Clothesline Project

Taken from Rachel De Jesus's blog:

""The Clothesline is a visual display that bears witness to the violence against women. During the public display, a clothesline is hung with shirts. Each shirt is decorated to represent a particular woman's experience, by the survivor herself or by someone who cares about her.

The original project started in Hyannis, Massachusetts in the fall of 1990 with 31 shirts hung. Since that time, projects have begun in communities all across the country and in other countries as well. The purpose of the project is four-fold:


1) To bear witness to survivors and victims of domestic violence.
2) To help with the healing process for people who have lost a loved one or are survivors.
3) To educate, document, and raise society's awareness of the issue.
4) To provide a nationwide network of support, encouragement and information for other communities starting their own Clothesline Projects."
I'm super thankful for UCD Student Housing and all the various greek orgs who organized this event. Though I was too busy to check out the actual clothesline while the event was in progress, I was still able to submit a t-shirt of my own. On it, I wrote out a few lines of from Maya Angelou's "And Still I Rise".

Just like moons and like suns, with the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high, still I'll rise.
Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops. Weakened by my soulful cries.

This poem gets me every time. Maya Angelou explains it so effortlessly during a Youtube recital of her poem, saying how "amazing it is... where ever that abides in the human being, there is the nobleness of the human spirit despite it all. Black or white, Asian, Hispanic, Native American... pretty, plain, thin, fat, vowed or celibate -- we rise." On days like these, I wish I could do the impossible. Cure the abused of their every hurt. Tell the supposedly stronger sex that no means no, making damn sure that every wrong did not go unpunished. Until then... "

I don't think I've ever been so touched. Rachel DeJesus you are one of the most amazing people in the world for doing this and I don't think I could ever express how much your participation meant to me. I am so damn lucky to have such an understanding friend and I teared up as I was reading your blog entry.

I also submitted a shirt to this event. I put short phrases like "The truth will set you free" and "Let your voice be heard." I also put "Come What May" on the back of the shirt because it means a lot to me.

I would also like to give my thanks to all the organizations involved with this project and maybe, just maybe, we can open up the world's eyes and make a change.