Mother's Day has long been celebrated as a day to honor one's mother. It is important for each of us to take the time to celebrate and thank our mothers for all that they do.
But did you know that originally, way back in 1870, Mother's Day was envisioned as a time for women to come together and unite for peace? When we discovered this, it became clear that the time was perfect to put together a piece highlighting Julia Ward Howe's original and inspirational Mother's Day proclamation, which declared, "We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."
Once we got started, the project came together quickly. We were extremely fortunate to have several mothers who agreed to donate their time to participate, even though their schedules were already packed with work and family functions.
For this video, it was important to us to provide a concrete action for our audience. Given the theme, we went in search of an organization that was doing work with victims of the Iraq War. With the help of our partner organization CodePink, we found No More Victims. Read more about this organization and the important work they are doing.
We are all grateful to our mothers for the long hours they have spent teaching, loving, laughing and crying with us. Although this proclamation was written over 130 years ago, the human emotions and concerns of mothers have not changed when it comes to protecting their children and not wanting to see them lost to war. Please join us in honoring your mother with a message of hope for peace by making a donation in her name to help another mother's child grow up healthy, happy and with the ability to make a difference in the world.
Sincerely,
The Brave New Foundation Team
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Felicity Huffman is the mother of two children. Felicity currently stars in the ABC show "Desperate Housewives" for which she has received an Emmy award for Outstanding Lead Actress. She was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for the film "Transamerica". Felicity is an active supporter of Planned Parenthood and several organizations that support breast cancer research.
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Christine Lahti is the mother of three children. She is an Emmy and Golden Globe winning actress for "Chicago Hope" and an Oscar winning director for the short film "Lieberman in Love". Christine has been an active champion for many social justice issues including women's rights and the fight against breast cancer. She has spoken at many rallies and is a contributor to The Huffington Post.
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Fatma Saleh is a mother of three children. She is the author of "A New Perspective - Women in Islam" and an active member in the Muslim community, serving as a board member for two Muslim organizations and involved in inter-faith dialogue. Fatma decided to participate in this project because it is "important for people around the world to recognize that mothers come in all ethnic, dialect, and religious origins but all share in the same principle -- the love and protection of our children."
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Ashraf Salimian is a mother of three. She is originally from Tehran, where she lived until age seventeen. At that time, she left Iran to attend college and was unable to return after earning her degrees, due to the outbreak of war. Ashraf now lives in Southern California and volunteers at her local mosque.
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Gloria Steinem is an American feminist icon, journalist and women's rights advocate. She is the founder and original publisher of Ms. magazine. Since writing her 1962 article in Esquire magazine about the way in which women are forced to choose between a career and marriage she became politically active in the feminist movement, and has worked tirelessly for several important causes.
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Vanessa Williams is the mother of four children. She is a multi-platinum recording star whose "Save The Best For Last" spent five weeks in the number 1 spot. Vanessa can be seen weekly on ABC's "Ugly Betty" for which she won an Image Award as Outstanding Supporting Actress. She is a Board Member for the Special Olympics and serves as Global Ambassador for the movement.
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Alfre Woodard is the mother of two children. Alfre is a four-time Emmy winner and an Oscar nominee. She has been involved in numerous organizations helping to raise money and consciousness. Alfre is a founder of Artists For A New South Africa, has been involved in efforts to raise AIDS awareness and fought against environmental racism.
| Director Robert Greenwald Brave New Foundation Executive Director Brave New Foundation Chairman Producer Director of Operations Story Producer Associate Producer Camera Sound |
Production Assistants Alexandra Kravetz Jewel Love Editor Assistant Editor Post-Production Apprentice Director of Media & Strategy Webmaster Communications Director Press Apprentice Music by Outreach Director |
No More Victims, Founding Director Cole Miller Moms Archival Photos Provided By Special Thanks |
