A Saudi Arabian female rapper, Athena Film Festival events, and a law that really should have been passed already in today’s Bwoglines.

Happening in the World: The Saudi Arabian government has ordered the arrest of female rapper Asayel for her music video “Mecca Girl” that shows her singing and rapping about living in Mecca. The governor of Mecca claims the video “offends the customs and traditions of the people of Mecca” and the arrest warrant extends to everyone who had a hand  in producing the video. (CNN)

Happening in the US: The US House finally voted almost unanimously for a law that criminalizes lynching as a hate crime. The Act is named after Emmett Till, and the vote comes one hundred and twenty years after the first attempt. Lynching is defined as a murder by a mob for an alleged offense with no legal trial, and in almost all previously reported cases, the perpetrators went unpunished. (BBC)

Happening in NYC: Although there have been no confirmed cases in New York, state officials have stockpiled supplies in case of a coronavirus outbreak in the state. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and Dr. Howard Zucker recently announced their $40 million plan to combat coronavirus, and NYC officials have prepared plenty of hospital beds in case of patients. (NYT)

Happening on Campus: There are a lot of great events today that are part of the Athena Film Festival including the series of short films, Discovering Girlhood, and a reading of select scenes from Lucky 13, a film that tells the story of the only all female airbase in American history. Discovering Girlhood has screenings at 3:00 pm and 9:00 pm and Lucky 13 will be shown at 6:00 pm, both in the Glicker-Milstein Theatre.

Poem: In honor of Black History Month, please give the incredible “N’Em” by Jericho Brown a read!

the House via Wikimedia Commons