone in between. Happy for boys and men, too-- because when any barrier falls in America, for anyone, it clears the way for everyone. When there are no ceilings, the sky's the limit."

To read a full transcript of Hillary Clinton's DNC speech, click here. 

Were you also inspired by all of the motherhood talk at the DNC? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Women to Watch at the 2016 DNC

With Hillary Clinton as the first female presumptive Democratic nominee, this year’s DNC is an exciting occasion for women! However, Hillary will not be the only notable lady speaking next week! Check out our list of women to watch at the DNC below!

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First Lady Michelle Obama: The First Lady will be speaking the first night of the convention, with the theme of “United Together.” According to NPR, the convention’s opening night “will focus on putting the future of American families front and center and how we’re stronger together when we build an economy that works for everyone […] and when everyone has a chance to live up to their God-given potential.”

Astrid Silva: Silva, a DREAMer and immigration reform activist whose story was highlighted in an address by president Obama in November of 2014, will share the first night of festivities with First Lady Michelle Obama. According to NPR, “Silva will share her story and her fight to keep families together.”

Mothers of the Movement: Tuesday, the second night of the convention, is titled “A lifetime of fighting for children and families,” and will feature “Mothers of the Movement” as some of the key speakers. These mothers, including the mothers of Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Sandra Bland, “have children who’ve died from gun violence, at the hands of the police, or both. The women have served as powerful surrogates for Clinton in recent months, telling their stories in primary states and campaign stops all across the country,” according to The Atlantic.

Chelsea Clinton: On Thursday night, titled “Stronger Together” (a mantra you may remember from Hillary’s campaign stop with Elizabeth Warren), Chelsea will speak alongside her mother, Hillary, the presumptive Democratic nominee. 

Hillary Clinton: On the final night of the convention, Hillary will finally take the stage with her daughter, Chelsea, and “will speak about her vision for the country—her belief that we are stronger together and that America is at its best when we work together to solve our problems," according to NPR.

Though the official schedule has not yet been released on the DNC website, four “Philadelphians who work in some form of child advocacy" are also set to speak at the convention next week, according to Philly.com. Two of of the Philadelphian speakers will be women: Kate Burdick, an attorney for the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia, a “non-profit organization that advocates for the rights of children in Pennsylvania, [primarily in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems,” and Dynah Haubert, “a lawyer with the Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania.”

Notably missing from this list of female speakers at the DNC is Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is currently in the running for Hillary Clinton’s Vice Presidential nomination. Does her absence mean an all-female ticket is coming our way? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

FreeQuency's "The Joys of Motherhood": A Powerful Look at Black Motherhood in America

In the wake of the heartbreaking violence that occurred in the U.S. last week, spoken-word poet Mwende "FreeQuency" Katwiwa's poem, "The Joys of Motherhood," provides a look at what it's like to be a black mother in America amidst the violence that threatens her community today. Through her poem, Katwiwa shares the underrepresented experience of black motherhood in America as she describes what it is like to doubt her dreams of becoming a mother in response to the treatment of the black community in our country. Though this poem was performed at the Women of the World Poetry Slam over a year ago, her sentiments undoubtedly remain true today.

Police violence and oppression of the black community are nationwide phenomena, but there are Philadelphia-specific ways to become involved in the movement for racial equality. Protestors aligned with the Black Lives Matter movement staged protests for five nights (From Wednesday, July 6 to Sunday, July 10) across the city of Philadelphia, and will be resuming their protests this Wednesday, June 13, when they gather at city hall for hopefully their largest protest yet. Another organization, Philly Showing Up for Racial Justice, also staged a protest in front of city hall this morning, "calling for police accountability and an end to racist police violence."  The group has been organizing their protests through their Facebook page. 

Mama Said is dedicated to listening and responding to the voices of all mothers.
We stand in solidarity with mamas of color. 

Monday's Supreme Court Ruling: A Win for All Women, Including Hillary!

Hillary Clinton and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren campaigned together in Ohio this week, Using the slogan "Stronger Together."

On Monday, June 27, the Supreme Court issued a ruling on a restrictive Texas abortion law that has led to a domino effect of wins in the name of women’s health this week, and a platform for Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton to share her women's health ideology.

The Texas Omnibus Abortion Bill mandated that any abortion procedures would have to take place in “ambulatory surgical centers” and that physicians performing the procedures also needed to have “admitting privileges to a hospital within 30 miles of their clinic,” as described in an article written for forbes.com. Had it been upheld, this bill would have effectively shut down 32 of the 42 existing abortion clinics in Texas. Thankfully for the women of the Lone Star State, the Supreme Court shot down the bill, and Justice Stephen Breyer wrote for the majority, “The surgical-center requirement, like the admitting-privileges requirement, provides few, if any, health benefits for women, poses a substantial obstacle to women seeking abortions, and constitutes an "undue burden" on their constitutional right to do so."

Anticipation followed the ruling, as many hoped that “Targeted Regulations of Abortion Providers (or TRAP laws) may now be easier to challenge in court,” according to cosmopolitan.com. And in the two days since the court’s decision, these anticipations have been realized. In a Tuesday ruling regarding a Louisiana bill that would effectively close the state’s only abortion clinic, the Supreme Court upheld a ruling by Judge E. Grady Jolly, that proclaimed the bill Unconstitutional as “Mississippi may not shift its obligation to respect the established constitutional rights of its citizens to another state.” In Wisconsin (quite similarly to the Texas ruling) Judge Richard A. Posner ruled that “courts must balance the supposed health benefits of abortion restrictions against the burdens they impose on access to abortion.” Finally, the state of Alabama dropped an appeal that blocked the state from restricting abortions. Alabama’s attorney general, Luther Strange, justified the decision by saying, “There is no good faith argument that Alabama’s law remains constitutional in light of the Supreme Court ruling.”

Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has been able to use these recent women's health victories as a platform to raise awareness about her own women’s health ideologies. Clinton, who has referred to Monday’s Texas ruling as “a critical victory,” laid out her plan for the women’s health sector, should she be elected this November, in an article that she wrote for the Concord Monitor. Though the article described her beliefs in greater detail, Clintons three main points were: 1) “I will always stand with Planned Parenthood” 2) “I’ll fight to protect access to fair and legal abortion” and 3) “I will support comprehensive, inclusive sex education.” When compared to Trump’s recent proclamation that women who get abortions, no, wait, doctors who perform abortions, should be punished, Clinton clearly presides as the choice candidate when it comes to issues of women’s health. Further evidenced by her "Stronger Together" campaigning with Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, Clinton has proved herself to be a woman focused on supporting other women, and that's a candidate we can get behind!