Korean Singers Mistaken for Prostitutes and Detained at Airport

Question: What does a prostitute look like and what specifically triggered security to detain them in hopes of preventing a "terrorist attack" and was detaining them sexist or [stereotypically] racist???

Kesha Johnson-Clark

K-Pop Band Oh My Girl Mistaken for Sex Workers and Detained at LAX

 

The eight members were travelling to America for an album cover shoot but were detained for 15 hours in customs. A statement from the group's record company, WM Entertainment, said authorities held them after going through their costumes and props.

"They seem to have mistaken them as sex workers," said a spokesman.
Oh My Girl, who formed in March, are thought to be back in South Korean capital Seoul after being released by officials at Los Angeles International Airport. WM Entertainment says it is taking legal advice in the US to find out whether the band's detention was legal.

The record company also said there might have been an issue with the type of visa the band members presented. They had also been booked to perform at a gala event in Los Angeles on Saturday.
It's unclear if they will try to return to America to complete their album cover shoot.

Oh My Girl (or OMG) brought their debut single Cupid out in April with a second mini-album and title track Closer released in October. The band members are all aged between 16 and 21.
South Korean pop music, known as K-pop, is dominated by girl and boy bands whose members are sometimes as young as 13 or 14 years old.

In 2012, the government clamped down on over-sexualised performances by threatening to give higher age ratings to films, music videos and TV shows which exaggerated the sexuality of younger singers and bands.


Source: BBC

60 Years Later: Rosa Parks

According to history, Rosa was 42 years old and riding the bus home after work. She was a seamstress and a member of her local NAACP chapter who refused to 'move out of her seat so that a [white] man can sit'...that was her crime. She is a civil rights pioneer.

~Kesha Johnson-Clark

 

 Today marks the 60th anniversary of Rosa Parks taking a stand.

The 42-year-old seamstress and secretary of her local NAACP chapter defied Jim Crow laws that called for the separation of the races by refusing to move to the back of a bus to allow a white man to have her seat.

That defiant act in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955 was a pivotal point in the civil rights movement and transformed Parks into a symbol of the struggle. Social media marked the day and remembered her, with some taking note of the current plight of African-Americans.



Source: CNN

Photo: Essence

Pics: I Stand in Solidarity with Baltimore Speak Out 5/30/15

Please click here to view more photos from the San Francisco, California location. A special thank you to W.O.R.D, ANSWER and all the supporters who attended on Saturday, May 30th.

International Women's Day 2015

Observing International Women’s Day 2015

As I acknowledge and join fellow W.O.R.D SF members in celebration of International Women’s Day with the theme of “Still Fighting for Our Rights & Equality”, I look to the women around the globe who struggle every day for justice in countries such as El Salvador where reproductive freedom and access to abortions are forbidden back to right here in the United States where human rights and the legal system are not equal from Florida with the Stand Your Ground Law to California with Yes Means Yes. Also let us not forget that in 2015, this celebration also encompasses our comrades within the transgender community and those who identify as such to provide an array of international diversity.

Specifically, as I speak of Carmen Guadalupe Vasquez Aldana’s case, Marissa Alexander’s case, Meggan Sommerville’s case and the SB967 Student Safety Sexual Assault Bill-let us rally together loud and proud to “say no to the status-quo…full equality for all women”…thank you!!! -KJC


For those wanting to participate in International Women's Day in the Bay Area:

San Francisco, CA
Still Fighting for Our Rights & Equality
Sunday, March 8, 2 p.m.
24th and Mission Streets
Sponsored by W.O.R.D SF

Women's Equality Day 2014

Source: Twitter

Video: Hobyy Lobby Protest (San Francisco)

This video is from the Hobby Lobby protest on 7/3/14 at Union Square in San Francisco, California organized by W.O.R.D and also features our very own Kesha Johnson-Clark. Thank you to all who marched there and continue to support the movement!!!

Speaker Series: Sexual Assault Awareness Part 1

Kesha Johnson-Clark, August 2014
Kesha is the founder of SisterHood, Inc (a grassroots organization), a Business professional, a writer, poet and spoken word artist (Independent Grrl Recordings)


When is rape[1] justified? Is there such a case where the rapist is given just cause for their violent actions? First, let's be clear rape is a crime. There are more than 80,000[a] rape cases in the U.S. reported each year yet 3.4 million[b] more go unreported while 18% of those reported get convictions which may be a direct result to defective rape kits[c].

Classified as a major crime or a felony[d], rape as sexual assault[2] is the UNWANTED, UNSOLICITED, NON-CONSENTED, horrific and violent act of forced sexual intercourse including penal to vaginal penetration, penal to anus penetration as some cases may also include UNWANTED, UNSOLICITED, NON-CONSENTED oral, finger penetration or oral, vaginal and anus penetration by various objects with or without protection from disease and unwanted pregnancies. The "aggressor" can be male or female. The "victim" can be male or female. The "rape act" can be male to male, female to female, adult[3] to child[4], child to child, adult to adult. Those self identified as straight, gay or bisexual can be an aggressor or a victim. Those who self identified as transgender can be an aggressor or a victim.

Those who were previously, currently or who have never been sexually active can be victims or an aggressor. A person of any race/ethnic background can be an aggressor or victim. A person of any financial or socio-economical status can be an aggressor or a victim. A person with or without mental or physical impairments (aka disability[5] or slower functionality than) can be an aggressor or a victim. A person who is celibate[6], single, married, a parent with several or a newly expecting parent or dating be it casually or serious, long tern relationship can be either. A person of any age can be a victim while in some cases the aggressor may be younger than the victim.

Rape can happen at night, early morning or midday afternoon. Rape can happen to a person when they wear a dress, a skirt, shorts or a pair of jeans. Rape can happen when a person has long silky hair, dread locs or a bald head, with or without make-up on. Rape can take place at home, school, work, church or a designated place of worship, a friend or relatives house, a party or concert venue, when a person is alone or in close proximity to other people. Rape can happen on a date, in a car, at a park or in a back alley.

The rapist can be short or tall, overweight or slim, very attractive or not too good looking at all, pale or dark skinned, socially popular and well liked or a loner and social outcast just as the victim. Either can be a known drug addict, a closet junkie or clean and sober, a person with a degree of any kind or without a high school diploma or GED, working in any field or totally unemployed. They can be of any faith, religion or political affiliation. Regardless of the actions of family members or relative history or neighborhood reputations and gossip, they can also be either. And both can be someone you know or a complete stranger.

During the 1970s the first rape crisis center was established in San Francisco. In a two-year period, 1.1 million women were raped[7] with 21.6% of those cases, the victim was the age 12 or younger[8]


Part 1 of When is Rape Justified is complete. This series will continue shortly...


Reference
1. RAINN
a. Rape Statistics
b. Rape and Sexual Assault, Bureau of Justice Statistics
c. Rape Kits
d. Felonies
2. UCSC Title IX/Sexual Harrassment Offcie
3. Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition
4. Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition
5. Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition
6. Word Reference definitiona and usage
7. Rape and Sexual Assault
8. Rape and Sexual Assault



Related Research
Marital Rape, 1978
Rape and Sexual Assault, Medical University of South Carolina
Rape Is Grossly Underreported in the U.S., Huffington Post 2013
If We Want to Take Sexual Assault Seriously, We Need to Test Thousands of Rape Kits First, 2013

Pics: Hobby Lobby Protest 7/3/14

Please click here to view more photos from the San Francisco, California location. A special thank you to W.O.R.D, Stop Patriarchy, NOW and all the supporters who attended on Thursday, July 3rd.

Kesha Johnson-Clark Speaks at SF City Hall

Kesha Johnson-Clark, 34 made public comments/questions at the 4-14-14 Land Use & Economic Development Committee meeting for Late Night Transportation SAFETY concerns...agenda item 3 [140079] Supervisors: Kim, Cohen and Wiener in attendance hearing with the Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), Alameda-Contra Consta County Transit District, Transportation Network Companies, the Taxi Industry, the Mayor's Office of Economic and Workforce Development, and the Entertainment Commission, to discuss the city's late night transportation needs and progress towards developing a Late Night Transportation Plan, with specific areas of focus, including ease of access, speed and safety.

Kesha: "Hi and good afternoon to all in attendance, my name is Kesha Johnson-Clark and i'm speaking today as a resident, a working person and one who utilizes public transportation on a regular basis. My comment/question is in regards to safety, what percentage of crimes are captured on public transportation video such as taxi, BART and MUNI...and is there any research to support the correlation between crimes such as robberies, hate crimes, sexual assaults, rapes during late night transportation that would justify having an emergency transportation division option in the city if there isn't one in place already and if so, who is the contact person??? Thank you."

Follow Up: off camera...Dillon Auyoung, SFMTA Manager, Local Government Affairs


Source: Facebook