No Images? Click here Greetings, friends! Welcome to Your Life, Better for August 25, 2017. Here are five things you need to know this week to make your life better at work and at home: Reactions to Charlottesville: Rewriting History The days since August 12th have been filled with reactions to Charlottesville. As we processed the violent White Nationalist protests, peaceful counter protests, murder of Heather D. Heyer, and people's reactions to the events that day, we at the Better Life Lab saw a pressing need to re-imagine the way in which we think about and understand history, how people are excluded, and address persisting issues of racism in American society. Rather than picking and choosing which parts of history we wish to acknowledge, it’s time to take a holistic view of how the legacy of slavery affects the American past and its present across race, and what we can learn from our complicated history. The President asked: “I wonder, is it George Washington next week? And is it Thomas Jefferson the week after? You know, you really do have to ask yourself, where does it stop?” So let’s talk about the statues allegedly at the center of that white nationalist protest. NPR quickly fact checked the President's statements and explained Robert E. Lee fought to overturn the idea of equality, which is a bit different from Washington’s role as America’s first President or Jefferson’s principle role in authoring the Declaration of Independence. And Lee left behind a legacy wrought with racism, which only ramped up as the defeated South blocked and eventually defeated Reconstruction. As Americans, we need to proactively ensure the protection of basic civil rights, recognize when we aren't all seen equally before the law, and think seriously about what we can do to live up to the lofty goals of our founding documents. These statues were erected in the context of Jim Crow, and were intended to instill fear and intimidation in the lives of black Americans. They have no place in a racially just society. So, where do we draw lines around who and what to commemorate, and address these problematic representations? In the wake of the 2015 Charleston shooting, many states, localities, and institutions began the process of thinking through these questions. We’ve gathered findings from those conversations to refresh our memory and think constructively about how to move forward. A Yale’s ethics committee faced this decision when renaming Calhoun College and established principles for making these decisions we found helpful. In thinking about history in a richer context, we can ask ourselves: What is the principal legacy of the namesake? And was that legacy “contested in the time and place in which the namesake lived?” Yale ultimately decided that the legacy of Calhoun was both controversial and problematic during the 1800s, and that there was no compelling reason to keep his name. As institutions of higher learning are commonly places that unearth racial divides, and many of the individuals participating in Charlottesville were college students themselves, it is important universities present an accurate and holistic understanding of history. To create a clear picture of where we stand with historical figures Time searched historical figures among the Smithsonian American Art Museum finding that only 9% of 6,900 records represent female historical figures, which demonstrates how founding women, who played a huge role in America’s history, have been underrepresented and wiped away. Maybe some of these confederate statues are better fit in a civil war museum, rather than being our nation's landmarks, and we should consider recovering the history of those forgotten we can all take pride in.
Reproductive Rights: The Cornerstone of Family Formation Here at the Better Life Lab we believe in American’s rights to form families of love, blood, and choice. In order for us to realize more stable, and healthy families and communities, women must be able to make real choices about their reproductive health that enable them to live their best lives at work and home. Given the lack of a national paid parental leave policies, exorbitant costs of raising a child, and a broken childcare system, becoming a parent, especially as a teenager, is not a breeze. Abstinence only education is ineffective. And yet, the current administration gutted funding for the effective, alternative Teen Pregnancy Prevention program, which helped teen pregnancy rates drop 40%, an all time low. Decisions based on ideology in lieu of evidence are extremely dangerous for women’s reproductive health. Fraudulent clinics, also known as “crisis-pregnancy centers,” offer women false medical information and ideological counseling, not real medical help. Beyond limiting access to real family planning, abortion restrictions threaten women’s choices. The newest Texas law mandates abortion coverage be removed from all private, state offered, and ACA insurance plans, with no exceptions for cases of rape, incest, or fetal abnormalities. The so called “rape insurance” law puts the onus directly on women. While lawmakers were working to pass the legislation, Carneshia Corley was allegedly raped by Texas police officers on the side of the road. As if being raped and choosing whether or not to carry the pregnancy to term isn’t traumatic enough, in seven states there are no laws blocking rapists from claiming parental rights, which means that pregnant women may have no choice at all. These laws don’t offer real choices for all people. Ironically, the same day that Texas passed its “rape insurance” bill Oregon’s Governor Kate Brown signed the Reproductive Health Equity Act, which requires health insurance providers to offer access to birth control and abortion services without charging a co-pay. Got a uterus? Consider moving to Oregon. Overworked Let’s debunk the idea that the poor simply receive handouts. A recent study by the Hamilton Project looks at who is or isn’t participating in the labor force and uncovers that only 11% of people outside the labor market report using the social safety net while receiving no earnings. Digging deeper to look at the earnings and benefits low-wage workers are receiving, we see low-wage employees are overworked, working long hours for little pay, and the workforce is taking two different approaches to address this problem. While some companies and state or local governments recognize the need to better support low-wage individuals, others are continuing business as usual. On the one hand there are companies like Amazon that acknowledge the discrepancy amongst their lower wage employees. Amazon now provides their warehouse workers with 20 weeks paid maternity leave, followed by a six-week gradual ramp-up to get back in the workforce, which is the same parental-leave for high paid software developers, (check out how this compares with what BLL recommends). On the other hand, in Missouri the fight for a higher minimum wage stalled when Governor Eric Greitens moved to roll back these increases. The Guardian reported on the experience of two fast food workers in Kansas City whose exhaustion inspired them to become leading voices in a union backed movement called Stand Up Kansas City. One employee explains “I have always needed two jobs. You basically need two jobs to survive working on low wages”, also discussing her lack of sleep and inability to live with her children due to her schedule. It is crystal clear, low wage workers are employees are overworked due to low wages and inability to make ends meet. Aside from the lack of earnings and benefits some employees receive, some also face large commutes leading to more exhaustion. Living in a large and expensive city like San Francisco brings a whole new meaning to low-wage. The New York Times shares a story of a woman making over $80,000, starting her day at 4am to begin her 80 mile commute from Stockton, which is home to a large amount of “extreme commuters” traveling at least 90 minutes to work. Simply reading about their journeys is enough to make you feel exhausted. The high cost of the Bay Area has made it a focal point of research. Lim Miller, a previous Bay Area social services field leader noted the ineffectiveness of the services provided to the poor leading him to create a new approach called the Family Independence Initiative. He notes that “You don’t survive on $20,000 a year in the Bay Area unless you work with other families and help one another. We need to create an environment that honors people helping one another," and we agree it is time for our entire nation to have that very attitude and honor helping others. In Case You Missed It We can’t get over the real story behind the Jack Daniels brand. Nearest Green, a black man who taught Jack Daniels how to make whiskey, has been erased from history, but thanks to the efforts of Fawn Weaver the whiskey company is now remembering his legacy. Let’s also remember the lives “lost mothers” who are dying at alarming rates from childbirth by focusing our attention on the ProPublica report about their stories. Women are being lectured about gentrification by male gentrifiers. What’s in a baby name? Millennials want collaboration and mentoring more than ping pong tables and dart boards. Brigid Schulte writes about “we time” and a dreamy Cape Cod getaway. With #blackgirlsrock taking place this week we know black women are KILLING IT, but increased harassment threatens their safety. “Blue Racism” is not a thing. Racists getting DNA tests is a thing, and they’re not happy with the results. The “loner” stereotype in the tech industry has got to go. The field of economics can be an extremely toxic environment for women. Finally women in federal prisons are guaranteed free tampons and pads! Tennis champ Victoria Azarenka skipped the U.S. Open because of a “child issue”… As evident from that headline, it’s clear the author is male. Access to childcare for working women is much more than a “child issue.” Who goes Nazi? In Charlottesville the attempt to shift the blame to counter-protesters and the Black Lives Matter movement was dismissed by most, creating another reason for us to remind people saying black lives matter, does not imply others don’t! Rather, let’s raise and strengthen voices that push for progressive social change.
Final Word From the Better Life Lab Summer Interns It is finally time to reveal the women behind the curtain. It’s Elizabeth and Margaret here to say our final goodbyes to our lovely readers. We are two policy wonks interning for the Better Life Lab, and now we must return to our master's programs for the fall semester. During the past three months here we’ve become better (pun intended) informed changemakers. Here are some of the things we are personally setting out to change in our country: The fact that...
Between our work editing Paid Family Leave: How Much Time is Enough, writing pieces for the New America Weekly, and becoming social media mavericks, we finally found our voices through co-writing the newsletter. We can’t stress enough how grateful we are for the experience we have had and lessons we have learned from the incredible women running the Better Life Lab. We’ve adopted the Better Life Lab mission to “transform policy, practice, and culture so that people and families have the opportunity to live their best lives at work and at home.” We will carry it with us as we go forward. *Cue Vitamin C*
That's a wrap! We'll look forward to seeing your inbox again soon. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook — and suggest your best reads on living a better life! Did someone forward you this email? Subscribe here! About New AmericaNew America is dedicated to the renewal of American politics, prosperity, and purpose in the Digital Age. Our hallmarks are big ideas, pragmatic policy solutions, technological innovation, and creative engagement with broad audiences. Read the rest of our story, or see what we've been doing recently in our latest Annual Report. About the Better Life LabThe Better Life Lab is here to transform policy and culture so that people and families have the opportunity to live their best lives at work and at home. As a “lab,” we are dedicated to disruptive experiments, collaborative work, and innovative thinking. “Your Life, Better: News From the Better Life Lab” is our way to keep you in the know, featuring the best of what we’re reading and writing about gender equity, the evolution of work, and social policies that support 21st-century families. We provide a clear signal amid the noise to share what’s fresh and crucial to an inclusive vision of work-life, gender, and income equity issues. Better Life Lab Real choices. Real parity. All people.
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