"Ricky, Resign!": Tens Of Thousands Of Puerto Rican Protestors Demand Governor’s Resignation

Beginning this past Monday, tens of thousands have marched through the streets of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico to demand the resignation of Governor Ricardo Rosselló. The protests are in response to the leaking of 889 pages of private communications in which the governor made mysoginistic and homophobic comments, in addition to hurtful remarks about the deaths following Hurricane Maria.

 

While the protests began peacefully, they became violent on Wednesday, with fireworks and tear gas being deployed in addition to about two dozen police officers reportedly injured. Support for the governor’s resignation has extended beyond the island, with high-profile Puerto Rican stars such as Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ricky Martin, and reggaeton artists Bad Bunny and Residente joining the masses. "If he does not leave now, this is going to get worse," Residente said. Thus far, Governor Rosselló has refused to resign.

PBS’s Molly of Denali Is First National Children’s Show With Alaska Native As Main Character

For the first time ever, Indigenous children will be able to see themselves as the lead character in a television show. Molly of Denali, which premiered on PBS this past Monday, follows the daily adventures of a tech-savvy Alaska Native named Molly. Historically, Indigenous people have been inaccuarately and harmfully portrayed in children’s media, which only emphasizes the importance of this show’s national debut. Charitie Ropati (Native Village of Kongiganak) (who Jackie recently wrote about) excellently hammered home why representation matters. “I have never truly seen myself in Western media,” said Ropati, 17. “This isn’t ‘another Dora,’ this is Molly of Denali and after years of erasure and dehumanization, Indigenous youth will finally have something for themselves.”

 

Take Action: Download this toolkit to disrupt invisibility, smash stereotypes, and amplify Native voices.

New, More Inclusive Emojis To Be Released Later This Year

Okay, I have to admit: I totally forgot this past Wednesday was World Emoji Day. Luckily, the Unicode Consortium stepped up by celebrating harder than ever. The organization, which determines and approves all new emojis, recently unveiled their newest and most inclusive emojis ever. Many of the newest emojis are focused on disabilities, which includes various people in wheelchairs, a guide dog, a hearing aid, and leg and arm prostheses. Additionally, both Apple and Google have announced that there will also be 70+ skin tone and gender combinations to choose from for the hand holding emoji. This news is just the latest step taken by tech companies to make their platforms more inclusive, with Instagram starting to test hiding like counts and putting more resources toward anti-bullying tools.

 

(Oh, and one humble brag: did you know DoSomething members helped lead the movement a few years ago to demand that Apple diversifies its emojis?)

 

• Why aren’t more people talking about… how muscle dysmorphia -- the all-consuming need to become bigger and more muscular -- is on the rise among men?

 

• Meanwhile, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo… an Ebola outbreak has been declared a global health emergency. Since the first cases were confirmed last August, 1,676 people have died from the disease.

 

• My hero today is… Haley Taylor Schlitz, a 16-year-old law student(!!!) who’s also a passionate advocate for accessible education.

 

• Today in viral cuteness… even though I find animals walking on their hind legs very unsettling (thanks Animal Farm…), these bears having a blast on a swing set is still pretty cute.

 

• I'm obsessed with... The Rewatchables, a film podcast where folks from The Ringer break down (cough) the movies that they (let's face it: we) can't stop watching.

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