Black Lives Matter was founded in 2013 after the 2012 killing of black teenager Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch captain who thought he looked suspicious. Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi began using the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter on social media. The goal of the Black Lives Matter movement is to speak out against racism and violence against black people. Since the beginning of the movement, Black Lives Matter has organized protests and called attention to racial inequality and police brutality against black people.

There has been some controversy about Black Lives Matter, with some people believing it is anti-police, or that it denies that other peoples' live matter. The founders of Black Lives Matter have responded that #BlackLivesMatter doesn't mean other lives are not important, but that black lives are often treated as if they don't matter at all.

I chose Black Lives Matter for this week's PYSKA because of the recent killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, and the protests that have been happening all over the country. Our country has come a long way since the days of slavery and segregation, but racism still exists, and violence is still happening. Racism seems to show up the most at times when people are stressed or afraid, but it is always with us. By bringing it to light, we can work to change it.

Here is a link with information about a peaceful protest that is being organized in Albany tomorrow:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/11Lsj_FyS3U339dAuAX9xD2bjcWzOky_U-SKSxy1j5FE/edit?usp=sharing

Rachel Carson was born in 1907 in Pennsylvania. As a child, she enjoyed writing stories about animals. She studied English and Biology in college, and earned a Master's degree in Zoology in 1932. After earning her Master's degree, she needed to find work to support her family during the Great Depression. She got a job writing radio copy for a program about aquatic life for the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries. This led to a job as a junior aquatic biologist.

Rachel Carson continued working as a biologist, and published articles and books about sea life. She gradually became a full-time writer after publishing a best-seller titled The Sea Around Us. She continued writing books and became interested in conservation. She was especially worried about the use of pesticides to control insect populations. In 1962, she published the book Silent Spring about the dangers of using pesticides such as DDT. Her scientific background and her experience as a writer helped bring public attention to the environmental damage that DDT was causing.

Carson died in 1964 of a heart attack after suffering from cancer. As a result of her writing and the increasing public scrutiny of pesticide use, the U.S. government gradually agreed to phase out the use of DDT. Her work helped launch the environmental movement in the United States, as well as the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970.

Article from World of Children 2014 Youth Awards

Bullies don’t like different. Jaylen Arnold found this out at a very early age. Jaylen Arnold is different. In his own words, “I am differently abled.” He also calls himself an alphabet kid. “See look, here are all the letters behind my name: Jaylen Arnold, TS, OCD, ASP.”

Those initials standing for Tourette Syndrome, severe Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Aspergers Syndrome (ASP – a broad spectrum Autism Disorder)—all challenges Jaylen has faced courageously from the age of two.

So, when kids at school chose to bully Jaylen because of his perceived differences, Jaylen took the higher road. Rather than fighting back physically, he decided to become the voice for millions of other children who have been bullied for being different. With the mantra “Bullying No Way!” anchoring his movement, Jaylen founded Jaylens Challenge Foundation, a program that has taught over 100,000 children how to recognize bullying and how to appreciate the differences in children.

Using personal presentations and workshops, Jaylen and his supporters carry the “Bullying No Way!” message around the country. His work keeps him busy! He travels the country speaking at schools, delivering his anti-bullying message. His presentations are designed to inform, educate and inspire.

Each student who participates in a presentation receives several items to empower them to be the agents of change to stop bullying in its tracks. Students receive the Jaylens Challenge Foundation Anti-Bullying Handbook, meant to instruct and spark conversation about bullying; the Jaylens Challenge wristbands; an exclusive Jaylens Challenge Foundation, Inc. poster; and a certificate of achievement.

Most importantly, youth get to see how one young boy, despite his many challenges, has overcome the harmful effects of bullying. They learn how to get help, how to help others, and how to end bullying for good in their peer circles and schools.

Bridget (Biddy) Mason was born into slavery in 1818. She had multiple different masters in South Carolina, Georgia, and Mississippi, before being sold to Robert Smith in Mississippi. In the 1840s, Smith decided to move his family to Utah territory as converts to the Mormon religion. They brought their slaves with them, with Biddy Mason walking the 1,700 miles with her three young children.

In 1851 Smith and his family moved again, to San Bernardino, California. In California, slavery was illegal. However, Smith hoped that he could hide the truth from his slaves to keep them in his possession. His plan didn't work; some of the free blacks in the area befriended Biddy Mason and her children, and advised her to take Smith to court for her freedom. Smith made plans to leave California for Texas, taking his slaves with him, but Mason's friends sent word to the Los Angeles County sheriff that the slaves were being held captive. Smith was ordered to appear in court, and the judge in the trial freed Biddy Mason and her children.

After gaining her freedom, Biddy Mason worked as a midwife and nurse in Los Angeles. She saved enough money to buy pieces of land. Through her work as a midwife and her real estate investments, Biddy Mason became wealthy. She used her wealth to help other people in her community by starting a daycare for children of working women and buying groceries for families after a flood. She supported her church by paying the taxes and expenses for church property.

Biddy Mason is still remembered in Los Angeles for her hard work, perseverance, and generosity. You can watch this video to learn more about her life.

This PYSKA was suggested by Olivia B.

Tasha Wahl is an artist who inspires people to give to charity with public art.

She founded The Butterfly Effect in 2013 with the mission "to promote contagious generosity through interactive art in communities all over the world." (from the Butterfly Effect website)

The idea started with Butterfly Drops, where Tasha would hide wooden butterflies in public places. Whoever found the butterfly would post a picture on social media, and a donation would be made to charity.

Later, Tasha started creating Social Butterflies by painting huge butterfly wing wall murals. People stand between the wings and take pictures to post on social media with the hashtags #SocialButterfly and #ButterflyEffect and text the picture with the name of their favorite charity to the Butterfly Effect organization. The Butterfly effect makes a small donation to charity for each picture posted, and asks the person who posted the picture to pay forward the giving in any way they can.

The Butterfly Effect will send stencils and offer support to people who want to add a Social Butterfly mural to their community. The Butterfly Effect has raised over $120,000 for charities around the world.

Melati and Isabel Wijsen are sisters who grew up on the island of Bali. They saw plastic trash pile up on beaches and decided to take action. Inspired by activists like Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela, they founded an organization called Bye Bye Plastic Bags in 2013. They started a petition and gathered 100,000 signatures to ban plastic bags on Bali. When Bali's governor still refused to have a hearing, the 10 and 12 year old sisters went on a hunger strike, refusing to eat between sunrise and sunset. Within a day, the governor agreed to meet with them, and signed a document promising to work towards banning plastic bags. At the end of 2018, a ban on single-use plastics like straws and shopping bags went into effect in Bali. Now, their organization Bye Bye Plastic Bags has branches worldwide run by other young people who want to make a difference.

Ibn Al-Haytham was born in the year 965 in the city of Basra in southern Iraq. He was educated in Basra and Baghdad, and trained for a position in the government. He was appointed as a judge in Basra, but decided that he wanted to devote himself to the study of science. He became well known in Iraq, Syria, and Egypt for his mathematical and scientific knowledge. Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, the Fatimid Caliph of Egypt, asked him to help build a dam on the Nile river to regulate the flow of water. Ibn Al-Haytham realized that this was going to be incredibly difficult if not impossible, and became afraid that the unstable Al-Hakim would have him killed. To avoid brutal punishment from Al-Hakim, Al-Haytham pretended to be insane. He was placed under house arrest for 10 years, until Al-Hakim's death in the year 1021.

While he was under house arrest, he wrote several important books, including the Book of Optics and an introduction of scientific methods. Previously, scholars had thought that our eyes shot beams of light that allowed us to see things. Al-Haytham contradicted this idea with his research. He put forth the theory that the light came from the objects we see. He made important advances in describing how vision works and described in detail the parts of the human eye.

Al-Haytham also contributed to mathematics by linking the studies of geometry and algebra. His mathematical formulas were used hundreds of years later in the development of calculus.

Article from Palo Alto Online, Feb.14, 2001:

Juana Briones, who has been described as "one of early California's most successful women," was born in California in 1802 when the land was still owned by Spain. Her father, Marcos Briones, was a soldier in Monterey and was with de Anza when the famed explorer designated the site of the Presidio in Yerba Buena, now San Francisco.

In 1820, she married Apolinario Miranda, a calvaryman at the Presidio. During the course of their marriage, Briones complained to military authorities five times about her husband's abusiveness. In 1836, after years of abuse, she took her eight children and moved out of their home to Yerba Buena, to live in a small adobe house at Powell and Filbert streets.

Providing for herself and her children, Briones developed a reputation in San Francisco as a humanitarian and healer. From her contacts with Native Americans, she learned about herbs, which she successfully used to heal those around her. She also sold goods and produce to the crews of ships at a beach that later became known as La Playa de Juana Briones.

In 1844, she wrote a letter to the bishop in Santa Barbara requesting an official separation from her husband. She wrote she was "tired of her husband's abusive behavior and failure to provide for their family." The separation was granted.

That same year, Briones sent a letter to Gov. Micheltorena asking permission to purchase the Rancho la Purisima Concepcion in what is now Palo Alto and Los Altos Hills from Jose Gorgonio, a neophyte of the Mission of Santa Clara.

Briones purchased the land for $300 on Nov. 7, 1844 and immediately began constructing her house with the help of two Mission Indians. Her husband died in 1848.

When California became part of the United States in 1850, the property owners who held their land under the Mexican government had to provide proof of their ownership to the federal Land Commission. So in 1852, Briones began a long series of legal battles to retain her house. During a time when most Hispanic landowners lost all or a large part of their property, Briones managed to save her house and her land. It is said that "the persistence and skill that Juana displayed...are another testimony to her extraordinary character."