Power To The Polls
On January 21, 2018, Women’s March gathered in Las Vegas, Nevada for Women's March: Power to the Polls, a 20,000 persons event that launched a national voter registration tour one year after the historic Women’s March on Washington. This next stage of the movement will channel the energy and activism of the Women's March into tangible strategies and concrete wins in 2018: a women’s wave.
The national voter engagement tour will target swing states to register new voters, engage impacted communities, harness our collective energy to advocate for policies and candidates that reflect our values, and collaborate with our partners to elect more women and progressives candidates to office. The coordinated campaign will build upon Women’s March’s ongoing work uplifting the voices and campaigns of the nation’s most marginalized communities to create transformative social and political change.
For more information Huffington Post, Vanity Fair, USA Today
Women’s Convention
The first in 50 years, The Women’s Convention brought thousands of women, femmes and allies of all backgrounds to Detroit from October 27 - 29, 2017, for a weekend of workshops, strategy sessions, inspiring forums and intersectional movement building to continue the preparation going into the 2018 midterm elections.
Tapping into the power of women in leadership as the fundamental, grassroots force for change, the Women’s Convention brought together first time activists and movement leaders, rising political stars that reflect our nation’s changing demographics, and thousands of women who’ve organized sister marches, huddles, rallies and resistance actions, large and small, since January 2017.
Participants will leave inspired and motivated, with new connections, skills and strategies for working towards collective liberation for women of all races, ethnicities, ages, disabilities, sexual identities, gender expressions, immigration statuses, religious faiths, and economic statuses.
The Women’s Convention is the beginning of a political groundswell, showing that the rise of the woman IS the rise of the nation.
For more information Huffington Post, The New York Times, Cosmopolitan
#NRA2DOJ
After the National Rifle Association released a divisive, dangerous video calling on their members to pick up arms against "the violent left," Tamika D. Mallory penned an open letter to the CEO of the NRA, calling for the video to be removed, an apology to to issued to the US American people, and for the organization - which claims itself the oldest civil rights organization in the country - to issue a statement on the behalf of Philando Castile, a black licensed gun owner shot and killed by a Minnesota police office on camera in front of his young daughter and girlfriend.
This sparked a rally outside of NRA Headquarters in Virginia, followed by an 18.6 mile march for justice from the NRA to the Department of Justice in Washington, DC. Yacoob project managed the two-week rapid mobilization for the Women's March.
For more information: CNN, Huffington Post, Slate.
Art for Rights, Los Angeles
Art for Amnesty brings a week of arts activism to Los Angeles.
The Goal: Harness the creative power of the arts to inspire 10,000 actions on behalf of the Global Write for Rights Campaign.
Art For Rights, hosted in the world famous Container Yard in Downtown Los Angeles, saw the creation of 12 original 5x7 murals, the curation of a provocative installation on the refugee crisis, a high profile visual arts competition hosted by Secret Walls, and a series of curated discussions around human rights and the arts.
featuring: Chris Gibbs, Marcus A. McDougal, Reginald "Reggieknow" Jolley, Kevin Ma, Stomper Haus's Alymber Abrea, JCRO, Tim Okamura, BK The Artist, Jerome Lagarrugue, and more. Curated by Marvin Bing.
Many Rivers To Cross Festival
In October 2016, at the Bouckaert Farm in Chattahoochee Hills (just south of Atlanta, Georgia), Harry Belafonte’s legacy project, Sankofa, brought artists, activists and community together for a chance to heal and discuss innovative solutions to the world’s human rights issues at the Many Rivers to Cross music and arts festival.
Aquib Yacoob worked with Marvin Bing to organize and curate the festival's art space.
Art For Rights, Miami
At Amnesty International's 2016 Annual General Meeting in Miami, Florida, Aquib Yacoob & Marvin Bing curated a live art space, and a high profile arts plenary to engage communities and activists in the organization's priority campaigns.
featuring: Bayunga, Favianna, DMiles, BMike, Kristy Sandoval, Sophia Dawson, Jesse Krimes, Bayunga, Gerard Bush.
Usher’s “Chains” Debut
On January 30, 2016, 1,000 guests joined Art for Amnesty, TIDAL and artist Usher Raymond IV and Daniel Arhsam for a public art gallery at Donna Karan’s Urban Zen in New York's West Village. The event featured over 50 art pieces highlighting mass incarceration and police violence in the United States, and served as the world premiere of Usher’s second “Chains” video. The event featured a private VIP reception and gallery preview the day prior, which saw 400 special guests.
A Golden Globes brunch
In celebration of free speech and in the spirit of awards season, Art for Amnesty was invited by Hollywood Foreign Press (in an unprecedented move) to host a pre-Golden Globe brunch to recognize a small selection of artists for their contributions beyond the television & film world, celebrating those who are working to protect and promote human rights.
The high profile brunch honored Jeff Skoll of Participant Media, “The Big Short” writer and director Adam McKay, and “Homeland” actress Nazanin Boniadi for their commitment to Amnesty International and human rights. The event opened doors for tremendous, long-lasting partnerships with Participant Media, Sunshine Sachs, Hollywood Foreign Press, and the Golden Globes, among others.
featuring: Andra Day, Tori Kelly, Nick Cannon, Nazanin Boniadi, Jeff Skoll, Adam McKay
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