The Urgent Call for Bone Marrow Donors of Color
We wanted to take a moment before diving into this week’s newsletter to bring attention to a cause very near and dear to our hearts. AAPI journalists have been doing a lot of emotional labor amidst the wave of racist hate crimes against Asian Americans. We’re huge advocates for mental health awareness and know firsthand how draining it can be to cover stories about your own community. So we hope our readers will consider donating to the AAPI Journalists Therapy Relief Fund, a campaign launched in partnership with the AAJA.
Hola amigxs!
It’s Wednesday, which means we have a brand new edition of your favorite Latina-curated newsletter. This week Nikki talks about the importance of registering to be a bone marrow donor and how this can help communities of color fight blood cancer. We also have a new column from our puppy columnist Princess Party Time and highlighted four more women-owned businesses for you to check out!
Let’s jump right into it!
Registering to Be The Match Could Help Communities of Color Fight Blood Cancers 🩸
By Nikki Rojas
Reading Jehvan and his mother’s story hit close to home. My own mom received a lifesaving — albeit temporary — bone marrow transplant that cured her of her Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). But the journey to get a perfect match was far from easy. Like Jehvan, my mom struggled to find a match for her transplant. Doctors were forced to open the search internationally and were finally able to find my mom’s match in Argentina.
Read Nikki’s personal essay here.
Women In The News 📰
Trigger Warning: We mention difficult topics including sexual assault and abortion in this week’s news curation.
David Dobrik and the Sexual Assault Allegations Surrounding His Toxic YouTube Friend Group: YouTuber David Dobrik is under fire after an investigation by Insider found that one of his Vlog Squad friends sexually assaulted a woman, now known as “Hannah,” in a 2018 video. Following the report, Dobrik lost dozens of his sponsors and more than 100,00 of his subscribers. The report also prompted conversations about the distorted views on consent and the toxic environment YouTube vloggers create.
Read more about the allegations here.
Wyoming Introduced Several Anti-Abortion Bills, As More States Attempt to Limit Abortion Care Access: Wyoming introduced *eight* anti-abortion bills this legislative session, according to The 19th. Three of the bills were introduced in the state House of Representatives last week and four more are expected in the next few weeks. Anti-abortion politicians in states across the country are trying to decimate access to abortion care. Earlier this month, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson signed a near-total abortion ban that prohibits providers from performing abortions “except to save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency."
Read about the anti-abortion bills here.
Transgender Athletes Are Being Banned From Women’s Sports: Several North Carolina Republicans filed a bill that would ban transgender women athletes in middle school, high school and college from joining women’s athletic teams. Thirty other states have proposed similar restrictions. Two weeks ago in Mississippi, Republican Governor Tate Reeves signed a similar bill banning transgender athletes from girls’ or women’s sports teams.
Learn more about the bans here.
You Should Read This 📚
Find Celeste Ng on Goodreads | Pick up “Little Fires Everywhere” from Loganberry Books
Women In Biz 👩🧕👩🦱👱♀️
For women’s history month, we’ll be highlighting four women-owned businesses every week that we love and admire. We hope you check them out and show them a little love.
Maude: This sexual wellness company is all about modern intimacy. The company, which was founded by Éva Goicochea, was built on inclusivity and simplicity for the modern consumer. The shop has everything from bath products, candles, oils and much more.
Wing on Wo & Co. (W.O.W.): The oldest shop in New York’s Chinatown has stunning porcelain ware from tea sets to painted flower pots and stunning drop earrings. W.O.W is run by Mei Lum, the great-great-granddaughter of the original owners. Along with running the shop, Lum launched the W.O.W. Project, which aims to preserve Chinatown’s culture and history.
Jack & Bec: The female-founded company based in San Antonio gives a 1970’s retro vibe with cute clothes, accessories and art promoting body positivity and celebrating women.
HarmonyByHaley: This tiny Etsy shop will quickly become your go-to for embroidered feminist apparel. HarmonyByHaley owner Haley Harmon has become a Tik Tok sensation with her girl power crewnecks and empowering stickers. Act fast though, her merch sells pretty quickly.
Princess Party Time’s Paw-nderings 🐶
Hoomans, henlo! Princess Party Time here, and I have spent the last week paw-ndering about all the fun things I am going to do now that it is springtime!
No more snow! No more cold, wet ice on my paws! I love goin’ outside knowing that it’s not gonna be too cold. On nice days, Papa likes to take me out to play fetch outside. Mama also likes playin’ fetch, but would prefer to go on a nice long walk by the water. If I’m good, sometimes they’ll treat me to a puppucino! Happy spring, my frens!
Thank you so much for reading! If you’d like to send us questions, suggestions or just say hello, you can email us at peromakeitnewsy@gmail.com.
- Maria Elena and Nikki
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