Recently in Activism Category
They also have a few special guests (like Bill Clinton, ahem). It's a pretty amazing program and best of all it's free. Check out the agenda here to see the great line up of speakers and panels.
In DC next week? Apply for the conference now!
PS I will be there :)
NorthEast Two-Spirit Society and Audre Lorde Project's Executive Director seemed to have been forcefully kicked out of the NYC Heritage of Pride march this past weekend.
Just before 2PM, Lieutenant Connoly of the Midtown Taskforce demanded that the People of Color Contingent leave the parade. The reason given was that a delay of 6 blocks existed between the People of Color contingent and the contingent in front of them. NYPD raised the issue of the gap once and POC contingent marshals were in the process of closing the gap. Kris Hayashi, Executive Director of Audre Lorde Project (ALP), and Loyda Colon also of ALP explained to Lieutenant Connoly, that they were in the process of closing the gap and Lieutenant Connoly refused to listen. Lieutenant Connoly then insisted that the POC contingent leave the parade, and attempted to arrest both Colon and Hayashi. Lieutenant Connoly then ejected Harlan Pruden, the driver of NE2SS' support vehicle and co-founder of NE2SS, other members of NE2SS (who led the People of Color Contingent), and Hayashi from the parade. Hayashi was physically dragged off the parade route."It should have been a day to celebrate and have fun," Harlan Pruden, Co-founder of NE2SS.
First off, having a six block gap seems like a weird reason to be kicked out of the parade. Secondly, I think this speaks to an inability to see people of color as a fundamental part of the pride festival. The conference organizers said that NE2SS can rejoin the parade, but I do think that the police are their to protect the ability for marchers to march in safety and what they feel is appropriate membership in the parade.
Whatever the reason may be, both NE2SS and the ALP are amazing organizations that should be part of Pride and it is sad that they were not able to participate without being harassed and kicked out by cops.
New York City is commemorating the 40th anniversary of Stonewall by asking wealthy LGBTQ folks to make a "Rainbow Pilgrimage" to the city. (See poster at right.) Meanwhile, the city has refused to fund shelters that serve homeless queer youth. As a statement from Queers for Economic Justice puts it:
The campaign's website encapsulates Stonewall in a nostalgic distant light; a movement of the past now best found in a culture of style, restaurants and hot new clubs that are profiled in the ad campaign. The past violence and homophobia is replaced by the promise of a New York experience akin to Sex In The City. Further denying the violence of that fateful night in June, the Rainbow Pilgrimage describes the West Village as having a "population [that] has matured and neighborhood scene [that] has quieted along with it."The statement goes on to list the many ways low-income, working-class and homeless queer New Yorkers continue to face harassment, discrimination, and violence -- in shelters, in police custody, and in public. But New York City Council members don't think by such trivial details have much to do with the Stonewall anniversary.But that "quiet" has come at a cost to poor and working class queers today.
City officials found little remarkable in using an event associated with violence and resistance as the centerpiece of a marketing campaign.Note that she did not say, "it created the modern LGBT party circuit" or "it created the modern LGBT tourism industry." (Umm... disconnect?) Queers for Economic Justice rightly points out that the way to commemorate Stonewall is to support organizations and efforts that continue in that spirit today. To that end, here are some great causes to support: Of course that doesn't mean we have to mark the Stonewall anniversary in only a somber fashion, or only by donating to these organizations. But I do think it's important to remember, as Jaclyn said in her speech at the Boston Dyke March, that the first Stonewall wasn't a rave -- it was a riot."I don't think it's ironic, I think it's significant," said Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker, who is openly gay, at a news conference announcing the campaign. "You know, 40 years ago a group of people said enough was enough. And they struck back against police officers. They struck back against unfair treatment."
"And," she added, "it created the modern L.G.B.T. civil rights movement."
We just got this letter from a reader:
Help out a newbie!
I just new to feminism, thanks to my psychology of women class I'm taking this summer. It inspired me to read Full Frontal Feminism - now I'm hooked! But...I have no idea where to go from here. What should I read next? And what can I do as someone who's still pretty clueless but would like to change that and get involved?
Thanks for any suggestions!
My two cents:
On reading, you can't go wrong with Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde, Backlash by Susan Faludi, and This Bridge Called My Back by Cherrie Moraga and Gloria Anzaldua (among SO many others). Seal Press also has a new series called Seal Studies designed to be an introduction to a lot of different topics that you might want to check out.
Reading blogs is a great thing too. Make sure to look for voices with perspectives that are unlike your own, allowing you to stretch your definitions of what constitutes a feminist issue and even how you might look at the same ol' things.
On getting involved, I think starting locally is a great way to get your feet wet in feminist activism. Is there a feminist group on your campus or on in your town that you can get involved in? The people you meet there can probably key you into other activist networks. Activism, just like everything else in life, is about relationships, so start meeting other feminists and they'll lead you to the action. Also, be sure to check our events page to look out for other feminists in your area doing great work.
Alright community, what suggestions do you have for this self-declared newbie?
(Click here to watch the whole conversation.)
Cari works with an awesome organization called the Adolescent Reproductive Health Network (ARHN), which recently put out a report that reveals just how little health professionals around the world know about the reproductive health situation in Burma and in conflict zones. In a survey of 400 adolescents who fled violence in Burma and are living in Thailand, ARHN found:
ARHN works to educate teens about sex and reproductive health. To support their work, visit their Facebook causes page. If you're in New York, you can also attend an event (info after the jump) on Thursday.
a) knowledge of sexual health and anatomy are very low among adolescents from Burma's conflict zones;
b) cursory knowledge of condoms and birth control pills is widespread (more than half of teens know of them) but use of family planning and safer sex techniques is incredibly low;
c) the estimated rate of STI's in this population is 7%;
d) both young men and women report high levels of acceptance of gender based violence and male authority over women's reproductive choices: more than half of young men and a third of young surveyed believe that women sometimes deserve to be beaten; more than half of young men think that husbands shoud determine whether or not wives use birth control.
Last week was the World Economic Forum on Africa with a critical focus on the role of girls in the economic development of Africa. The World Economic Forums are a series of convenings led by a Swiss non-profit of the same name. Their platform focuses on the role of economic development and its relationship to social development with the simple vision to be, "the foremost organization which builds and energizes leading global communities; the creative force shaping global, regional and industry strategies; the catalyst of choice for its communities when undertaking global initiatives to improve the state the world." I suppose it is always hard to understand the depth of intent of these types of meetings without being present and while I am critical of top-down economic focused development plans for "developing nations," I think they still make profound contributions, if not just in giving us statistical and analytical data.
Maria Eitel, president of Nike Inc., and the person nominated by Obama to be in charge of the Corporation for National and Community Service (they run Americorps and Peacecorps) was at the meeting and took some interesting notes that I found via Huffington Post that included the following themes discussed at the meeting,
- 1. Investing in girls as smarter economics
- 2. Economic solutions are often masked by culture
- 3. It's urgent - we can't wait. We must reach girls before they are 12
- 4. Girls won't count until we count them...specifically
- 5. A little bit of support is not enough
I think these are apt conclusions considering the precarious conditions for girls in Africa. But I do wonder is it empowering for these girls to have outside organizations doing development work? Or is that the only way at this point? I struggle with this questions a lot.
Yesterday The Advocate published an interview with John Berry, the highest-ranking openly gay official in the Obama administration. The administration, which issued a gay-pride proclamation earlier this month, is still pledging to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell, overturn the Defense of Marriage Act, pass a trans-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act at some unidentified point in the next three and half years... yet in all of these cases appears to be actively propping up the status quo. (Pam has a further breakdown.) Glad we've got that proclamation, though!
This hits on something I've been thinking about a lot lately. When it comes to LGBTQ rights and other issues we care deeply about, at what point do we stop being happy with Obama's rhetoric and start demanding REAL results? Hopefully by October 11, when there will be a National Equality March on Washington, we'll have more of an inkling as to the answer.
I could write a whole treatise on this. But I'd rather you watch this speech at the Boston Dyke March by Jaclyn Friedman (of Yes Means Yes! and WAM! fame**). Just listen to her speak the truth about Obama's weak proclamation, about queer rights, and about activism generally: (It's long, but SO worth it! Transcript after the jump -- the video cuts off a bit of the beginning.)
** After watching her speak, I was reminded again why there seems to be an exclamation point after every project Jaclyn is involved in. She! Is! So! Awesome!
Moderator Isobel Coleman begins by pointing out that there is some controversy over the title of the panel itself. She asks: "Is this a new agenda? Who's agenda is it?"
The first panelist to speak is Lamia Karim (pictured right), from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Oregon. She speaks to all of the various human rights discourses, many of which she obviously doesn't think are complex or ethical. "What I am most interested in is grassrooots, indigenous, human rights movements organized, not around an individual human, but much more on a group rights basis.This is taking up these rights discourses but trying to renegotiate with the realities on the ground."
"As feminists we need to really go beyond the rhetoric of the empowerment of women and ask carefully, 'What does it take to empower women? Is money enough? What does it mean to give women access to capital without giving them skills training?' This is the Grameen Bank model--based on neo-liberalism."
Larnia has a book coming out through UC Press in spring 2010 which she describes as "a radical critique of this model, this particular model. I wanted to put it out there because this has become a very innovative way of framing how women, especially in the global south and very poor women, can be economically and socially empowered." Can't wait for that!
Isobel turns to Jill Lester next, who is the ED of The Hunger Project, to ask her what her reaction is to the radical critique of micro lending.
"Unfortunately, I think we're going to be in violent agreement." [audience laughs]
"The Hunger Project believes in an integrated approach to poverty. Part of that is having a micro finance facility. We ask the community to form a micro finance committee of 100% women to set their own agenda."
Next up is Radhika Balakrishnan (pictured left), of the Marymount Manhattan College:
"Rather than talking about the crisis as if it something that fell from the sky, we're calling it the 'manufactured crisis,' caused by deliberate changes that the government made in the regulatory framework."
"We're trying to turn human rights around on them. You want to oppose human rights all over the world? What about the human right violation right here. What about the TARP legislation? There's no transparency. That's public money. This is our institution. Therefore there's a human rights obligation on the state."
Cynthia Enloe (holy amazing) jumps in as the pinch hitter:
"One has to be able to think analytically in order to act. I've hated the theory-practice divide. It's stupid. Anyone who acts, especially if you try to act collectively, if you try to mobilize beyond your best friend, it means you've done some causal thinking. You are an analyst. Out of your action come new analytical understandings. It works and you think why did it work? Or it didn't and you have to go back to the drawing table. We are all analysts. We are all thinkers who think thinking matters. Thinking is in handshake with action."
"If we've learned something from feminist thinking from around the world, it is that you have to think big in order to think small--the guys say that of course--but you also have to think small in order to think big. It works both ways and it's really one of the great strengths of feminist thinking for action."
"We are at a moment now where we've got a pool of schools and an understanding of what needs to be acted upon, some people call it an agenda, and we are at a moment, not just because we have a new president of one country, not just because the institutions of capitalism are wobbly (they're not as wobbly as we'd liked)."
"We really are at a moment amongst all of us, and I mean all of us who aren't in the room, where we have the capacity to think as if it matters and the capaity to know what needs to be acted upon. This is a very, very exciting moment. We shouldn't let cynicsm let that moment pass."
"Think as if it matters and then act as if it affects our thinking."
Richard Brown, from American Express talks about the intersection between corporate philanthropy and leadership development.
Janelle Shubert, from Babson College, talks about social entrepreneurship. Babson College, which she claims is the premier educational institution globally for social entrepreneurship, is based on three principles: people, planet, profit. According to Ashoka, one of the leading organizations on social entrepreneurship:
Social entrepreneurs are individuals with innovative solutions to society's most pressing social problems. They are ambitious and persistent, tackling major social issues and offering new ideas for wide-scale change.Rather than leaving societal needs to the government or business sectors, social entrepreneurs find what is not working and solve the problem by changing the system, spreading the solution, and persuading entire societies to take new leaps.
Janelle says that her hope is that women worldwide continue to have access to employment and training, income and knowledge. If you're interested in S.E., you should also check out Echoing Green, the Schwab Foundation, and the Skoll Foundation. For a critique of the SE framework, check out this coverage of Dr. Paul Farmer's speech on the subject.
Maria Torres from the NYC Economic Development Corporation is up next. She talks about the Five Borough Economic Opportunity Plan-(1) create jobs today, (2) diversify economy so we can create more jobs for tomorrow, (3) more affordable housing.
How can women take advantage of this? Check out government partnerships with organizations like Nontraditional Employment for Women.
She also talks about Opportunity NYC, a somewhat controversial program aimed at helping families break out of cycles of intergenerational poverty by paying them incentives to reinforce certain behaviors. It will be evaluated for effectiveness at the end of a five year stint.
"The big message is that we think opportunity exists, that this is the best time to invest in New York City, to invest in women."
Next up is Sara Gould, of the Ms. Foundation.
She starts by talking about women's funds and the network which the Ms. Foundation is a part of, The Women's Funding Network.
She also talks about the ways in which this economic downturn has often been framed as a men's issue, but she reminds us that this is also because of years of gender segregation in the workforce. We can't talk about all women in the labor market as one group because women of different races and classes have such different experiences. Women still comprise the majority of low-wage workers. Women are more likely to be without health or employment insurance. We are still living with the pay gap, and we are still living with this extreme occupational segregation. There are 27 million women and children living in poverty in the U.S. Unemployment for female heads of household is 10%, increased over the last year, of course.
Ms. Foundation, the oldest women's foundation (36 years old), is taking a new approach to their work which they're calling "creating connections." It is about lifting up leaders out of issue-area silos, being able to fund at the intersections, and build great power to bring about policy and cultural change to benefit women of color, poor women, and in so doing, benefit everyone. This means less restricted money and more funding at the race/class/gender intersections.
"We believe in funding sustained civic engagement, we believe in funding the trusted messengers in communities, we believe in getting resources to the ground."
