Revisiting the Johanna Ortiz X H&M Spring 2020 Collab In A Flower Power World

Revisiting the Johanna Ortiz X H&M Spring 2020 Collab In A Flower Power World

The Johanna Ortiz X H&M Spring 2020 collab is one of the Spring 2020 beauties lost in the COVID-19 pandemic. Following on the success of her Fall 2019 collection for H&M, Ortiz returned for spring. Describing the designer, H&M wrote:

If you don’t know that Johanna Ortiz hails from the birthplace of salsa, her energetic designs will give you some immediate pointers. Dramatic, luscious, extravagant — Johanna Ortiz’s dresses are the kind of pieces you’ll want to throw on and start dancing in. They tap their own beat, and demand the wearer does the same.

It’s not only fashion lovers who feel the rhythm of Ortiz’s collections. There’s an irresistible sense of joy and power at the heart of the Colombian designer’s work that has the world’s most powerful women smitten. Michelle Obama opted for Johanna Ortiz during her book tour, at parties, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Alexa Chung and Jessica Biel count Ortiz’s designs as must-haves. Olivia Palermo wears Ortiz to set her style agenda, and when it came to serving a major look at Jennifer Lawrence’s wedding, it was Johanna Ortiz that Sienna Miller favored. 

H&M Magazine then interviewed Ortiz about her frankly-feminine, design vision that resonates deeply with so many women leaders.

Banksy Says A White System Has Ruined Black Lives, As American Flag Does Slow Burn

Banksy has left his personal testimony against racial discrimination, in response to the death of George Floyd and protests that have spread all over the world. Publishing the new work for his 9.3 million Instagram followers, Banksy’s American flag is about to catch fire, lit by a candle placed next to a photo with a black silhouette.

In Banksy’s own words:

“At the beginning I thought of keeping silent and listening to black people on this problem. But why? The problem is mine, not them ". 

“The white system has ruined the lives of black people. It is like a broken pipe that floods the downstairs apartment. It's up to the whites to fix it. "

Fear, More Than Hate, Feeds Online Bigotry and Real-World Violence

Fear, More Than Hate, Feeds Online Bigotry and Real-World Violence

By Adam G. Klein, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, Pace University. First published on The Conversation.

When a U.S. senator asked Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, “Can you define hate speech?” it was arguably the most important question that social networks face: how to identify extremism inside their communities.

Hate crimes in the 21st century follow a familiar pattern in which an online tirade escalates into violent actions. Before opening fire in the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, the accused gunman had vented over far-right social network Gab about Honduran migrants traveling toward the U.S. border, and the alleged Jewish conspiracy behind it all. Then he declared, “I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I’m going in.” The pattern of extremists unloading their intolerance online has been a disturbing feature of some recent hate crimes. But most online hate isn’t that flagrant, or as easy to spot.

As I found in my 2017 study on extremism in social networks and political blogs, rather than overt bigotry, most online hate looks a lot like fear. It’s not expressed in racial slurs or calls for confrontation, but rather in unfounded allegations of Hispanic invaders pouring into the country, black-on-white crime or Sharia law infiltrating American cities. Hysterical narratives such as these have become the preferred vehicle for today’s extremists – and may be more effective at provoking real-world violence than stereotypical hate speech.

Angelina Jolie Celebrates 45th B-Day Giving $200,000 to NAACP Legal Defense Fund

Above: Angelina Jolie at 2019 San Diego Comic Con International, for "The Eternals", at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California.via Gage Skidmore. Bottom: Newly-released NAACP #WeAreDoneDying campaign.

Activist, Oscar winner, supermom Angelina Jolie celebrated her 45th birthday on June 4, the day after donating $200,000 to the NAACP Legal Defense fund. Jolie was joined by her six kids: Maddox, 18, Pax, 16, Zahara, 15, Shiloh, 14, and 11-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne.

“Rights don’t belong to any one group to give to another. Discrimination and impunity cannot be tolerated, explained or justified. I hope we can come together as Americans to address the deep structural wrongs in our society,“ Jolie said in a press statement about her contribution. “I stand with the NAACP Fund in their fight for racial equality, social justice and their call for urgent legislative reform.”

Angelina Jolie Also Taking On Food Security for Kids in America

The activist and philanthropist is increasingly concerned about the lack of food security in America. She recently joined a Zoom call led by No Kid Hungry, devoted to feeding kids in America impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, writes People magazine.

Long known for her work as a UNHCR special envoy, Angelina Jolie now understands the scope of hunger in America.

“I knew that there were problems in America, that there was poverty, but I could not believe when I realized how many school children in America were dependent on a meal to not go hungry," she said on the call. "I was so disgusted that we have gotten to this point as a country and that we would let the most vulnerable be in such a state. I can’t imagine what it feels like for those parents.”

Appalled over cuts to America’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Jolie donated $1 million to No Kid Hungry, and wrote a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer about cutbacks on food subsidies.

"While strengthening SNAP will not alleviate all of the challenges low-income families are facing during the public health emergency, it will help ensure that fewer children go to bed hungry in our country," she said

USA Today reported the letter, in which Jolie reminded America’s political leaders that vulnerable children in America have missed nearly 740 million meals at school, due to coronavirus closings. Jolie also gave specific examples of how food assistance policy used to work in America, prior to the Trump Administration. Republicans have sought to cut aid to hungry families for years, but the Trump Administration has been uniquely aggressive in the cuts — with a special focus on “able-bodied adults ages 18 to 49 — without dependents”. The administration insists that children’s needs have suffered with SNAP cuts.

Paper Magazine Creates Master Links to Bail Funds, BLM Groups Across the US

Paper Magazine Creates Master Links to Bail Funds, BLM Groups Across the US

Paper Magazine is doing an outstanding job of tracking the waves of social unrest across America. They are not alone. Even IMG Models has a Black Lives Matter message on the front page. Alas, their link to the Change.org petition that I signed on Saturday is broken (does anybody check these things!!!).

It is hands down the biggest petition of 2020 and could become an all-time champion. On Tuesday 12:36 PM, 11,536,224 people have signed the petition: Justice for George Floyd. The point of the petition is to have the other three former officers involved in the homicide charged and hopefully, the current charges against fired officer Derek Chauvin increased from third-degree murder and manslaughter..

Two Different Autopsies

Dr. Allecia Wilson, one of the pathologists who conducted the independent autopsy, said Monday afternoon that Floyd died as a result of mechanical asphyxiation.  CBS News writes: