Update on Berkshire Mall Nurse-In
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Monday, February 26, 2007
Sorry not to get this update up sooner, but was out of town without the laptop over the weekend. (This is the third day out of the last 9 that I've actually been home.)Anyway, the nurse-in to support Leigh Bellini at the Berkshire Mall near Reading, PA went off without a hitch on Saturday afternoon. More than 150 moms, kids, dads and relatives showed up. (Proving why Saturdays are a GREAT day for nurse-ins...I love that so many dads went!) The mall owners have not made any comment on the nurse-in, but I have no doubt that the media coverage (it made the news as far away as Billings, Montana) will really help garner some support from PA legislators as Leigh and company look to push through legislation that would protect a mother's right to nurse in public.
One of the attendee's husband snapped more than 80 images of the nurse-in. They're absolutely fantastic. You can check out the full gallery of photos online.
There's quite a bit of coverage over on YouTube, though this was the only one I spotted that was news coverage.
There's also excellent media coverage (and video) over at the local CBS affiliate. Shows what a great cross-section of folks were there. I see strollers, I see slings, I see shirts and buttons and signs with some favorite Lactivist slogans (including the ever popular "I make milk, what's your superpower?"). Really looks like a great event!
If any Lactivist readers were there, I'd LOVE for you to leave your own thoughts in the comments section. It's about an eight hour drive for me, so a little too far to make it. ;) But my congrats go out to Leigh and to ALL the moms, dads, siblings and relatives that showed up. What a great Lactivist showing!
Labels: In the News, Lactivism, Nursing in Public
I was there (as a Dad... also present were Mom, toddler (still nursing @ 13 mo) and older sibling (4 yrs)). We arrived about a half-an-hour late (expected a 1 hr drive, but there was traffic).
The crowd was really quite large - it occupied a large area in the middle of the mall near the main entrance, and also adjacent to the mall's main desk and below the second floor food court. There seemed to be a fair amount of interest generated, including a couple of journalists including one reporter-and-TV-camera team. (A local Fox channel. I noticed they sent a female reporter to cover it.)
Lots of folks were wearing T-shirts with pro-nursing slogans and several others were carrying home-made signs. The message was quite clear.
One thing that I *liked* about this was that the people present were making a statement but not necessarily criticizing the mall. In fact, if I understand correctly, the mall management came out later and said that the security guard had acted inappropriately and that mall policy allows nursing. As a result, they got some publicity and probably a fair amount of business. I hope some stage legislators noticed... there were a lot of excited participants, and PA is ripe for a new law.
I am the husband who took all the pictures and uploaded them to my SmugMug Gallery. The video you are using is also mine ;-) I was glad to see the turnout there- not just moms but husbands and older children. It gave the event that "family" feel. I was dismayed to be standing near a lot of the elderly folks/gawkers in the crowd who were so close-minded and/or still living in the 1950's who had the same sentiment as mall security initially did.
There were at least three tv news crews there (WFMZ, Fox and CBS local Philly affiliates). I was there free-lancing for my local paper (The Express-Times), but they choose not to run the story.
As of this moment, 3429 people have visited my gallery from all over the country to see the nurse-in photos.
Kudos to BOTH of you dads for attending! There's nothing sexier than a man standing up with his wife and children. ;)
Anthony, thanks for taking such amazing photos. You did an excellent job (on the video as well) and I'm so thankful to be able to link to them and view them. I really do wish I could have been there...sounds like it was an awesome event.
You commented on how it looked like there were all kinds there - strollers, slings, the works. I was looking thru the photos and noticed something that touched me. On the 5th page of photos, there is a little boy, probably around 5 or 6 years old, in one of the shots holding a babydoll. It really looks to me like he has the babydoll in a sling or tied on in some fashion. How wonderful that a little boy is learning about parenting, especially non-mainstream type parenting such as baby wearing, at such a young age. I can only imagine what kind of dad he will grow up to be!
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