Tessa Thompson Speaks to Stylist Mag on inclusion, Time’s Up and why we need an all-female superhero film
Sci-fi star Tessa Thompson has made a career out of defying expectations – as she showcases the best of the high street, she spoke to the people at Stylist about the power of speaking out and breaking rules.
The latter Marvel offering might seem a little out of place – and it’s a surprise even to me that it’s on there – but it’s irreverent, properly funny and, most importantly, also has an incredible, euphoric female lead in the shape of Valkyrie. Played by Tessa Thompson, this superhero is a bisexual, heavy-drinking, witty warrior who shifts everything I thought I knew about Marvel films.
But Thompson, 34, is making a career of seeking out complex roles that defy race and gender stereotypes. In 2014, she played a biting activist in Dear White People, followed by Martin Luther King biopic Selma (directed by Ava DuVernay) and Rocky spin-off Creed.
Of late, Thompson has trod an interesting path into the sci-fi and comic-book world. There’s the marvelous Annihilation on Netflix with Natalie Portman, about an all-female scientific expedition – Thompson is heartbreaking as Josie Radek, a quiet astrophysicist who self-harms. She is also icily impressive as manipulative corporate warrior Charlotte Hale in Westworld, the hit sci-fi series set in an amusement park populated by robots – about to return for a second series.
The jury’s still out on whether Valkyrie will be appearing in next month’s Avengers: Infinity War (“I don’t know if I can tell you that!” she laughs) and she’s also reportedly in talks to join a new Men In Black spin-off.
But what is certain is that Thompson stars in surreal fantasy film Sorry To Bother You, which previewed at the SXSW festival to huge acclaim, that she’s producing a film based on the life of female jewel thief Doris Payne (“It feels really good to build something from the ground up”), appears in the video for Janelle Monae’s sexually charged new single Make Me Feel (Thompson is also a singer-songwriter), and is a vocal supporter of Time’s Up.
Away from her portfolio career, Thompson is incredibly smart company – talking easily about astrophysics, natural wine and science fiction – and worldly. She’s also very present; I occasionally trip over my questions because the undivided attention she gives is unusual for someone in her world.
While she lives in her native Los Angeles, her Stylist shoot takes place in Paris – she’s here for the Valentino show during fashion week – and arrives wearing vintage, ankle-length flared tweed trousers with a matching sleeveless top and a basket bag. Given it’s the day after the Oscars, that seems like a fitting place to start….
Frances McDormand’s use of the phrase “inclusion rider” is headline news. Is it a term you’re familiar with?
It is. In fact, it’s something that I spoke to Frances about. I’ve been working with [University of Southern California professor] Stacy Smith, who wrote that ‘rider’, about how we can make it company standard. I can’t stop shouting about it, so it was really exciting to hear Frances say that on that stage.
There is a whole system designed for things not to change, and it really requires that you go in with a fine-tooth comb and make the change a mandate. In terms of on-screen representation, it combats implicit bias, which is huge. I even have to unpack it myself – the other day, my mum was talking about having to see her doctor and I said, “Can he see you?”, and she replied, “She”.
I’m someone who talks a lot about fighting the patriarchy – part of that is understanding the ways I have internalised it. If we see that a doctor is always a guy on television, that’s what we think of when we think of a doctor.
On the Oscars red carpet, a journalist said to Daniel Kaluuya that Get Out “ticks a lot of boxes”, which made me wonder how far we’ve really come when we talk about inclusion. Is that a frustration?
Yeah, it’s deeply frustrating because a) we are not a monolith, and b) it’s such problematic thinking. But I think it’s useful that those moments are captured – it’s important that we get to tell our stories. The truth is, as a person of colour in entertainment, you have a lot of practice with questions like that. I would wager that it’s not the first time he’s had questions like that.
I also wonder how helpful it is to still have gendered acting categories at award shows…
It was really refreshing to be nominated for a Bafta [Rising Star Award 2018] against men, and have the category wide open. It just had to do with celebrating work.
Does sci-fi offer female actors something unique?
I feel really heartened that it seems to be more wide open for women of colour. Not just because it benefits me, but because it also reaches a global audience. It’s really important for people of colour to be able to see and tell their stories. Black Panther has already done more in terms of humanising black people on screen than films set in a world we know and understand.
#RHoA: Porsha Williams Tells Vivica Fox THANKS For Supporting Her And Believing In Her Talent
Porsha Williams just posted a photo on her social media account featuring herself together with Vivica A Fox. She is sending her gratitude to her for being so supportive and believing in her.
‘Thank big sis @msvfox once again for being so supportive! The experience of being in Two can Play that game stage play is one I will never forget #Rhoa S/O @jecaryous for believing in me💋 #ConnySpalding #ShanteHarris #BookedBusyNBlessed’ Porsha captioned her post.
‘You look flawless. Keep your circle small and trust none of them petty old ladies,’ one of her followers advised Porsha.
‘Seems like Porsha needs to ride solo. And once a female feel you’ve done them wrong or yall have fallen out, I’m sorry no coming back from that. They can say they forgive and hold no grudge,but there still gone be some insecurity and trust issues,’ another person wrote.
‘Please re-evaluate your friendship with Shamea Morton! She is not your friend…she is an associate..and not even a good one! Just saying!’ one of Porsha’s fans advised her.
Some of her fans didn’t like what they saw in the last RHOA episode and they made sure to slam her. For instance, one RHOA fan said that ‘I no longer like Porsha after tonight’s episode she literally cannot own up to her mistakes. All she had to tell Sheree was sorry and the reason why she said what she said. she really needs to stop being with that chick shamea altogether.’
It seems that the latest RHOA episode created lots of controversies and we cannot wait to see how the series will continue.
#EMPIRE: Here’s A Look at Empire's 9 Most Outrageous Storylines
Over the course of four seasons, Empire has seen its fair share of jaw-dropping plotlines. From baby mama drama involving father and son to multiple kidnappings to calculated murder, the Lee Daniels drama has never shied away from high-octane storytelling that pushes the boundaries of network television.
However, delivering those thrilling storylines at full throttle each week can be a difficult task and the Fox series took a much-needed hiatus in November to revamp the back half of Season 4. With the show set to return on Wednesday, March 28, we're taking a look at the memorable plots that left you on full alert and your fingers furiously tapping away on Twitter.
Here are eight of Empire's most outrageous storylines:
There's hating your father and then there's Empire's version of that age-old tale: despising dear old dad enough to plot his murder so that you can take over his company but then change your mind at the last minute and watch in agony as he steps into the car you had rigged with explosives. While Andre's (Trai Byers) attempt to murder Lucious (Terrence Howard) isn't groundbreaking, the lasting consequences of his plan are the real shockers here. Not only did Lucious lose a leg, but his memory loss as the result of traumatic brain injury became the focal point of Season 4 — taking the show in an outlandish yet exciting new direction.
Lucious seeing music through colors
When it comes to Lucious' lengthy list of tragic ailments, his memory loss delivered one of the show's most unforgettable stories to date. Feeling out of sorts, he turned to painting to help jog his memory and find a new way of connecting to music. The therapudic method may have worked for Lucious but it came with an unintended result: seeing distinct colors while listening to music. The revelation may have been difficult to process for most (unless your name is Timothy Leary), but it's actually a real phenomenon called synesthesia. Who knew?
Hakeem getting kidnapped
Just when you thought this show couldn't get any crazier in Season 2, the youngest Lyon (Bryshere "Yazz" Gray) was snatched up and shoved into a van by bad guys. Throwing in that extra twist — this is Empire, after all — it turned out that Cookie's potential new boo Laz (Adam Rodriguez) was the one who orchestrated the whole thing. And while Hakeem only walked away with a bruised eye and some deep emotional wounds, the harrowing experience also sent him directly into the arms of his father's ex-fiance. Yikes.
Hakeem knocking up Boo Boo Kitty
So Hakeem hooking up with Anika (Grace Byers), the woman who almost married his father, as an act of revenge wasn't exactly Jamie and Cersei Lannister on Game of Thrones, but it does feel a bit... incestuous. Never mind the unsettling age gap, Anika was nearly his stepmom (and ended up as such at the end Season 2!) making this relationship a difficult one to digest. Things got even more unsettling when Anika wound up pregnant, briefly became Hakeem's stalker, got sent to jail and then sued him for full custody of their daughter Bella. Did you get all that?
Chris Rock low-key playing a cannibal
You may not have caught onto this but Chris Rock's jailbird gangster Frank, who worked for Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) and Lucious back in the day, was also a cannibal. According to Empire makeup artist Karen Lynn Accattato, series co-creator Lee Daniels envisioned Frank as a people eater and even intended to show him consuming human flesh on screen. However, Fox — the network that also brought you Family Guy in which Brian engages in sex with humans despite being the family dog — felt that was too risqué to broadcast. Though Rock's character was toned down for TV, you can still catch subtle nods to his cannibalism if you watch closely, such as when Cookie refers to Frank as Hannibal.
Jamal and Lucious' baby mama drama with Olivia
Season 1 delivered a baby mama shocker when Jamal's (Jussie Smollett) ex-wife Olivia (Raven-Symoné) came waltzing back into his life with the claim that he had a daughter named Lola. The stunned singer, who came out as gay, soon accepted responsibility and began bonding with the young girl. However, things went off the rails when Olivia's ex-boyfriend Reg showed up and threatened Jamal for impregnating Olivia. The tense moment then steered into Maury territory with a shocking revelation: Lucious had been hooking up with his son's beau while they were married and might be Lola's father. Yeesh!
In case you were wondering, it turns out that neither Lucious nor Jamal were the father.
Lucious forcing Camilla to swallow the same poison she used to murder her wife
Remember that time Camilla (Naomi Campbell) almost got away with murdering her wife (Marisa Tomei) via poising her drink and making it look like a suicide until Lucious figured it out? That unbelievable moment was only topped by the Lyon family patriarch forcing the ambitious businesswoman to drink the same poison she used on her spouse at gunpoint as a way of preventing her from stealing his company. I mean, that's one way to knock out the competition.
Andre talking to his dead wife's ghost
The Season 2 finale saw Rhonda (Kaitlin Doubleday) fall to her death — during a brutal fight with Anika — and Andre was understandably distraught about losing his wife. However, the eldest Lyon began imagining her ghost and things got... weird. When Andre was hesitant about sleeping with Nessa, Ghost Rhonda appeared to give him the go-ahead and then opted to join them in one baffling threesome that we will never unsee. A far cry from Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze in Ghost, that didn't make it any less entertaining.
See the new Story lines for Season 4 of Empire on Fox Wednesday,at 8/7c on Fox.
#NewMusicVideo From Bridget Kelly – ‘Sedated’
Check out the stunning visual for the latest single “Sedated” from singer Bridget Kelly.
Kelly is set to release the a project called “Reality Bites” on April 27th, 2018, and “Sedated” will be included. The title of the project is likely a play off of her starring appearance in Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood where she’s recently been featured.
WATCH & LISTEN HERE
The new project will follow in the footsteps of previous releases such as “Summer of 17” and “Time Flies”. We still anticipate the release of her debut album.
#NEWHIPHOPVIDEO from Video: Cardi B Feat. 21 Savage – ‘Bartier Cardi’
Cardi B drops the long-awaited video for “Bartier Cardi,” which premiered via VH1’s “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta.”. As you all know launched her career on “Love & Hip Hop.” The star quit working on the VH1 show in order to focus on her career. That move paid dividends, as she’s scored a series of Hot 100 singles in the past year.
WATCH HERE
All of this leads into Cardi B’s highly-anticipated debut album, Invasion of Privacy. Featuring “Bodak Yellow,” “Bartier Cardi,” and “Be Careful,” the album is due Friday (April 6).
BREAKING! Multiple People SHOT At YouTube Headquarters in California, A Female Suspect is Dead!
Police said that a suspected female shooter was dead following an active shooter situation at the at the YouTube offices in San Bruno, California, on Tuesday afternoon.
San Bruno Police Chief Ed Barberini said the suspect might have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Stanford Health Care said it was treating four to five patients from the incident, a hospital spokesperson said. There was no information available on their condition.
A spokesman for San Francisco General Hospital said during a press conference that it received three patients: a 32-year-old female in serious condition, a 27-year-old female in fair condition and one 36-year-old in critical condition.
Officers respond to a possible shooting at the headquarters of YouTube in San Bruno, California.
The active shooter situation had been resolved by 2:20 p.m. local time, San Bruno city manager Connie Jackson said.
“The situation is safe although the public has been asked to stay away,” she said.
Earlier Tuesday, Jackson confirmed that the city received reports of shots fired at the YouTube offices.
“We have multiple 911 reports of shots fired at 901 Cherry, which is the YouTube headquarters,” The San Bruno Police Department have asked people to stay away from the office and the surrounding area while an investigation is underway.
Graeme MacDonald, a 41-year-old product manager for Walmart eCommerce, watched the scene unfold from the fifth floor of his office building, roughly 1,000 feet away from the YouTube HQ.
“I had come back from lunch and there were a couple people running in to get on the elevators,” MacDonald said “They were visibly shaken. They had heard gunshots.”
MacDonald said he saw an estimated 20 people evacuate YouTube with their hands over their heads around 1 p.m. local time.
“They looked scared,” he said. “There are helicopters are going by overhead. Evacuees were brought over behind our building. They’ve been telling us to stay away from the windows. ... It’s Silicon Valley. It’s a high-stress sort of area, but it still shocks me because there’s not a gun culture here at all.”
Vadim Lavrusik, a product manager for YouTube Live, and Dan Afergan, a software engineer for the company, both tweeted that there was an active shooter on its campus.
Lavrusik said he heard shots and was barricaded inside of a room with his co-workers. Less than 20 minutes later, Lavrusik said he had been safely evacuated from the building.
Active shooter at YouTube HQ. Heard shots and saw people running while at my desk. Now barricaded inside a room with coworkers.
Google, which owns YouTube, said it was coordinating with authorities in response to the situation. There are about 1,700 people who work in the YouTube office, according to ABC 7 San Francisco.
Security at the Google office in Mountain View, California, 30 minutes south of YouTube’s headquarters, is typically strict. Employees who bring in guests are required to sign them in before entering the building.
At YouTube’s San Bruno office, people can freely enter the reception area, but need to be signed in before entering employee areas.
In a series of tweets, Todd Sherman, a product manager for YouTube, said he was in a meeting when the heard people running in the offices.
As he evacuated the building, he said he saw “blood drips on the floor and stairs.”
After existing the room we still didn’t know what was going on but more people were running. Seemed serious and not like a drill.
At that point every new person I saw was a potential shooter. Someone else said that the person shot out the back doors and then shot themselves.
Police cruisers pull up, hopped out with rifles ready and I told them where the situation was as I headed down the street to meet up with a couple team members.
Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), whose district includes YouTube headquarters, said she was “shocked and saddened to hear about another mass shooting.”
“We must take action and #EndGunViolence,” she tweeted.
President Donald Trump has been briefed on the situation, according to White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
This story is developing.
Channing Tatum & Jenna Dewan 'Have Lovingly Chosen to Separate' After Nearly 9 Years of Marriage
Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan Tatum are separating after nearly nine years of marriage.
The former couple announced the split in a joint statement. The actors, both 37, have one child together — daughter Everly — who will turn 5 in May.
The couple most recently attended the Kids’ Choice Awards together where Tatum hit the stage to promote his new animated movie Smallfoot.
They first met on the set of their 2006 movie Step Up and began dating shortly after before tying the knot in 2009.
Buzz about a split began when Dewan Tatum attended the annual Vanity Fair Oscars after-party solo, but she told ET at the bash that Tatum was on daddy duty and “so happy to have a night off.”
Safaree Samuels Claims He Was Robbed By 2 Men Who Put A Gun To His Head
Safaree Samuels dropped a truly shocking story during his appearance on NYC’s Power 105.1FM’s The Angie Martinez show on April 2. Host Angie Martinez gave him a whooped up introduction full of excitement, but it was clear something was really messing with the 36-year-old rapper. He went on to claim to have been robbed at gunpoint just before going on the show! “What’s happening first of all, are you okay?” Angie asked out of concern because he was obviously going through something. “Oh man, I just got…I just got,” he started with his voice trembling as he was nearly in tears. “I just got robbed,” he finished, revealing it happened a few hours before his interview while he was in New Jersery.
“Two dudes, two guns just ran up on me. Me face down on the floor with a gun to my head. They just took everything,” he continued, clearly shaken to his core. He wasn’t kidding, as Safaree had zero bling on him — no rings, bracelets, necklaces, nothing! He’s usually dripping in gold and diamonds, but not this time. Nicki Minaj‘s ex had on a shaggy red coat. but it doesn’t look like an actual fur from the interview clip the show provided. If it was the real deal, the thieves probably would have taken it as well!
“It is what it is. They took everything,” he continued with great emphasis on the last word. He did call the cops, saying that police are working on it and for him not to say too much until they “figure things out.” He said it happened around 3am but couldn’t give details as to where he was as police “need to do what they need to do.” He later went on to hint that he was at a club, saying that he was with about 30 people when he left but then everyone went “peace out” and parted ways. “They just caught me by myself,” adding thattonly his chef was with him.”I got out of my car and they came out of nowhere and backed out on us,” he continued.
Safaree was so shaken because he said he’s never had a gun aimed at him. “I’ve never had a gun put to my face. I don’t know who the hell these people were or where they came from.” He revealed his uncle just got killed in a robbery and it was racing through his mind how horrifying it would have been for his mom to get that call saying that her son was dead after losing her brother. He said he laid on the floor until he was sure the robbers were gone. Safaree was unable to call 911 cause the gunmen took his phone but some other people ended up calling on his behalf. What a close call!
Fabolous Charged With Aggravated Assault And Making Terroristic Threats
Fabolous is being charged with one count of aggravated assault in the third degree and one count of making terroristic threats in the the third degree.
According Fab’s complaint –– Emily B said her sons’ father committed domestic violence against her, punching her in the head seven times, “causing severe damage to her two front teeth,” which later had to be medically removed. The father of two also texted Emily to “inform her that he would hit her in the head with a baseball bat,” and after he tried to obtain a handgun that had been removed, “informed the victim that he had a bullet for her,” his complaint says.
The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office has stepped in and will be trying the case against the Brooklyn rapper. A spokeswoman for the prosecutor confirmed Monday that the initial charges still stood.
Sherri Shepherd’s Ex Gains More Custody of Their Son. He also Seeks More Support
Sherri Shepherd‘s ex-husband is once again angling for more child support from her, but this time he has a good reason to get it — he’s been given a lot more time with their son.
Jeff Tarpley, filed docs last year in their longstanding custody war seeking 50/50 custody of their 12-year-old son, Jeffrey. The two were married from 2001-2010.
According to new documents Tarpley came away with more custody following a ruling in December that went previously unreported. Tarpley says he has custody of Jeffrey every 1st, 3rd and 5th weekends of the month, every Tuesday and Thursday, and other times when Shepherd is out of town.
Per their previous deal, Shepherd was paying $131 a month in child support, but he’s looking for more now, pointing out her income of $1.2 million a year is vastly superior to his $2,400 a month.
Tarpley is also asking for $25,608.40 for attorney’s fees. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for May.
‘Frozen’ Cracks House Record In First Full Broadway Week
Disney Theatricals’ Frozen, based on the Oscar-winning movie, shattered the opening box office record for its Broadway home the St. James Theatre in its first full week of shows. The musical, which bowed March 22, grossed $2,246,998 over eight performances for the week ending Sunday, according to the Broadway League, which compiles the figures.
The adventures of Elsa and Anna and their pals topped the previous eight-show mark held by The Producers, which grossed $1,600,243 during its first week in January 2004.
The average ticket price for Frozen was $167.40, according to data. That was the fifth priciest ticket on the Main Stem in Week 45 of the season, with Springsteen on Broadway at No. 1 averaging $507.86. The Boss’ show grossed $1,925,795 for four shows overall, the tally coming after Springsteen announced he was extending the one-man show’s run until December 15.
The biggest hitter last week was The Lion King, another Disney Theatrical effort (the company also has Aladdin going strong at the New Amsterdam), with its nine shows at the Minskoff grossing $3,092,152 — the top earner and the only show to surpass $3M for the week.
Other notable results: the two-part, 7-hour-plus Angels In America ($933,031 in seven shows at the Neil Simon), Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ($1,589,033 in six shows at the Lyric), Lobby Hero ($409,431 in eight shows at the Hayes), and Three Tall Women ($599,626 over five shows at the Golden).
GREAT NEWS!
TCM Honors Cicely Tyson With Hand and Footprint Ceremony
Cicely Tyson’s legend is being cemented into film history. Turner Classic Movies says it will honor the 93-year-old actress and activist with an official hand-and-footprint ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood on April 27.
Tyson is best known for performances in films like “Sounder” and television films “Roots” and “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.” An Emmy- and Tony Award-winner, Tyson has also been honored by the NAACP and the Kennedy Center and in 2016 received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The ceremony will run in conjunction with the 2018 TCM Classic Film Festival. Previous TCM honorees have included Jane Fonda, Frances Ford Coppola, and Carl and Rob Reiner.
See Pics from Quavo’s Huncho Day Celebrity Flag Football Game
Rapper Quavo‘s “Huncho Day Flag Football Game” took place on Easter Sunday at his former high school Berkmar in Lilburn, Georgia.
Quavo was the starting quarterback on his high school football team, and rumor has it that the Atlanta Falcons sent a scout to the game to check out Quavo’s skills.
The flag football game was a battle between Team Huncho (coached by 2 Chainz) and Team Julio Jones – Ezekiel Elliott (RB Dallas Cowboys) and Von Miller (Denver Broncos LB).
When the dust settled, Team Julio pulled off the dramatic overtime win with Elliott scoring the game-winning touchdown. Quavo invited his celebrity pals Offset, 21 Savage, A.J. Green, 2 Chainz, Lil Yachty, YFN Lucci, Jacquees, Jermaine Durpi, Josh Norman, Nature Boy Roc Flair, and more.
Quavo was awed by the huge turnout.
Teachers Swarm Kentucky Capitol To Protest Pension Changes, School Budget Cuts
FRANKFORT, Ky. ― Thousands of teachers and public workers from across Kentucky flocked to the state Capitol on Monday morning to protest potential budget cuts to public education and the passage, last week, of a controversial package of changes to the state’s public pension system that teachers had opposed.
The rally began before 9 a.m. outside the Kentucky Education Association building just blocks from the Capitol complex. Teachers, most of them clad in red (as part of the grassroots Wear Red for Ed campaign), later marched to the Capitol itself, filling up the rotunda outside legislative chambers and spilling out the front doors and down the steps.
“Enough is enough,” they chanted, many of them carrying signs telling lawmakers to fully fund their pensions and their schools and threatening that if the legislators failed to do so, the teachers would do everything in their power to remove them from office in elections this November.
“We feel demoralized, we feel assaulted and we feel like we’ve been marginalized,” said Chris Wilder, a teacher at Anderson County High School in Lawrenceburg. “We’re angry.”
Teachers have filled the Capitol complex off and on for more than a month in an effort to derail pension changes and education budget cuts proposed by Republican Gov. Matt Bevin and Republican majority leaders in both chambers of the legislature.
But their anger boiled over Thursday night when GOP lawmakers attached a slate of pension changes to a previously unrelated bill meant to address public sewage issues. Hours later, both the state House and state Senate approved the measures on party-line votes.
“The way they introduced this bill was the linchpin, the insulting part,” Wilder said. “We’re basically equivalent to excrement. It’s like, ‘This is what we think of you and your contribution to our state. Nothing. You don’t matter.’ But we matter, and our kids matter.”
Overflow crowds spread down the Capitol steps as thousands of protesters gather in Frankfort, Kentucky, on Monday.
The pension bill, which Bevin is expected to sign before the legislative session ends this week, did not contain some provisions teachers had been most angry about, including a cap on annual cost-of-living adjustments. It also does not cut benefits for current teachers. But it switches new hires to a “hybrid” 401(k)-style plan and ends some contractual protections that currently prohibit lawmakers from altering pension benefits for public workers, teachers included.
Those changes, teachers said, would make it hard for the state to recruit new educators in Kentucky, which already has a struggling public education system.
Even before Monday’s rally, teachers forced public schools to close in at least 25 Kentucky counties on Friday when they called in sick en masse to protest the pension plan. In Lexington, the state’s second-largest school district, more than one-third of school employees stayed out Friday. In Louisville, the absences forced the closure of Kentucky’s largest school district.
Most public school districts were already closed Monday for spring break, but the threat of another round of sick-outs caused more than a dozen school districts that were supposed to be open to close instead. The result was that public school districts were shuttered in each of Kentucky’s 120 counties on Monday, accomplishing a goal organizers had set when they announced plans for the protest.
The educators came to Frankfort from cities across the state. In Louisville, a group of Jefferson County Public School teachers met at a local Teamsters union hall and took a 30-minute bus ride to the capital. In Frankfort, groups of teachers gathered under banners bearing names of school districts spread from Pike County in eastern Kentucky to Marshall County in the west.
The initial crowd for the bus ride from Louisville disappointed some organizers. They had planned for four full busloads but sent three half-full buses instead. But upon arriving in Frankfort, it was clear that the crowd had exceeded expectations.
Organizers estimated that more than 5,000 people gathered inside and outside the Capitol, though no official estimate was available.
“This is spring break,” said Mike Kral, a retired teacher from Hardin County. “If it’d been a regular school day, it’d have been 10 times this.”
Still, it was a show of force against a state legislature that, teachers said, has failed to prioritize teachers or Kentucky’s public education system for years and, by passing the pension package so quickly Thursday, had broken a promise to its educators.
“When we signed on the dotted line to become a teacher, we knew we weren’t going to make a lot of money,” said Lynn Luking, a retired teacher from Louisville. “But we were promised a full pension and full health care. And every year they’ve taken more and more of that away.”
The protests weren’t aimed only at last week’s pension overhaul. With the end of Kentucky’s legislative session looming, lawmakers returned to the capital Monday to consider new tax legislation and a budget bill that held the potential for further cuts to public education spending.
Bevin, in January, had proposed cuts to several school-related programs in ways that some administrators said threatened the solvency of some poorer, rural districts. Many of the teachers also opposed potential new funding for charter schools that Bevin had pushed in his proposed budget.
“It seems like these folks want to privatize everything,” said Mike Haile, a retired teacher from Henderson County, in western Kentucky. “They privatized prisons and they privatized schools. It’s take the money and run.”
With the budget vote looming, a crowd of protesters gathered around a side entrance to the Capitol and chanted “Shame! Shame!” at Republican lawmakers as they entered.
Republicans ultimately introduced a bill that did not include many of Bevin’s preferred cuts or new funding for charter schools, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal, though many protesters and legislative Democrats still criticized it for cutting taxes on the rich and falling short of previous K-12 education funding levels.
The protests and school closures were reminiscent of similar movements in states including West Virginia, where teachers went on strike to protest years of tax cuts that had left the state unable to fully fund schools, and Oklahoma, where teachers were set to go on strike Monday. Teachers in Arizona could soon join them in walking out.
In Kentucky, the educators said the pension changes and budget cuts were a breaking point in their relationship with state government. They vowed that the protests and organized opposition would continue. And they promised that they would be a political force come November.
“I will walk and knock on every door,” Luking said, “to see that every one of these guys are defeated.”
AND FINALLY FROM THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART FILES
‘CRACK THE WHIP’
Honestly, unless your hair makes a crack sound like a bullwhip when you flip your head around.
EGGPLANT NATION: Meet Tony!
Meet Tony! You can see more when CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PICS! And remember they’re NSFW!
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Enjoy!
HAVE A GREAT DAY EVERYBODY!!!
EFREM
