Joy of Resistance is heard on Thursdays* 9-10 PM on WBAI Radio, 99.5 FM (EST), streams at wbai.org Follow uson twitter at @joyofresistance Email at jor@wbai.org Donate to WBAI at give2wbai.org
Maya Dillard Smith is an African American woman who was the head of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Georgia until she resigned under pressure –she says she was ‘pushed out’–in June, because of her questioning of her organization’s stance on the Obama Administration directive that public bathrooms henceforth be open to all genders based on the self-declaration of gender identity.
Dillard Smith says that the ACLU has not allowed a “robust discussion” on all of the implications of the issue, particularly for women and girls–and therefore has not done its job, which is to balance the rights of ALL parties affected by public policy.
Her resignation was covered in national news, from “The View” to Fox news and may have changed allowable public discourse on this issue. After resigning, Smith set up a website entitled “Finding Middle Ground–a safe space to communicate about finding civil rights for all.”
Our second guest will be Attorney Kara Dansky, who is on the Board of the organization Women’s Liberation Front (WOLF) which on August 11th filed a suit against the US Department of Justice and the US Department of Education, challenging their recent actions, which the suit claims have caused the dissolution of Title IX, violating the rights of women and girls, including the fifth and fourteenth amendments of the Constitution.
Here is the official legal complaint:
WoLF v. United States Department of Justice complaint as filed
The swift and enthusiastic push for transgender rights in America is having dire consequences that severely threaten the privacy, dignity, safety, and equality of women and girls.
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Education (DOE) have abruptly enacted a new policy, defining the category of “sex” in Title IX to include “gender identity.” This effectively renders Title IX meaningless, as females can no longer be recognized as distinct from males…
The reinterpretation of “sex” to include “gender identity” also means that girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms must be opened up to any male who “identifies” as female. Girls’ rights to personal privacy and freedom from male sexual harassment, forced exposure to male nudity, and voyeurism have been eliminated with the stroke of a pen. Schools that do not comply with the demands of any male student to access to protected female spaces will now lose federal funding.
The President of the United States, the most powerful man in the world, has told teenage girls that they are now required to get over their “discomfort” at boys in their locker room.
Women’s Liberation Front (WoLF) has decided this cannot stand.
Symbol of the Women’s Liberation Front
This Thursday’s show will also feature the Worldwide Feminist News segment, including our obituary on Phyllis Schlafly, the conservative anti-feminist who died this past Monday, September 5 at the age of 92.
This will be the last Joy of Resistance show in this timeslot. Starting on September 18, Joy of Resistance will be airing on Sundays at 6:00 PM.
Joy of Resistance 