Saturday, March 21, 2015

Career: Lynn Sherr, Broadcast Journalist and Author


2015 National Women’s History Month Honorees

Meet Broadcast Journalist and Author Lynn Sherr
 March is National Women’s History Month.  2015 is the National Women’s History Project’s  35th Anniversary.  In celebration of this landmark anniversary, we have chosen 9 women as 2015 Honorees who have contributed in very special ways to our work of “writing women back into history.”  
Today we feature honoree Lynn Sherr, broadcast (TV) journalist and author, whose articles on historic trailblazing women chronicle those brave women who broke ground for today's women.

Lynn Sherr (1943- Present) 
Broadcast Journalist and Author
lynn signing Sally book (4)
The modern women’s rights movement has brought about the greatest
social change in our lifetime.  It woke me up, gave me purpose focused my
energy…I joined a growing number of twentieth-century feminist determined
 to set the record straight and prove definitively that the same bold women
who had blazed the trails deserved our unmitigated thanks.  
Lynn Sherr
Lynn Sherr, an American  broadcast journalist and author, began her career at Conde Nast, when she won the Mademoiselle Magazine Guest Editor Competition in college.  She soon moved on to the Associated Press, then WCBS-TV,  PBS, and ultimately ABC, where she covered politics, space and social change for more than 30 years.  As a correspondent for the ABC news magazine 20/20, she received many honors, including the George Foster Peabody Award in 1994 for “The Hunger Inside,” about anorexia. 
For over a decade,  Sherr along with Jurate  Kazickas created The Women’s Appointment Calendar, a day-by-day recollection of women’s historic events. The calendars are fun-filled, primary source documents of women’s history before and during the second wave of the 20th century women’s movement.
Sherr is an unabashed feminist who has twice been the recipient of the Planned Parenthood’s Margaret Sanger Award, honoring journalists for “exceptional coverage of reproductive rights and health care issues.”  She has rejected calls for a “new feminism,” remarking, “What’s wrong with the old feminism?”
In Susan B. Anthony Slept Here (1976), Sherr recognized the importance of reclaiming and visiting women’s historic landmarks.  Her latest best-selling book, Sally Ride: America’s First Woman in Space (2014), is the only adult biography of that pathbreaking woman.  Sherr’s career on and off TV is courageously chronicled in Outside the Box: A Memoir (2006).
This article is courtesy of the National Women's History Project

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Trailblazer: Delilah L. Beasley, Newspaper Columnist

2015 National Women’s History Month 

Azaleas--Spring is coming to Florida!!
March is National Women’s History Month.  2015 is the National Women’s History Project’s  35th Anniversary.  In celebration of this landmark anniversary, we have chosen 9 women as 2015 Honorees who have contributed in very special ways to our work of “writing women back into history.”  

Find out about Delilah L. Beasley, the first African American woman to be regularly published in a major metropolitan newspaper and the first author to present the history of African Americans in early California.
Delilah L. Beasley (1867-1934)
Historian and Newspaper Columnist
Delilah(6)
At her memorial service, which was a testament
to her life-long crusade for justice,
all attending stood and made the following pledge—
Every life casts it shadow , my life plus others make power to move the world.
I, therefore pledge my life to the living work of brotherhood
and material understanding between the races. 
Growing up in Ohio, Beasley started writing social columns for black and white newspapers while still a teenager. After her parents’ deaths, she sought a career path that would better support her younger siblings, working as a hairdresser, massage therapist, nurse, and maid for many years. In 1910 she moved to Oakland California where she immersed herself in the local black community and again started writing articles in local newspapers.
 In 1915 Beasley started writing a weekly column in the Oakland Tribune. Her articles protested the stereotypes contained in the movie The Birth of a Nation. Through a column called “Activities among Negroes,” she campaigned for African-American dignity and rights.  Highlighting activities of local churches, women’s clubs, literary societies, along with national politics, and achievements of black men and women, her column aimed to give all readers a positive picture of the black community and demonstrate the capabilities of African Americans.
Deeply interested in the history of black Californians, Beasley trained herself in archival research and oral histories. In 1919 she self-published The Negro Trail-Blazers of California, a groundbreaking book chronicling the lives of hundreds of black Californians from the pioneer period through the early 20thcentury. Her book included an unprecedented amount of Black women’s history, focusing on the strong roles women played in their communities and featuring countless biographies of women leaders.
 In the thirties, Beasley was the driving force behind the passage California’s first anti-lynching bill.  She continued her column and was active in the community until her death in 1934. 
This article is courtesy of the National Women's History Project

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Video: A Pep Talk from Kid President

I just discovered these amazing videos by this little boy who has uplifting, fun messages for all of us. He is on the Soul Pancake channel at Youtube.com. 

The Kid President has a Pep Talk in this video. He has a lot of wisdom for a little kid. "It's everybody's duty to give the world a reason to dance." 

Kids do have a lot to give to the world. And like he says, '"We're all on the same team, aren't we?" 

Yes, we are, Kid President. We're on the team to use our lives to make the world better. 

Thanks so much for sharing your message! Watch the video now.

Video
A Pep Talk from Kid President

Did you like the video? How can we make the world a better place for everyone? Leave a comment below with your thoughts.

Be sure to leave your email so you can be notified when a new post is up at the Girls Succeed! blog. Thank you.

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Trailblazer: Race Car Driver Danica Patrick Races Today in the Daytona 500



NASCAR Driver Danica Patrick is a real competitor. After Thursday night's contact on the race track with a NASCAR driver who pushed too close to her race car and caused her to spin and wreck her vehicle, she didn't give up. After several pit stops for repair, she raced so she could qualify in today's Daytona 500 race. To be assured of a spot in The Great American Race on Sunday, Patrick needed to finish at least 16th in her Duel qualifier. With her skill and determination, she set her race helmet to do that. 

During the duel race, she radioed her team to find out what she needed to do to make it into the most important race in NASCAR schedule of 2015 races. In an interview at FOXSports.com she said,   "At the end when they told me I need four spots or, 'You need to pass these two cars or you're 18th right now,' I was like, 'Okay, do I have to be desperate basically? Do I have to pass these cars?' Nobody answered me. I just said, 'Screw it, I'm going to be desperate.' "

Danica did it! She is racing in the 2015 Daytona 500 in her bright green #10 car emblazoned with her sponsor's logo, Go Daddy.
Danica's race car--photo from Danica Patrick's Facebook page
Many years ago, this feisty young woman was really my spark to begin featuring trailblazing women  on this blog and to tell the stories of  successful women and their careers in an eBook for girls. I want girls to hear the stories of these role models and be empowered to pursue their dream careers and goals. Danica Patrick certainly is an inspiring role model.

Danica began racing go karts when she was ten years old at the Sugar River Raceway in Broadhead, Wisconsin. At sixteen she moved to England to advance her racing career racing in the British national series. From this beginning she kept working on her racing skills and pushed on to success after success. Her win in the 2008 Indy Japan 300 is the only women's victory in an IndyCar Series race and her third place in the 2009 Indianapolis 500 the highest finish there ever by a woman.  In 2013, she became the first female NASCAR driver to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole, turning in the fastest qualifying lap since 1990 - qualifying for the Daytona. And this year she returns to Daytona to race after overcoming the car wreck and having to drive a back up car around those high sloped sides of the Daytona track.

Go Danica! 

I'll update you on the results after the race is finished this evening.

UPDATE: February 23, 2015

Danica finished 21st in the field of 43 cars. Amazing performance! She was flying around the race track at 200 mph and so were all the cars. I can only relate to driving on I-95 at 75 mph with traffic whizzing by me at 80 or 90 mph. I cannot imagine driving at those NASCAR race speeds. 

How about you? Are you interested in racing cars or being a car/truck mechanic? Leave a comment below.
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Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Video: Amy Poehler Visits with Pediatrician Dr. Jane Aronson at the Smart Girls Party

Welcome to the Girls Succeed! blog. 

Today I have an episode from Amy Poehler's Smart Girls Party to share with you. Comedian Amy Poehler interviews pediatrician Dr. Jane Aronson. She is a "world-changer." Dr. Aronson works with the World Wide Orphan Foundation and brings humanity and love to the children who have no one to love or care for them. Through this program, children are nourished and loved, and also taught how to express themselves through the arts and sports.


The world
Photo courtesy of nja
Freedigitalphotos.net
Dr, Aronson maintains you can change the world by doing small things.Don't wait to embrace a huge movement, just begin with small steps.

Listen to her interview with the very funny Amy Poehler. You too can change the world for the better!



Dr. Jane Aronson: Smart Girls w/ Amy Poehler--from You Tube.com

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Happy Valentine's Day from J.Q. Rose

Happy Valentine's Day from J.Q. Rose

Hello! Popping in here to wish you a 
Happy Valentine's Day!
How will you spend Valentine's Day? With your sweetheart? With your family? With your cuddly kitten? 

However you celebrate, take time to say "I love you" and pass out a few hugs and smiles wherever you go.

Saturday, February 7, 2015

Trailblazer: Tampa Chief of Police Jane Castor, Gasparilla Parade

A pirate in the Gasparilla Parade, Tampa, FL
Photo courtesy of the Gasparilla Pirate Fest
Aaargh, Matey. T'is the invasion of Tampa by the pirates. 
Yes, really. But it's all in fun. Every year the City of Tampa is invaded by pirates who take away the key to the city. The pirate ship floats into the bay with cannons booming and spilling over with pirates who are actually residents of the city all dressed up in costume.
The Pirate ship invades Tampa Bay!
Photo courtesy of Lee Ann Clausen
Our family was fortunate enough to take in the event last weekend. And oh my, but so much fun. We had a delicious brunch at the Tampa Convention Center, then walked to the parade route where we watched over 100 floats and several bands make their way down the Bayfront Boulevard. Every float threw beads to the spectators! And what fun is that!

Our 5-year-old granddaughter dressed as a mermaid and people gave her beads. She was a bit small to catch them on her own. (I've got to admit she looked pretty cute in that costume. No wonder she brought home almost 6 pounds of beads!)

She was honored to have her picture taken with the Tampa Chief of Police, Jane Castor.

Chief of Police Jane Castor and our granddaughter at Tampa's  Gasparilla Brunch
Chief Castor is Tampa's first female chief of police. She was in law enforcement for 25 years when appointed by Tampa's mayor Pam Iorio in 2009. According to her City of Tampa Official Biography "she has served in nearly every capacity within the Department from Patrol, Narcotics, Family Violence and Sex Crimes to Criminal Intelligence, the Field Training Program and Administration." The popular chief will retire in May 2015.

Have you considered a career in law enforcement? Leave a comment below and tell us about your career plans.