Therese Patricia Okoumou, get to know her name and well. Okoumou, 44, was the woman who scaled the Statue of Liberty on the Fourth of July. The Staten Island resident, an immigrant from the Democratic Republic of the Congo stated that she climbed the statue to protest Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy on immigration and the separation of families at the border.
Okoumou had a three hour stand off with the police before she was finally taken into custody Wednesday night. She was held in a federal detention center and her case is currently being handled by Southern District of New York Prosecutors.
After her release,Okoumou spoke out the courthouse, wearing a black shirt with white letters saying “White Supremacy is Terrorism”, and citing a quote that inspired her to climb the Statue of Liberty, by Michelle Obama. “Michelle Obama, our beloved first lady that I care so much about said,’When they go low, we go high.’ I went as high as I could.”
Okoumou was charged with trespassing as well as two other misdemeanors. While in court, she pleaded not guilty during her short hearing in a Staten Island court room before being released by the magistrate judge.Okoumou is being called our modern day SHERO!.
Category: Activist
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Therese Patricia Okoumou Takes a Stand!
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Artists Stand With DACA
It’s has been an unbelievable turn of events that this country has faced in a matter of weeks. Starting with the riot in Charlottesville, then Hurricane Harvey displacing many residents in Houston, Texas and now the removal of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals also known as DACA.On Tuesday, September 5th, 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that DACA will be rescinded, which will have many children who came to this country under the age of 16 with their immigrant parents deported back to their countries. DACA was administered under former President Obama in 2012 to protect minors from deportation, and with it now being rescinded DACA recipients are in a panic. As protests started in the streets across the nation, Trump took to his Twitter account to threaten Congress that they have six months to make a decision before the issue is revisited.Many artists also went to their Twitter accounts to express how they felt about this harsh decision. See what they had to say below:
Other artists also voiced their opinion on this issue by partnering with Spotify to create a playlist to honor immigrants. These artists include Demi Lovato, Jared Leto, Daddy Yankee, Camilla Cabello and more. 
We stand with the Dreamers. -
Discovering Dopeness: Mercy
There’s a sense of joy of being able to discover new things when it comes to music and everything that falls under that umbrella. A few weeks ago, a new discovery came to me at an all women showcase and her name is Mercy. For many of you who don’t know who Mercy is, Mercy is a phenomenal dancer who uses different styles of dance to express herself and share her story with others.
Mercy has been dancing for years but after an unforseen incident that took place in her life, the dancer decided to channel that into her art. In 2015, Mercy fell victim to domestic violence where she suffered from a concussion given to her by her partner/dance instructor during a physical altercation. Although was she beaten, she was not broken. Mercy decided to turn her tradegy into triumph as she became a voice for other women who are victims of domestic violence. Mercy is now a woman’s advocate for domestic violence and she also created two very important parts of her company that other women can benefit from.The first part is a One Woman Show entitled The Rebirth of Mercy, where she displays her creativity as a freestyle dancer and transforms it into an art form. The second part The Rebirth of A Woman, is a monthly women empowerment circle that focuses on topics that will help women discover a better version of themselves as well as helping them stay true to themselves. Mercy has also launched a bi- weekly women empowerment summer intensive segment on WMVR Radio, also entitled The Rebirth of A Woman. The first segment took place on May 10th,2017. When Mercy isn’t performing, she is visiting different schools within the Bronx area, speaking to the kids about ways that they can overcome their obstacles within the arts. 
Mercy as a dancer, performer, and a woman is an inspiration to many girls and women. She is making her mark in a male-dominated world of dance and is using her trials and tribulations as way to rise above everything she has endured in her life. Check out Mercy and her artistry right here.
