Last March, I was invited by Christine Pearl ’11 to facilitate a book club session on my second favorite Toni Morrison novel, “Beloved.” The session was an extension of the efforts of the nonprofit organization Red Wine & Blue, whose mission is to empower and...
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It’s Black History Month and NC Republicans Introduced a Bill to Limit Teaching of Black History
Renee Sekel, a Cary mom who works for the NC chapter of Red Wine & Blue, a group that seeks to mobilize suburban moms to get involved in politics, also opposes the bill. “I think most parents—and most kids—want our schools to teach accurate and complete history. ...
Stateside Podcast: The parents on the other side of the phone
On the night of the shooting at Michigan State University, students faced four hours of a shelter-in-place order. During that time many students were in communication with their parents; texting and calling them. On the other end of the phone, parents had to manage...
Reproductive rights advocates tell legislators to reject more abortion restrictions
Janice Robinson recalled a scary time when she was a pregnant 15-year-old in South Carolina, almost 50 years ago. Her mother took her to have an abortion. Her mother took her not to a medical doctor, but someone unlicensed and working in secret. Robinson said she...
After Oxford, gun violence advocates felt helpless. But there’s hope for change in Michigan now.
Kelly Dillaha, the mother of twins who attend MSU and were barricaded in their room just off campus during the mass shooting, said the school could not have done anything differently to prevent Monday’s violence. What would make a difference, she said, is gun reform....
‘We all ran for our lives’: MSU students describe mass shooting as a never-ending nightmare
Michigan State University students are angry. Yes, they are traumatized; yes, they are overwhelmed with grief and sadness. They know they will need mental health support in the coming days, weeks, months, and years. But, right now, in the wake of three students being...
MSU mom, anti-gun violence advocate calls for solutions after campus shooting
A Michigan State University mother and anti-gun violence advocate says Monday’s deadly shooting on campus reinforces her efforts to achieve sensible gun control. Kelly Dillaha’s phone was flooded Monday night with messages from concerned friends asking about her twin...
Michigan State Mom, Activist Hopes Shooting Will Lead To Gun Reform
Kelly Dillaha and her husband, Scott, were watching television in their Birmingham home Monday evening when their phones started blowing up with texts asking if their twin sons, Aidan and Brandon Johnson-Hill, students at Michigan State University, were OK. They...
Interview: ‘We Were Having None of It’
Katie Paris founded Red Wine & Blue in 2019 to help suburban women engage in politics. By the end of the 2020 election, it had grown into ‘a pretty passionate fight against rightwing extremism.’
White women have long been unreliable voters for Democrats. Could that change in 2024?
Jennifer Pippin had been a registered Democrat since she was 18-years-old. But a decade later, in 2014, she switched to the Republican Party. "I felt like more of the Republican values were my values," said Pippin, a 37-year-old surgical and operating room nurse from...
Recent Posts
Watch This: How the Supreme Court Could Roll Back Voting Rights
Last week’s Easy A provided an easy explainer on gerrymandering, which is the purposeful drawing of voting districts to unfairly favor a certain group or political party. We learned that while gerrymandering is not necessarily illegal, Section 2 of the Voting Rights...
Read This: An easy explainer on gerrymandering
If you’ve been following politics lately, you’ve probably heard the term “gerrymandering” and like most people, you may have wondered, what the heck is that? What is gerrymandering? Gerrymandering is when the maps for voting districts are purposefully drawn unfairly...
Do This: Tell us, how easy is this for you?
We’re taking a break from our usual Easy A routine this week just to check in with you. Our weekly Easy A blog is written with our busiest members in mind – those of you who are fired up and want to do something but don’t have a lot of free time. We provide meaningful...
Do This: Find the Women Making History Near You
Red Wine & Blue’s theme song is “We Came To Make A Change” and we aren’t kidding! Our members are making history every day in their communities through changemaking actions, big and small. From holding a “Save Sesame Street” bake sale supporting a North Carolina...
Watch This: Celebrating Women’s History Month
America has been celebrating March as Women’s History Month since 1987, but we know that women have been making history since the very beginning. Take a few minutes this week to watch our recap of notable moments in the history of women’s rights: As we celebrate this...