I’m a HUGE fan of Eve Ensler. From the Vagina Monologues to Extraordinary Measures to Emotional Creature, I have sat proudly in the audience at her plays time and time again. She speaks for ALL women, and her scripts are from her heart. She tries to help women and girls rise up, and I have always known this about her. Just over a decade ago, I went to Madison Square Garden for V-Day, a show filled with all the women I emulate and admire with the goal of ending violence against women and girls.
Now she is taking her efforts further, which is hard to believe but not really. This woman can do anything. On February 14th, 2013 at Washington Square Park she and her organization, V-Day, is hosting One Billion Rising, V-Day’s worldwide grassroots campaign. This date marks the day the campaign was founded. And you can help. Keep reading.
The One Billion Rising campaign is based on the statistic that 1 in 3 women will be beaten or raped in her lifetime; astoundingly, that adds up to 1 billion women worldwide. On 2.14.13, One Billion women, men, girls and boys will Strike, Dance, Rise to demand an end to the violence.
“Rising” events will be happening in San Francisco, L.A., Washington, DC, London and of course, New York City — in Central Park, on the Brooklyn Bridge, Harlem, Hammerstein Ballroom, Prospect Park, Washington Square Park, Union Square, high schools across the five boroughs, Mount Sinai, Brooklyn YWCA, and so much more is currently being planned by people everywhere. (To find these events, go to One Billion Rising and search “Find a Rising.”) The event at the Hammerstein Ballroom is the ‘official’ V-Day event (the site of the first V-Day event in 1998) which will ‘close’ the day. Eve will be celebrating One Billion Rising in the Congo. Events from all over the world will be live streamed, details being worked out.
In addition, people will be walking out of their schools, workplaces, and homes at 2:14 p.m. in solidarity with One Billion Rising to demand an end to the violence.
To date, activists, writers, movie stars, politicians, musicians, thousands of organizations have signed on as supporters; celebrities who are “rising” include: Anne Hathaway, Yoko Ono, Kerry Washington, Robert Redford, Jennifer Lawrence, Fatou Bensouda, Rosario Dawson, Jane Fonda, Thandie Newton, Gloria Steinem, Jessica Alba, Zoe Kravitz, and many more. Unions and organizations signed on include the AFL-CIO, Planned Parenthood, Amnesty International, Domestic Workers Alliance, and so many more.
There are many places you can be in New York City but Washington Square Park is, of course, one of the ultimate places to BE!
You can join the Dance Flash Mob of the One Billion Rising anthem, “Break The Chain,” written by Tena Clark and choreographed by Debbie Allen (Fame, So You Think You Can Dance) on 2.14.13. There will be rehearsals prior to the event in NYC which I will post details about when I get them.
If you can make it on 2.14.13 at Washington Square Park, here are the details:
Meet by the Fountain. Wear Red & Black.
1:30 p.m. arrival
2:14 — DANCE!
You can sign up for the event here and/or via the Facebook page to share it or just leave a comment below and your email address (email address will not be seen).
Details:
The Song And Dance, “Break The Chain” Music Video (The One Billion Rising anthem shot in NYC):
How to:
This is so you can practice a bit in advance if you’d like to but – no worries – we will have rehearsals and if you can’t come to them, please show up anyway!
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