In this week’s Wednesday 5: Real questions for real women on the Awards’ red carpet; children’s books that celebrate Black History; a photographer and mother uses her photography to find the funny in parenting; and celebrating Women of the Civil Rights Movement at the White House.

1.

Real Questions for Real Women in Hollywood

If you watched the Oscars this year, you might have come across Reese Witherspoon’s promotion of the #AskHerMore campaign—a group of organizations and publications that have started a rally against the simple and  sometimes only question to women on the red carpet: “What are you wearing?”  The folks at MAKERS have taken this seriously and penned a few questions they hoped to see on the red carpet. They are brilliant and are meant to showcase equally the brilliance and boldness of the women at the Oscars. Here are a few of our favorite questions:

Julianne Moore
Still Alice touches upon some primal fears that we all have, like the confusion of memory, the fear of death. What was the greatest challenge of getting inside your character’s head for this role?

Meryl Streep
How did you avoid playing an archetype of a witch in your role? And why was that so important to you?

Marion Cotillard
Vanity Fair called Two Days, One Night a landmark for working women. What about Sandra’s hardworking nature struck a chord with you?

See more of these brilliant questions at makers.com.

2.

Children’s Books That Celebrate Black History

In last week’s Wednesday 5, we shared a post about the legacy and contributions of Black women in celebration of Black History Month this February. This week, we’re sharing a lovely post from BuzzFeed on children’s books that celebrate African-Americans’ contributions to the history of the United States. This is such an incredible list that we’re ignoring the “children” part and getting some for ourselves. The post includes goodies that illustrate scientists and singers, activists and artists, and everything in between. Our favorite titles:

• Fly High!: The Story of Bessie Coleman, by Louise Borden and Mary Kay Kroeger, illustrated by Teresa Flavin.
• Wangari’s Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa, by Jeanette Winter.
• Sojourner Truth’s Step-Stomp Stride, by Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney.
• The Story of Ruby Bridges, by Robert Coles, illustrated by George Ford.
• She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story, by Audrey Vernick, illustrated by Don Tate.

3.

A Hilarious Take on Motherhoood

Image Source: boredpanda.com

Motherhood is stressful. Full of lots of joy, but still stressful. One photographer and mother, Anna Angenend, is using her photography to find the funny in parenting. Of her “Mom Life” series, she writes:

Welcome to my noisy, chaotic, fun, sleepless, love-filled life as a stay-at-home mom and photographer. All of these images were inspired (but exaggerated) from real adventures that I’ve had with my 2-year-old daughter. 

See the full hilarious ruckus here.

4.

Celebrating Women of the Civil Rights Movement at the White House

(Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon)

The  movie Selma has once again reminded us of men and women who forged a new era of civil rights in our country. This week, the White House paid tribute to five women who played critical roles in America’s progress on civil rights. Those women are:

• Carlotta Walls LaNier, youngest member of the Little Rock Nine
• Charlayne Hunter-Gault, activist and journalist
• Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
• Janaye Ingram, National Executive Director, National Action Network
• Chanelle Hardy, Senior Vice President for Policy, National Urban League

Of their heroism, First Lady Michelle Obama remarked:  “Education is the single-most important civil rights issue that we face today. Thanks to their sacrifice, there are no angry mobs gathering outside our schools. Nobody needs a military escort to get to class.” 

Read more about the event and the lives of these women at whitehouse.gov

5.

Video: First Lady Speaks at “Celebrating Women of the Movement” Event

In this week’s dose of inspiration we share with you the moving tribute by the First Lady at “Celebrating Women of the Movement” Event (see above).