“When feminism does not explicitly oppose racism, and when anti-racism does not incorporate opposition to patriarchy, race and gender politics often end up being antagonistic to each other, and both interests lose.” -Kimberlé Crenshaw
Still I Rise
How is Still I Rise different from other films about sex trafficking?
Still I Rise explores the relationship between racism and sex trafficking with dynamic womxn closest to the problem and the solutions. Shot over the course of five years from Oakland to Sacramento, we follow the lives of two pioneers in the anti-trafficking movement, former OPD Chief of Staff Holly Joshi and survivor-advocate Leah Albright-Byrd. Both women witnessed firsthand the disproportionate impacts of commercial sexual exploitation on black girls and womxn in the Bay Area and communities throughout the United States.
Holly and Leah highlight the interdependence of the anti-trafficking movement and other movements for social equity, such as the Movement For Black Lives, Me Too, #SayHerName and Times Up. Pushing against the tide of colorblind perspectives within the anti-trafficking movement, mainstream media, and public narratives Still I Rise upholds that ignoring the relationship between racism and sex trafficking perpetuates the crime.
Still I Rise features powerhouse vignettes with Professor Kimberle Crenshaw, Alicia Keys, Janet Mock, Viola Davis, Gabrielle Union, Tarana Burke, Jada Pinkett Smith, Patrisse Cullors, Tamika Mallory, Angela Davis and Janelle Monae.
Film Screening Interviews
#HerDreamDeferred - Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw in conversation with filmmaker Sheri Shuster and documentary film leads Holly Joshi and Leah Albright-Byrd.
Press
In “Still I Rise,” three women take a deep look at the root causes of child exploitation.
How current Saint Mary’s student and alumna Holly Joshi went from an undercover cop in the Oakland Police Department to an anti-trafficking advocate and educator.
by Shanthi Guruswamy
Film Partners
The Still I Rise Team is proud to be have partnered with and been supported by: The African American Policy Forum / Re-Present Media/ Berkeley Film Foundation/ National Underground Railroad Freedom Center/ UpFront KPFA Radio / UC Berkeley Department of African American Studies / Crosscurrents KALW San Francisco Public Radio / KTVU News / Freedom FWD/ San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women / Parlay House / #HerDreamDeferred/ Congresswoman Barbara Lee / Palo Alto VC Roundtable / Awesome Without Borders / Nexus Global Youth / San Francisco Collaborative Against Human Trafficking / National Council of Jewish Women / M.I.S.S.S.E.Y. / How Women Lead / East Bay Women’s Network / Saul Zaentz Award / GLIDE
Leah is a national anti-trafficking leader informed by her experience of being trafficked on the internet and the streets as a teenager. Her resilience and compassion energize her to launch Bridget’s Dream, a survivor-led Christian organization that serves commercially sexually exploited girls, womxn and gender-expansive folks. Her powerful story is featured on the Oprah Winfrey show, BET, Gabrielle Union’s Being Mary Jane, and Katie Couric.
Holly, an Oakland native, becomes the first woman Chief of Staff at the Oakland Police Department. Her advocacy and scholarship is informed by her career as an undercover cop and supervisor in the Child Exploitation Unit. A nationally recognized anti-trafficking advocate and trainer, Vice President Kamala Harris recruits Holly to be on on her Anti-Human Trafficking Working Group and Task Force on 21st Century Policing while Attorney General of California.