On the Intersections of Black History Month and Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month..

*In February 2021, Break the Cycle joined NVRDC to bolster our Youth Services program.

As both Black History Month and Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month come to a close, we want to pause at two intersections that shape both the Gender-Based Violence and Crime Victims' Rights Movements.

There are many inspiring people in the movements we support. One is Ron LeGrand, an activist engaging men in conversations about healthy relationships and masculinity. We won't reinvent the wheel when our partners over at Break the Cycle put together a great write-up featuring some pertinent interview questions for LeGrand as part of their Trailblazer series.

Our favorite from the Q&A?

BTC: "What specific message do you want to send to young people about what you hope they will accomplish in the next phase of the movement?"

RL: "More than anything, I want young people to have a clearer understanding of what a healthy relationship looks like and that love should never hurt." 

Click on the photo below to read the full article and interview on Break the Cycle's website.

Click the picture above to read Break the Cycle's spotlight on Ron LeGrand as part of their Trailblazers series.

Next up: most have heard that the teen publication Teen Vogue has been showing the world their "A game" with their powerful pieces of late. An article published this week, titled "Why You Can't Ever Call an Enslaved Woman a Mistress", is no exception.

Responding to a recent Washington Post article and subsequent tweet calling Sally Hemings—a young woman enslaved by Thomas Jefferson—the third president's "mistress", the Teen Vogue article makes some poignant and important points. Here's an excerpt:

"Using the term "mistress"...denotes a relationship predicated on mutual choice, autonomy, and affirmative consent—things slaves do not have. As a slave, Hemings was not afforded the privilege of self-determination, meaning she didn't do what she wanted; she did what she was told. The word to describe that type of interaction is not 'affair'; it's rape."

We don't know if teens are reading TeenVogue these days, but we hope so. We hope, too, that the lessons learned—in its pages or on phone, tablet, and computer screens around the world—are starting conversations and shaping relationships of all kinds.

To read the full article from TeenVogue, click on the cover of their latest issue, pictured below.