How to support justice for George Floyd now

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By Kelcie McKenney

On May 25, George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. With Chauvin’s knee pressed into the back of Floyd’s neck, Floyd said, “Please, I can’t breathe.”

Protests continue in Minneapolis and nationwide. (Stay up-to-date from CNN.) Whether you are located in Minneapolis or not, there are ways to support justice for George Floyd. Attend a local protest happening in your community. If you don’t feel safe attending, offer to provide rides for friends or help deliver supplies—such as snacks, water, or gallons of milk for protesters in Minneapolis facing police tear-gassing. Speak up when you see injustices take place. Start a dialogue at home and online with friends and family about why we are outraged and why it’s our responsibility to support the Black community now.

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I Publicly Came Forward with my Assailant: One Year Later

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By Hannah Strader

Last March, I was sitting peacefully on my balcony at 7:40 A.M., enjoying unseasonably nice weather and a warm cup of coffee. As I always do, I was running through my Instagram feed and catching up with notifications. Moments later, I was triggered and had to set down my phone.

Planet Comicon was coming up, and on the guest list was DC and Marvel writer Jai Nitz. The man twice my age who forcibly kissed me, held me trapped against his body, and relentlessly asked me to kiss him or touch him or have sex with him. I met him in one of my journalism classes at Kansas University, where he was invited to speak as a guest. 

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Is shapewear anti-feminist? Can feminists afford to be exclusionary on beauty products?

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By Hannah Strader

Venus Libido is one of my absolute favorite Instagram accounts. It’s sex-positive, detailed cartoons of women in everyday, not-so-pretty situations convey the reality of how difficult it can be for women to exist in this “picture-perfect” world.

But one of the account’s recent posts divided women in a way I have never seen before by posing the question, “Is shapewear anti-feminist?”

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Poet Jen Harris’s new book Unconfirmed Certainties is about heartbreak, growth, and telling your truth⁠—even if that means saying “fuck you” to cheating fiancées.

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Bad Ass Babes: Jen Harris

By Kelcie McKenney

Jen Harris outside her Kansas City home
Photo by Justina Kellner

Poet Jen Harris is unapologetic about telling her truth, and she wants readers of her new book Unconfirmed Certainties to feel the same. 

The Kansas City poet and spoken word artist has earned her place at the center of KC’s poetry scene: She has both a Drugstore and Charlotte Street residency under her belt, gave a TED talk called “Spoken Word Poetry Saved My Life,” had a guest spot on season three of Queer Eye, founded the Kansas City Poetry Slam (aptly named because she “believes in SEO ratings”), and published two books, with her third to be released on Sunday. Harris isn’t stopping any time soon.

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Planned Parenthood Great Plains Needs Our Help. Here’s What You Can Do.

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By Kelcie McKenney

From Catcall’s Plant Parenthood event at PlantKC
By Travis Young

Planned Parenthood’s decision to leave Title X leaves the organization without millions of dollars in funding, and with thousands of patients who might not receive care.

In February, Trump’s administration issued a “gag rule” with Title X, a federal program that provided reproductive health services to many of Planned Parenthood’s patients. The rule would essentially force Planned Parenthood to lie to its patients—about pregnancy options, abortion referrals, and facts about procedures.

Planned Parenthood said fuck that.

Well, they said “no way,” we said “fuck.” Then we threw an event to help educate people on how they can support PP and affordable access to healthcare. Even if you didn’t make it out to Plant Parenthood, we wanted everyone to have access to the information shared.

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