Dear John,
August, to me, is summer fully realized.
It means fresh-picked blueberries and tomatoes practically falling off the vines. It means squeezing in every possible swimming hole trip and lazy picnic before the leaves start to turn and the water gets cold.
More recently for me, August also means Maine.
Right now I’m up in the mid-coast area of the state, where I’ve rented a cottage for my annual self-fashioned writer’s retreat (don’t worry, I wrote this last week—my colleagues are doing the incredible work of making sure this gets to your inboxes today).
Last year I rented the same house and found it to be one of the most serene, creatively fulfilling periods of my life. I started writing a short story that is now (slowly) turning into a novel. I took up embroidery and journaled. The time away from the routine of my everyday life was refreshing, rejuvenating, and, frankly, really needed.
And so, for this newsletter, I wanted to offer up something slightly different than our usual newsletter, to give our community the same chance to take a step back from the everyday.
With that in mind, I set up a conversation with the National Women’s Law Center’s president and CEO, Fatima Goss Graves, to see where her head’s at right now. She’s someone who always leaves me – and so many others – feeling inspired and re-energized to continue fighting for what’s right, and I hope this conversation leaves you feeling the same way.
Enjoy, and see you next month!
***
First question: It’s 100 degrees outside. So it’s only right that I ask: what’s your song of the summer?
Fatima Goss Graves (FGG): Right now, I think it’s “The Cure” by Olivia Rodrigo. I have been trying to listen to a lot of the Daisy Chain Fields music festival singers and musicians, there’s a lot of good stuff.
*Editor’s note— we’ll be at Olivia Rodrigo’s Daisy Chain Fields music festival [[link removed]] later this month, come see us if you’re there! All net proceeds are going to organizations supporting gender justice.
Onto my next question: I’ve never been a fan of the term “guilty pleasure” media, since no one can make me feel guilty about the number of hours I’ve spent watching Love Island USA this summer. But I do recognize the need for escapist media that lets us leave our daily thoughts and worries behind, especially in the current moment. So: what’s your favorite escape show or read right now?
FGG: I’ve been doing a lot of reading and watching that is not escapist, so I will start there and say that’s maybe a problem. But with my children, I have been going deep into the DC Universe television shows. We are in the “Luke Cage” era, and I had no idea that this came out a few years ago. It’s so very good. The “Dare Devil,” “Luke Cage,” “Punisher”—we are going deep and it’s definitely escapist, it’s a different universe!
Literally! I love that. Speaking of universes, I’ve heard through the grapevine that you dabble in the Real Housewives universe. If you could star on any reality television show, what show would it be and what role in the cast do you think you’d play?
FGG: It’d definitely have to be “Real Housewives of Potomac,” since I’m obsessed and I admit it. I’m actually sort of proud of it, I’m like: “of course [I watch it], you don’t watch ‘Real Housewives’?” I mean maybe you can’t get to every franchise, I understand that because there’s so many.
I love “Real Housewives of Potomac” because it’s near home and because it’s just so entertaining. I can’t imagine actually doing this in my life, but if I was there, I think I would be the one who planned the fun activities. I would be like where are we going, what are we doing?
I would not be high drama. I’d be low drama, but high impact. That’s kind of my motto.
We're going to paint a scene right now of something that probably very rarely happens for you, but let’s say you have a completely free day in DC, no responsibilities on your plate. What are you doing?
FGG: Real talk, that is rare between work and work crises and life and life crises. But I love working out and I love running on the mall. And a free day running not at a busy time is amazing. I also love the various museums that you can go to in D.C., but I often go to smaller ones. My friend Imar Hutchins just closed a show at the Kreeger Museum. He’s a fantastic artist who I was in law school with. You can often find things like that to do.
And then I think I’d have lunch on the water. Our waterfront is so beautiful and I think it’s easy to forget about all the beauty that we casually have here.
I think a lot of people who care about the rights of women and girls are frightened by the rising tide of voices—including from the halls of Congress and statehouses—seeking to limit women’s choices and opportunities. What advice and wisdom do you have for our community to navigate this time? And how can folks who aren’t working in this field get involved?
FGG: Well the first thing I should say is that fear is totally normal. If you aren’t a little afraid and worried that all of a sudden we’re having the conversation on whether women should still vote or whether women ruin work, you should be. I think that’s normal.
But then the question is what do you do with [that fear]?
And my hope is that if people feel nervous, worried, or afraid, they’ll dive in and get involved. I actually think that the folks who have managed to find at least one thing to do [to fight back] are the most calm about this time because they know they are doing what they can and it feels not academic or hypothetical, it feels concrete. They’re like: I just took action on that.
You don’t have to do this all day, every day. Although, if that is your passion, I hope you do. But there are so many ways to get involved. One way is you should sign up and take action alongside us—that is a very concrete way to get involved.
Sometimes that means calling Congress, signing a petition, or sharing information.
Another thing you can do is decide where and how to show up in your community. People are participating in mutual aid, supporting abortion funds, and showing up for their neighbors and friends.
...And you can show up with your resources. You can give money and time. In this time, we’re all doing more with a lot less. And so if you ever wonder: “does my time matter or do my dollars matter?”—I can tell you it definitely, definitely does.
If you do all that—if you show up in real life, if you show up with your dollars, if you show up online—I always say: don’t keep that a secret deep in your heart.
Take some people with you. Take your sisters. Bring them with you, and then your impact is magnified even further.
***
Solidarity forever,
Hannah Finnie
She/Her/Hers
Writer/Copyeditor
National Women’s Law Center
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