Gloria Steinem, "Democracy on the Brink" and Labor Day / Unions | No #NYTReadalong Sept. 6
- Neil Parekh
- 11 hours ago
- 3 min read
Sree and I are taking Labor Day Sunday off. We won't be hosting a show Sunday, September 6.
Even though we need the break, it's challenging because there's so much we want to share and discuss.
(If you need a #NYTReadalong fix or missed a recent episode, check out our archives.)
Gloria Steinem
We lost another icon this past week. There are so many stories about her. Do you have a Gloria Steinem story?
Here are gift links to three NYT articles:
Gloria Steinem, Personification of the Women’s Movement, Dies at 92
She challenged sexist assumptions, helping women develop a sense of self-worth and gain a measure of equality at work, at home and in society at large.
Gloria Steinem: A Life in Pictures
Steinem was one of the faces of the modern women’s rights movement.
In Battle to Use ‘Ms.,’ Gloria Steinem Had to Fight The New York Times
In the 1970s, Ms. Steinem confronted the newspaper’s executive editor about the honorific in an exchange of letters, pressing it to use the alternative to Miss or Mrs.
Sree and I had the chance to produce / host a virtual event with her back in November 2020 for Girls Inc. of Omaha. Shikha Bhatnagar's post reminded me that she was also a speaker at the 1996 American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) conference in Boston. I worked for AAPI from 1995 to 1999.
Nobel Peace Conference, "Democracy on the Brink"
If you remember, Ingvill Bryn Rambøl, Head of Information for the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, was our guest a few weeks ago and we talked about "Democracy on the Brink."
Sree would definitely share his experience co-hosting the event.
We'd also be talking about Walter Greason's video message that was shared during the livestream.
Follow Nobel Peace Center on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. You can also find the video, with timestamps, on their YouTube channel.
Labor Day / Unions
And, lastly, this son of a proud union member / former staff person for a union would want to talk about the importance of Labor Day.
My mom, Sudha Tolia Parekh (you might know her from the comments on Sunday mornings), is a proud retired member of SEIU 1199 in New York. I worked for SEIU 775 in Washington State.
I even walked a picket line when I was four(!) years old and had the chance to meet her one-time local organizer, Dennis Rivera, when he was president of the union. I know I have pictures somewhere...
Unions aren't as strong as they once were, but we owe a lot to union members who fought for eight hour days, weekends, child labor protections, etc.
Connecting this to my work with United Way, it was unions that fought for paycheck deductions, making it easier for people to give just a little bit to charities out of every paycheck (well before online banking, and apps like Venmo and Paypal). Working with the United Way Labor Engagement Team when I worked for United Way Worldwide was full circle for me. If you want a #NYTReadalong / Labor connection, watch the replay of Former NYT Labor Reporter Steven Greenhouse's appearance on LinkedIn or YouTube.
The old graphics! The old colors! So much text!
Steven is also a 1973 graduate of Wesleyan University. So there's that, too. (I graduated in 1995.) Carla Baranauckas, thank you for introducing us to Steven.
We'll see you next week, Sunday September 13. Live at 8:30am ET on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram...and the Digimentors website.
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