Protesters took to the streets this weekend throughout the Golden State, the history of LAPD's first female officer, military veterans battle blazes.
From the protest to the polls: How to get friends to be politically active
Tens of thousands of protesters attended the March For Our Lives rally in downtown L.A. over the weekend. It was just one of several protests across the country and around the globe in support of gun control.
With so much talk of youth voter engagement, Take Two wanted to know whether these street protests will turn into voter action. Mindy Romero is the founder and director of the California Civic Engagement Project at the Unviersity of California-Davis. She spoke to A Martínez about four ways to make people more politically active.
1. Find an emotional connection to your issue, then talk about it
What we saw over the weekend was a tangible, emotional issue [of gun control]. Young people were connecting with the political process...wanting to [literally] defend their lives. It gives us hope that they will turn out to vote.
2. Get specific about action
Young people typically have a lack of familiarity with the electoral process and aren't used to hearing from candidates...so they can feel disconnected from the political process. The way to get them connected is to talk about issues that are in their communities, things that they are already taking action on in other ways, and help them to see how voting is an actionable step on these issues. [At March For Our Lives] we actually heard people talking about voting and registration. They said they're going to express their voice at the ballot box.
3. Work together with people who can tackle the issues
Look for allies. If you can't vote, talk to older people who can. Look at politicians and candidates who support you. This weekend, [protesters] made allies with high profile people and elected officials who already feel the same way. And [protesters] are talking about using their vote to influence others, actually getting [activists] into positions of power.
4. Don't be disillusioned by the voting process
We are a low-voting society overall, so I think many of the things that work for younger people also work for older people. How does voting matter? Specifically, what candidates, positions or local and statewide measures actually connect to the issues I care about. How can I think strategically about my vote to make sure it matters.
*This interview has been edited for clarity
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How Alice Stebbins Wells blazed a trail for policewomen in the LAPD
March is Women's History Month, and as the month comes to a close this week, Take Two is looking into the stories of a few significant women in L.A. history, including Alice Stebbins Wells.
Wells was the first woman police officer with the Los Angeles Police Department, and one of the first woman officers in the country. Bob Taylor is with the Los Angeles Police Museum.
Wells came to L.A. from the Midwest, according to Bob Taylor, with the Los Angeles Police Museum. She was trained as a minister so she was well-educated and developed a following with her religious work in Los Angeles.
In 1909, Wells presented a petition to the Police Commission and the City Council explaining why L.A. needed women in the police department to work with women and children in the community. Her argument was strong and after some debate among the officials, Wells became the first woman police officer.
Being the first policewoman in the LAPD wasn't easy, Taylor said. As the only woman on the force, she couldn't get her uniform from the store where the rest of the officers, so she made her own uniform, Taylor said. It was a long olive skirt and a coat, to which she added some embroidered detail, but the uniform wasn't the only problem for Wells, Taylor said.
They gave her a badge, and the badge said 'policeman' because there were no policewomen. So frequently in the 1900s, 1910s, 1920s, police officers used to ride the streetcar. They didn't have to pay a fee. They just showed the conductor their badge. And so when Alice showed the conductor her badge, he said, 'Nice try, lady. You're using your husband's badge to try and get on?' She said, 'No, its my badge, I'm a policewoman.' She went back and reported that to the chief and then they made a badge for her that specifically said policewoman, and it said policewoman number one.
Despite the difficulties of being a trailblazer, Wells was dedicated to her job. When the department leadership and the public saw that they were willing to accept the idea of women on the police force, other women joined the department, Taylor said.
Wells traveled the country speaking about both her experiences as an officer working with minors and children and as a policewoman. In 1925 she was one of two officers who started the Los Angeles Women Police Officers and Associates (LAWPOA).
Sargent Susan Padilla of the LAPD is now the First Vice President of LAWPOA. She said currently just under 19% of the LAPD's officers are female. The department has made an effort to promote and support women officers over the years, Padilla said, and that work is ongoing.
In 2008, we actually had our first female in our SWAT, which is our Special Weapons and Tactics unit. 1967 was when the SWAT team was formed with the department, so from 1967 to 2008, it was all men. Air Support we have quite a few women working there now, and we have quite a few women working in our Bomb Squad, but I think we would like to see more female officers come on the job.
Wells served the LAPD for 30 years before retiring. She passed away in 1957, and at her funeral there was an honor guard of ten policewomen.
The Academy is facing a leadership crisis
The Academy is being plunged into its own "Game of Thrones"-type leadership crisis, forcing the organization to handle its first test case against the procedures it created to handle misconduct.
Vanity Fair's Rebecca Keegan has been writing about the saga:
The Academy in January passed a new process for addressing allegations of member misconduct. In this case, the allegations came to light just ten days after the Oscars, which is significant because it suggests that possibly the person or the people bringing the allegations wanted to impact John Bailey but not affect the Academy itself.
Meanwhile, the process through which these allegations are handled is convoluted. "Though the Academy has more than 7,000 members," Keegan wrote, "it is actually run by a few dozen very involved people—like a P.T.A. where the same six parents plan every bake sale." The procedures themselves are handled by a very tight-knit group, making the issue of fairness that much more difficult.
Plus:
- The Wes Anderson stop-motion movie "Isle of Dogs" did pretty well in limited release, despite being hounded by a controversy about cultural appropriation.
- Steven Spielberg, whose movie "Ready Player One" opens next weekend, doesn't think Netflix movies should be eligible for Oscars.
On The Lot, Take Two's weekly segment about the business of entertainment and Hollywood, airs every Monday.