Celebrate Fourth of July with Resistance

Prior to the election of our current President, I always celebrated 4th of July with a look. Last year, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. This year feels even more dire. Every day there’s a new story in the news about the rights of marginalized people in America being stripped away and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, hopeless and powerless. This article from Broadly declares, “If you feel like patriotism is morally repulsive right now, you’d be correct” and proceeds to offer a ton of great suggestions of .

Fashion in the face of what’s going on doesn’t seem like the answer. But since fashion is always my path of personal freedom and one of the few things that always brings me joy, I decided to dress up in red, white and blue anyways and use the holiday as an opportunity to draw attention to some of the folks and organizations most in need of your support right now.

, Nike
Nike Short Sleeve Print Tee, JCPenney ()
High Waisted Jean Shorts, Rue21 ()

If you came here for the outfit, I hope you get informed on what’s going on at the same time! Below you will find just a few of the organizations and individuals working on ensuring that individual freedoms of marginalized people are protected.

: She’s the 28-year-old Bronx native who just beat 10-year incumbent Joseph Crowley in the primary for Congress NY-14. She ran her entire campaign without accepting corporate donations so now is a good time to read up on her policies and show some love before November’s general election!

: The organization for Refugee and Immigration Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES) works primarily in Texas. They provide legal services for detained parents who have been separated from their children. Although Trump recently signed an Executive Order to end separations, RAICES is the organization working to reunite families that were separated before that policy took affect. You can read more about how they are using donations to .

As a resident of Ohio, I can tell you that this is one of the more behind states when it comes to LGBTQ rights. There’s no state-wide anti-discrimination law to protect LGBTQ individuals right to employment or housing. There was recently a bill introduced, HB658, that targets trans youth. The has all the updates and how you can get involved. Much LGBTQ discrimination happens at the state level so start there to get involved.

: With the retirement of Justice Kennedy, Roe v. Wade is in danger of being overturned. NARAL is an organization that fights for reproductive justice issues including the right to birth control, abortion access, paid family leave and pregnancy discrimination. Overturning Roe v. Wade would revert abortion rights to the state level and NARAL’s website has a handy map that breaksdown where your .

This organization is a movement designed to end gun violence and build safer communities. They support stricter background checks, additional laws regarding domestic violence, education regarding safe gun storage, and stronger gun tracking laws.

This list is just a start! And if you have more to add, definitely let me know in the comments below.