Some music with a message, fam. If you’re not aware of the One Billion Rising campaign, here’s the deal: It was started by playwright and activist Eve Ensler (author of Vagina Monologues & Founder of V-Day), to mobilize one billion women and girls by February 14th, 2013, to participate in a worldwide stand to stop Domestic Violence. Dance is the weapon of choice – a physical act of defiance.
We’ve all heard the stats on domestic violence, but they’re worth repeating because saying it’s a problem is a massively criminal understatement. According to the press release that accompanies the video, 1 in 3 women and girls are abused or raped in their lifetime. That roughly amounts to 1 billion people. Think about that for a minute: A billion people–women and girls–suffering. Turns out one of those women was Maya who, according to the release, “endured years in a domestically violent relationship.”
The following note is from Maya, who I’ve often called the hardest working woman in indie music. Check this:
This is for all the babies, this is for all the survivors, this is for all the women – who didn’t have a voice when they needed it. This is for the lost. This is for the found. This is for the warriors -the ones willing to fight, and not stand down. This is for truth seekers and truth bearers. This is for all of us – because what kind if world is it that can settle for 1 Billion of its kind being abused and raped? I shout this out with joy, victory, empathy, and conviction – that we can all, and should all, change this statistic forever and no longer turn away or be silent and allow such atrocity to remain unchallenged. It is time to STOP the madness. It is time for us to own our power to heal this wound in the earth.
Maya wrote the song, which was then produced by DJ Spinna. The music video, directed by Rae Maxwell, was shot over 7 days, in 3 cities, on two coasts, with 3 dance troupes and over 2 dozen women and girls.
Check it out and please share:
Also, check out the “Making Of” video here:
Finally, as part of the global effort, the NYC event will take place at the Hammerstein Ballroom. Info below. You can click on the graphic to get more info.
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