Amplify InBetween: Women Who Reshaped Their Homelands

Maya Angelou once said, “The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.”

It’s true; home is supposed to be a safe space where you feel that love and warmth. Home is a place to go when you lose your way. But what happens when your home becomes a battlefield? Or what if the people of your homeland are the ones committing the atrocities? Will you choose to fight, to protect your home or expose an injustice, even at the cost of your life and livelihood?

In this Amplify InBetween, we’ll meet women who fought against or exposed injustice in their homelands, made space for questioning the establishment, infiltrated uncharted spaces, and inspired generations.

Further Info on the Slides:

• Philippine Revolution of 1896–1898

• Philippine-American War of 1899–1902

• 14 June Movement

• Anti-war movement of the 1960s

• “War Is Not Healthy for Children and Other Living Things”

• Another Mother for Peace

• The Oka Crisis, or Kanesatake Resistance

• Anishinaabe

More Amplifying Information:

• Want to meet the bold women who caused trouble, reshaped their homeland, and inspired the next generation? Check out She Caused a Riot: 100 Unknown Women Who Built Cities, Sparked Revolutions, and Massively Crushed It by Hannah Jewell.

• Here’s something new to check out: The Women’s L Project, celebrating women of Chicago’s past and present.

• I’m doing a #20BooksByBlackWomen challenge where I read twenty books written by Black women, and some nice person on the internet recommended A Taste of Power: A Black Woman’s Story by Elaine Brown. This book follows the life of the first and only female leader of the Black Panther Party. Brown discusses racism, loneliness, womanhood, and the quest for identity.

• Check out this interactive portal showcasing Black Women’s Suffrage.

• Want to know more about women who reshaped the world? Check out The Women’s History of the Modern World by Rosalind Miles.

• Here’s a recommendation for all the movie-lovers: In the Time of the Butterflies, about the Mirabal sisters and their opposition and struggle against Rafael Trujillo’s dictatorship. Check out the trailer.

  • Fact: One of the sisters, Dede, raised her sisters’ six children, along with her own three, and created a foundation and museum in their name. A number of the children went on to hold senior political positions.

• Here is a book about Irena Sendler, a social worker and public health specialist who smuggled Jewish children out of the Warsaw ghettos during WWII. Check out her astonishing story in Irena’s Children: A True Story of Courage by Tilar J. Mazzeo. There’s also a young readers edition.

Joycelyn lives in Cypress, Texas. She’s the daughter of immigrants and did not go to law school, but she received three degrees (BA, MA, MPH) and is happily freelancing and working in the nonprofit world. She enjoys writing about healthcare recruitment and even worked as a Healthcare Organizer. When she’s not writing, she’s transcribing, developing community toolkits, and researching womxn’s history. Which is why she’s excited about writing for AMPLIFY. On her off days, she spends her time on Twitter, reminding everyone to drink water and enabling others to watch more dramas. Follow her on Twitter: @jg_humanitarian