Greetings Community,
SPARK honors devoted father, astute community organizer, and proud SPARK Board Member Ingemar Smith for Papa’s Day!
Today, we watched President Obama remark on the 50th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act and saluting women like the late Dr. Dorothy Height for raising awareness of fair wages for women. Official statements of solidarity for women’s rights are a continuous theme of the Obama presidency beginning with the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. This week, SPARK will celebrate the rich legacy of Black fathers who support women’s rights — especially reproductive justice — through our Papa’s Day e-campaign in partnership with Strong Families.Look forward to reading statements of solidarity from Black men supporting Black women’s reproductive freedom, a timely article honoring the path blazed by Black feminist forefathers, and, what looks to be a lively discussion, a twitter chat on representations of Black fatherhood in the media.Like Mama’s Day, SPARK and Strong Families will enrich the social media world with words of wisdom from our communities, share important policy initiatives that disproportionately impact our families, and release beautiful e-cards with images of our diverse families that you can send to your Papa in time for Father’s Day!
Join us on twitter @sparkrjnow, like us on Facebook, and go to our website www.sparkrj.org to participate in our Papa’s Day campaign activities and learn more about Strong Families and SPARK!
My best to you,
Malika A. Redmond, M.A.
Executive Director
