Beverly McPhail’s Testimonial on NO! The Rape Documentary
April 15, 2008
“Aishah Simmons spoke to our campus (University of Houston) and the larger Houston community and screened her film, NO!. The film was powerfully received and the subsequent question and answer period was quite moving as men spontaneously stood up to say they would look at women with new respect and appreciation and women who had been one-time victims and now survivors spoke of the validation that they felt seeing the film. The audience was not only moved emotionally, but felt moved to action, to change communities and get the word out that sexual violence against women must stop. No one left the auditorium unchanged. Ms. Simmons’ film examines the intersections of race, gender, class, and sexual identity on the topic of sexual violence, unlike any other film I have seen on the subject. The film is enhanced by Ms. Simmons’ introduction and fielding of quesitons. She is truly a remarkable and talented filmmaker and activist.”
Beverly McPhail, Ph.D., LMSW, Director, Women’s Resource Center
University of Houston
NO! The Rape Documentary & Aishah Shahidah Simmons on Joy of Resistance Multicultural Feminist Radio
April 10, 2008
Violence Against Women Documentary Featured on Joy of Resistance Program on WBAI Pacifica Radio Network | Women’s History Month
On Thursday, March 27, 2008, NO! The Rape Documentary and Aishah Shahidah Simmons were featured guests on Joy of Resistance Multi-Cultural Feminist Radio, WBAI Pacifica Radio Network in New York, with co-hosts Fran Luck and NOW-NJ President, Maretta Short, to raise awareness about rape, other forms of sexual violence, healing and feminist activism during Women’s History Month. Monica Dillon’s powerful song “No,” which is a call to action to end violence against women is featured throughout the program. Please download the audio or listen to it, here on the blog.
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length – 61 min
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University of Houston’s Women’s Resource Center Hosts Screening & Discussion of NO!
April 9, 2008
In recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month
On Thrusday, April 10, 2008 at 7pm, The Women’s Resource Center at the University of Houston will host a screening and discussion of the award-winning, feature length documentary NO!, which is about rape, other forms of violence against women, and healing. Producer, writer, and director Aishah Shahidah Simmons will introduce the documentary and facilitate a question and answer session immediately following the screening.
Free Admission and Parking in Lots 20A and 20C.
Directions: From I-45 take Spur 5 and take a right at the first light, which is University Drive. Free parking is on the right in Parking Lots 20A and 20C. You must then walk across Calhoun Street and straight down University Drive, which dead ends into the Cullen Performance Hall. If you wish to park closer, paid parking is available at either the Welcome Center at the corner of University and Calhoun or in the underground parking under the Hilton hotel. For futher directions, click here.
Click here for a campus map.
This event is generously underwritten by the Tenneco Lecture Series.
For more information, please visit http://www.uh.edu/wrc/Nodocumentary.html. Alternatively, you may call the University of Houston’s Women’s Resource Center at 713.743.5888; or the Sanfoka Pan Afrikan Student Organization at 832.894.5015.
Sex Workers and The Media
April 7, 2008
A Tale Of Two Strippers…
by Aishah Shahidah Simmons
Sometime last fall Michael Simmons, my father and comrade in the international struggles to end violence against women, called me to share his passionate rage about all of the positive hype around Diablo Cody’s, (the very talented Academy Award® Winning screenwriter of the film Juno, directed by Jason Reitman) herstory as a stripper to support herself while writing screenplays. Media outlets, from National Public Radio to Entertainment Tonight, raved about “the stripper turned Hollywood screenwriter.”
Before my feminist sisters get upset, I want to be clear that Michael’s (and my) passionate rage isn’t about Sister Diablo Cody. This is not an anti-sex worker piece/peace. While I, as a Black feminist lesbian, critique a patriarchal, sexist, and misogynist world where sex work is, for countless women in the world, the only viable option to make a living, I do not and will not ever critique women for “choosing” sex work to financially support themselves.
I do, however, critique, the media, including many progressive and even some White feminist outlets, who celebrate Sister Diablo’s decision to work as a stripper to support herself while writing screenplays but castigated, maligned, and marginalized my Black Sister Survivor who was hired by members of the Duke University Lacrosse Team to perform for them. Yes, I know that had she not accused those innocent White men of sexually assaulting her, we probably wouldn’t even know she existed. However, since she did accuse them of sexually assaulting her, the media presented her as another Black woman stripper/whore who was a liar. In fact, in her very specific instance, stripping was frowned upon and demonized as a viable option for her to earn a living to support herself and her two children while she was an undergraduate student at North Carolina Central University.
When it comes to rape, sexual assault and other forms of violence against women, sex workers are some of the most vulnerable employees. This sobering reality transcends the race, class, and national origin of all sex workers.
I know that Sister Diablo hasn’t publicly accused anyone of sexually assaulting her and very hopefully she isn’t one of the three women in the world who has experienced some form of sexual assault on her journey called life. So, I’m definitely not implying that her situation is the same situation as with my Black Sister Survivor in North Carolina.
I do, however, question and challenge the media’s sexist (and I would argue racist and classist) grotesque duplicity when it comes to their deciding which women should be celebrated for making “a smart decision” to strip to support themselves; and which women should be punished for making “a dumb decision” to strip to support themselves.
It’s also very important to note, that the media’s celebratory attitude towards Sister Diablo stripping is not unlike their celebratory attitude towards White middle and upper class single women who decide to have children without getting married or having a male partner, which is often viewed and presented as a chic/hip feminist statement. While on the other hand, poor African-American single women who decide to have children without being married or having a male partner are viewed and presented, by the media, as pathological…
But, that’s another piece/peace for another day.
Aishah Shahidah Simmons is the producer, writer, and director of the internationally acclaimed feature-length documentary NO!, which explores the international reality of rape and sexual assault through the first person testimonies, scholarship, spirituality, and activism of African-Americans. This award-winning documentary also explores how rape is used as a weapon of homophobia. During April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, she is traveling with NO! to continue to raise awareness about all forms of violence against women. Please visit www.NOtheRapeDocumentary.org and www.AfroLezProductions.com for detailed information about her schedule.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Hosts Aishah Shahidah Simmons and Monica Dillon
April 6, 2008
Aishah Shahidah Simmons and Monica Dillon are featured guests during Sexual Assault Awareness Month | University of Wisconsin-Madison
From April 15, 2008 through April 17, 2008, Aishah Shahidah Simmons and Monica Dillon will be featured guest lecturers, workshop facilitators, and performers at University of Wisconsin – Madison as a part of their Sexual Assault Awareness Month programming. In addition to screening NO! The Rape Documentary and meeting with studens and faculty, they will perform “For Women and Men of Rage & Reason, a cinematic, poetic and musical journey from victim to survivor and activist in the international movements to end violence against women.
An extra highlight to this experience is that Tiona M., the fierce producer, director, photographer, and editor of the ground breaking documentary black./womyn.:conversations… will document Monica and Aishah’s performances and presentations. Tiona will also screen the black./womyn.:conversations trailer, which features the voices of over 50 lesbians of African descent, including Monica and Aishah, and talk about the process of making this important film.
Aishah and Monica are so very excited to be performing and presenting with other again. Each time they present and share together with students and faculty 
they learn more and more about each other as cultural workers, eradicating violence against women, and of course, what’s on the mind of students right now.
For detailed information about the two major events that are open to the public on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 and Thursday, April 17, 2008, please visit http://www.today.wisc.edu/events/view/3933 and http://www.today.wisc.edu/events/view/3183
Rebecca Spellmeyer | Ms. Heartland US Testimonial on NO! The Rape Documentary
April 6, 2008
“As a survivor of rape myself I found [NO!] to be very powerful and thought provoking. I am truly blessed to have been able to see a screening of this film and meet the wonderful woman that made this film possible.”
Rebecca Spellmeyer, Ms. Heartland US
New Orleans Screening of NO! A Documentary About Rape, Sexual Assault, and Healing
April 3, 2008
On Tuesday, April 8, 2008, at 7:00pm, the Ashe’ Cultural Arts Center will host a FREE screening and discussion, in New Orleans, LA, of NO!, a feature length documentary about rape, sexual assault and healing in African-American communities.
Aishah Shahidah Simmons, an incest and rape survivor who is the producer, writer, and director of NO!, along with New Orleans-based mental health care professionals, will be present to facilitate the creation of a safe environment for the discussion immediately following the screening.
Copies of NO! and her supplemental materials (Breaking Silences, and Unveiling the Silence) will be on sale at the screening and discussion.
NO! A Documentary About Rape and Sexual Assault Screened and Discussed at Brown Memorial Baptist Church
April 3, 2008
in recognition of
SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH (APRIL)
Kevin Powell, Black and Male in America (BAMIA),
Hot 97.1 Radio, allhiphop.com, April Silver of AKILA WORKSONGS, Inc.,
CONNECT, and the Black and Latino Filmmakers Coalition
present
A Special Screening
and Discussion about
a documentary about rape, sexual assault,
and violence against women and girls
www.NOtheRapeDocumentary.org
featuring
AISHAH SHAHIDAH SIMMONS
Writer, Director, and Producer of the award-winning film NO!
QUENTIN WALCOTT
Anti-violence activist; Director, CONNECT Training Institute (CTI)
and the Community Empowerment Program
KEVIN POWELL
Writer, Activist, and Author of the essay
“Ending Violence Against Women and Girls”
(visit www.huffingtonpost.com to read the essay)
plus a special creative piece by
TOYIA TAYLOR
Poet and Community Activist
MONDAY, APRIL 7, 2008
Doors open at 6:30 pm
program begins at 7:00 pm
at BROWN MEMORIAL BAPTIST CHURCH
(Pastor: Rev. Clinton Miller)
484 Washington Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11238
(at the corner of Gates Ave. | Fort Greene, Brooklyn, NY)
A or C to Clinton/Washington stop
Admission is FREE, no RSVP needed.
Seating will be on a first-come basis.
This program is open to females AND males of all ages.
Counselors will be on site to field questions from rape,
sexual assault, and domestic violence survivors.
Copies of the NO! DVD will be ON SALE.
PLEASE BRING a PEN and NOTEPAD
and PLEASE COME PREPARED
TO WORK, LEARN, AND SHARE…
For more information call 718.390.3520 OR
email us contact@blackandmaleinamerica
Visit us on the web at www.blackandmaleinamerica.org
PLEASE NOTE THAT BAMIA’s regular monthly empowerment workshops are for MALES ONLY. We will return to that format
on Monday, May 5, 2008 at 7pm (same locatoin).
The workshop leader will be KENDRICK B. NATHANIEL.
Topic: “Taking Care of Your Physical Health”
Tamara K. Nopper’s Testimonial on NO!
March 20, 2008
“When I attended a fundraising event for NO! in New York several years ago, I watched an African American woman scholar artistically explore her survival of sexual assault. As a graduate student who has spent most of my professional life in academia, I had by that time observed how badly Black women are treated at all levels of the university. And I knew that this treatment was not isolated to academic spaces. Having seen, listened, and read about how Black women are racistly and sexistly perceived by men, women, and children of all races and sexualities, I was familiar with many of the themes in NO! Perhaps this is why I had such an emotional political response to watching this Black woman scholar talk about her sexual assault. I knew it was a great risk for her to draw attention to how she was attacked when racist and sexist imagery of Black women declares that they are unable to be violated because they are supposedly over-sexual. And having been in front of a classroom myself, I know that students pick you apart, watch your body, and judge you at every turn. Most students evaluate non-white teachers–and particularly Black teachers–with no remorse, and often in sexualized ways. So to watch a Black woman scholar demand documentation of her pain, to draw attention to her body, to tell her side of the story was simply…everything in the world. This is what NO! does: along with sharing the powerful stories of those in the film, it creates a space for those of us watching it to locate ourselves. In the process, NO! forces you on an emotional and political roller coaster ride. In my case, I left that fundraiser knowing I could no longer act as if what I knew I did not know, and what I saw I did not see. That’s perhaps the most beautiful and scary part of viewing NO!–once you watch it, there is no turning back.”
Tamara K. Nopper, educator and writer
Women’s History Month | Screening of NO! The Rape Documentary @ Raday Salon in Budapest Hungary
March 12, 2008
Women’s History Month | Screening of NO! at Raday Salon in Budapest Hungary
After a long hiatus of screenings, book signings, and lectures, the Raday Salon kicks off its 2008 season with a screening of NO! The Rape Documentary to commemorate Women’s History Month. This is not the first time that Raday Salon has hosted screenings and discussions of NO! The Rape Documentary both as a rough cut and now as a completed documentary to standing room only audiences. However given the horrific and unfortuante global manifestation of sexual violence, combined with requests from people who have not had the opportunity to view the documentary, Linda Carranza and Michael Simmons, the Salon’s co-founders, are hosting an encore screening.
“...We have developed many new ties with folks who are new to Budapest or just new to our Salon, who have expressed an interest in seeing the film. We would be happy to see both old and new Salon friends at this showing, especially as the discussion is always different and brings up new observations every time we show the film…” will be an encore screening and discussion of NO! The Rape Documentary.” — Linda Carranza & Michael Simmons
Aishah Shahidah Simmons will not be present at the screening. However, Michael Simmons, who has definitely screened NO!, more than Aishah, throughout Europe and the Middle East, will both host the screening and facilitate the dialogue following the screening.
For more information about the screening and equally as important for upcoming events at Raday Salon, please visit their site (http://raday.blogs.com).
“Our Salon is dedicated to the proposition that all people are fascinating individuals, and everybody has a story to tell.” — Linda Carranza & Michael Simmons, Co-Founders, Raday Salon
If you ever find yourself in Budapest, Hungary, definitely get in touch with both Linda and Michael. They definitely walk their talk.
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