Thanks to those of you who supported the efforts to change police dept. policy regarding promoting officers with records of domestic violence. It was my honor to work with the women who put the pedal to the metal & wouldn't take No for an answer.
We are giving strength to communities far beyond Pgh., just got this email from cloudwriter, (author of the behindthebluewall blog), wanted to share it with you. The link to the article is:
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20080921/focus/focus4.html
"The courage to fight back"
published: Sunday | September 21, 2008
Email from Cloud Writer:
"Hi Gloria -
...Pittsburgh women are THE model for getting things done. There's no community of women anywhere in the news that I've seen that even comes close. That shines on you well, but is a sad testament for the rest of us. I was amaze at the activism there. But others were too.
[PA] Jamaica looks to the women of Pittsburgh who rose against police dv wrongs
Standing ovation... Deon"
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that makes me feel both happy and sad at the same time.
ReplyDeleteOne step at a time, Sherry, when people lead, leaders follow.
ReplyDeleteFrom the article link above:
ReplyDelete...For instance, the fall 2007 edition of Ms magazine detailed how, in western Pennsylvania, the women community rose up in protest when the Pittsburgh news media reported that three of the four city police officers who were recently promoted had histories of "alleged domestic violence".
One had hit his wife but the charges were dropped because she failed to appear in court. Another had struck his daughter, but she dropped the charges after his promotion. The third was not charged even though the screams of his wife were reported by the neighbours.
Predictably, the top brass of the Pittsburgh Police Department and the mayor and other power brokers in the City Council tried to defend the promotion of these violent men, but they soon learnt what 'woman power' meant when a coalition of civic and political groups demanded a hearing into the levels of incidents of domestic violence in the police force. The embarrassment to the top brass in the force and in City Hall was the first step to a call for dramatic changes in the Pittsburgh police force.
Stories such as these remind us that women must ensure that they have the courage to stand up against every form of gender-based discrimination in all sectors of our various societies...
We're awesome.
ReplyDelete