Kierra will tell her own family's story, thank you very much. . .

Glenn Beck and crew likes to take words and dreams from families and communities and twist them for his own purposes. But Kierra Johnson, Executive Director of Choice USA and member of the EMERJ Strategy Team, refuses to let her and her family’s legacy be co-opted. Here in her own words, Kierra’s legacy which she published on Huffington Post last week.

"The legacy of the Civil Rights Movement is my legacy. The roots of my life begin in Valdosta and Decatur, Georgia. My family went to the Dr. King celebrations every year. I've attended Ebenezer Baptist Church. When I was about 11, I held a nice, tall man's hand as we marched. His name was Dick Gregory. We said it loud, "We're black and we're proud." The strong women activists of the Civil Rights Movement - Angela Davis, Fannie Lou Hamer, Shirley Chisolm - they were my idols. And, now, some people are trying to take their legacy, my legacy, away. Read more.

A SAFIRE Celebration to remember. . .

By Amanda Wake

If you are wondering how to get inspired today, then take a look at the SAFIRE Video that was shown last Thursday night at the SAFIRE 2010 Summer Celebration. Joined by 200 friends, family and allies at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, the SAFIRE girls told stories of their Strong Families in a multi-media extravaganza. From spoken word to video to dance to artwork, the struggles and strengths of Asian families living in Oakland were brought to life through the 25 young women who spent their summer building their core power in order to provide leadership in their communities. As I watched their performances, I was moved time and time again by what each moment represented: amazing courage by parents and grandparents that fled war or sought opportunity; deep insight by young women in their expression of their own histories and identities; and, unwavering support from the ACRJ community that came together to celebrate the riches of our of families. Watch out Oakland, the SAFIRE girls are here.

 

Climate change, Pakistan floods and the impact on women and families

Check out this great article on the intersection of climate change, the floods in Pakistan and its impact on women and families. It shines light on how environmental disasters stemming from the acceleration of climate change exacerbate societal and economic instability, violence against women, and how within two generations, tear apart families that have been in Pakistan’s flooded region for many generations.

In Support of Our Friend Luna Yasui, and in Memory of Joannie Chang

Luna recently left the ACRJ board and the Bay Area to move to NYC for a great new job, and new chapter in life with her wonderful partner Joannie.  As they settled in to life in Brooklyn, they got ready to grow their family.  Late in Joannie’s pregnancy, they found out she had stomach cancer.  They induced their twins at 33 weeks, and 8 weeks later, on July 31, Joannie died.

Luna keeps a blog…she is an amazing photographer and a beautiful writer.  It is impossible to imagine what Luna has gone through over these last few months.  We are amazed at her strength and presence to write and post.   There are so much there.  Photos. Heart. Love. Faith. Humor.  Appreciations.  She is living life out loud, even in grief and life with tiny twins, the amazing and beautiful Apple and Bacon, their nicknames for the girls.  

It is humbling and inspiring to read about Joannie’s life, her honors and her accomplishments.  The SF Chronicle wrote a piece about her life and work, and NAPAWF put a lovely and fun tribute on their page.  Sprinkled on Luna’s blog and the program from the memorial are tributes to Joannie’s power and persistence, her vision and her sense of humor.

What strikes us is how their family has been kept afloat, almost literally, on the loving wind of their friends, community, extended family. Their village.

The truth about strong families is that we are only strong on our own for brief moments in time, the times when we are employed, healthy, housed, loved.  For some, those periods may be exceedingly fleeting, for others longer.  We are reminded by Luna of the power of love and hope, and the requirement for living with big love and community.

In her blog, Luna writes:

During this terrible time, all of that love and care Joannie gave in her life came back to support her. She passed knowing that we all love her so much. She also gave me the gift of bringing together our community to help me care for her and to get me through the hard days ahead. She, of course, also gave us Yuuki and Ayumi, our babies who are already showing us the way forward.

What about the rape?

By Yvonne Tran

For those who are not privy to YouTube sensations, the Bedroom Intruder newsclip and subsequent remix music videos made have been making its rounds on Facebook newsfeeds, office emails, and probably procrastination fodder for college students.

You can view it here and the famous remix here.
What peaked my interest was the lack of recognition of the rape and assault that happened to Antoine Dodson’s sister, Kelly. He was clearly upset and angry about the violation and so was she. But in all of the media that I have come across, including this NPR story, the focus has been the fame Dodson has found himself under (many of his fans being White).

Celebrate to Demonstrate! Reflections on the Prop 8 Ruling

by Dana Ginn Paredes, Organizing Director

Earlier this week, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered an emergency stay on a California District Court judge’s ruling that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional and should be overturned. As a member of the queer community, I shared the feelings of devastation, sadness and anger as expressed by LGBTQ communities everywhere.

My partner and I have been in a committed relationship for ten years and jumped at the opportunity to marry during the blip of time when it was legal in California in 2008, only to have it thrown back in our faces by voters the following November. We were devastated then too.

Back then, when we shared the news of our marriage – our political action – with family and friends, we were overwhelmed with the response of support and, quite frankly, the big need to be a part of celebrating our union and love. So, we held a big commitment celebration par-TAY the following year, and today are thrilled to be the sleep deprived mamas of baby Emiliano.

This is all to say that I believe this is an opportunity to remind ourselves that the “emergency stay” does not have legal jurisdiction over every action we take as members of the LGBTQ community. The actions we take to change policy so that all people receive the same rights and protections are vital. And, every action we take – big and small, legal and not yet legal – that demonstrates LGBTQ visibility in our communities matters too. These actions can also be what we need to sustain ourselves and keep our families strong during these uncertain political times.

So, keep on celebrating, expressing and building your love and commitment in every way! Celebrate to demonstrate!

TONIGHT: SAFIRE Summer Celebration 2010!!!

Tonight is the night! Come out and support our fierce young women as they tell the stories of their families' histories, struggles and accomplishment at the SAFIRE Summer Celebration!

Thursday, August 19th
6:30-8:30pm
Oakland Asian Cultural Center
388- 9th St., Suite 290, Oakland Chinatown, 94607

We will begin our program at 6:30 sharp, so please arrive on time!

For more information or to volunteer, please contact Amanda Wake, Youth Organizer at amanda@reproductivejustice.org or 510.663.8300.

ACRJ blog named Top 50 Blogs

The ACRJ blog is named one of the top 50 blogs on reproductive rights by Health Hawk.  Thanks to all you contributors, readers and commentators for keeping us in the forefront!

Are you coming to the SAFIRE celebration tomorrow?

We certainly hope you are!

Thursday, August 19th
6:30-8:30pm
Oakland Asian Cultural Center 
388- 9th St., Suite 290, Oakland Chinatown, 94607 

We will begin our program at 6:30 sharp, so please arrive on time!

SAFIRE members have been hard at work putting together their multi-media storytelling projects to share with their family, friends, community members and you!

There will be artwork, food, presentations, a time to honor SAFIRE Alumni and much more.

SEE YOU THERE!!!

For more information or to volunteer, please contact Amanda Wake, Youth Organizer at amanda@reproductivejustice.org or 510.663.8300

More money for all of our movements

by Maria Nakae

When I think about all the conferences I’ve been to in my day, I can’t even begin to count them. I certainly don’t have enough fingers (or toes, for that matter!), and apparently my memory just isn’t what it used to be either. Like many of us in social justice movements, I’ve gone to so many conferences, given so many presentations, and attended so many workshops that they all become a blur in my mind. Conferences are really fun. You get to travel (sometimes to cool places), stay in a hotel (sometimes fancy ones), meet up with colleagues and friends you don’t regularly get to see and make new ones, and learn all kinds of new issues, analyses, and frameworks.

But I often wonder, at the end of the day, what tangible skills and information do I actually take away that is applicable to my work?

After the two-day Money for Our Movements conference organized by the Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training (GIFT), I have some concrete answers to this question. I learned how to build a robust direct mail fundraising campaign. I learned how to write an effective fundraising pitch for any event. I learned how to cultivate and upgrade existing donors. And these are all things that I will integrate into my every day work. In fact, I’m already doing many of them now!

Permaculture for the People Report Back tonight!

By Amanda Wake, ACRJ Youth Organizer

Earlier this summer I had the privilege of attending a permaculture design course organized by Movement Generation and the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center. It was a life enriching experience where I learned skills that I will keep with me for the rest of my life and have since applied to my organizing work at ACRJ.

TONIGHT we will have our community report-back at No Worries Filipino Restaurant, 1442 Franklin St. in downtown Oakland, at 6:30pm (wheelchair & BART accessible). Come through!

After returning from this 2 week course myself, three other participants (Jidahn Koon, Angela Angel and Ellen Choy), and one youth from Serve the People spoke on KPFA’s APEX Express Radio Show. We focused specifically on how permaculture is relevant to Asian & Pacific Islander communities. You can listen to the full interview here.

SEE YOU TONIGHT!

SAFIRE Newsletter: Honoring SAFIRE and Alumni at Summer Celebration 2010

Every summer there’s a celebration…SAFIRE’s Summer Celebration, that is!

This year’s celebration will be the biggest one yet!

This summer, SAFIRE participants are collecting stories from our families on what makes our families strong. We will be presenting our multi-media story projects at our SAFIRE End of Summer Celebration on Thursday, August 19th from 6:30 to 8:30 at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center in Chinatown. Come join us!

SAFIRE is working hard to make this a really great event! There will be presentations of the story collection project, artwork, food, raffle prizes, a time to honor SAFIRE alumni, and much more!

And YOU can help make it all happen!

There’s plenty to do and any help would be great. You can help sell raffle tickets, sign up to perform, tell a story about your strong family, bring food to share with others, or just come and hang out.

If you would like to learn more or volunteer, please contact Amanda Wake at amanda@reproductivejustice.org or 510-663-8300.

SAFIRE Newsletter: Meet the Interns of ACRJ

Xuanzi Jia:

What School am I from?

Smith College '12

My Favorite Dish is:
Nutella Crepes



Catherine Saephan:

What is my favorite hobby?
Reading



What is a life goal for you?
I want to travel the world and get as far as I can with school, hopefully Doctorate



Lovely Diala:

What is my favorite color?
My favorite color is like an aqua-turquoise kind of shade because it's bright but also calming at the same time (picture the color of the water in the Caribbean or some tropical place like that).


What is my dream job?
My dream job(s) would be something where I can work with youth and do something in the medical field - particularly pharmacy.

SAFIRE Newsletter: The aftermath of chaos - Oscar Grant's tragic end

By Catherine Saephan

It was at four o’clock on July 8th when the verdict in the trial of Johannes Mehserle was announced for the killing of Oscar Grant and it was at 6 o’clock when the streets in front of our office building were filled with hundreds of people.

Since that tragic night of January 1st, 2009, when Oscar Grant was shot to death by the former BART police officer, citizens of Oakland have rallied with mixed feelings of anger, confusion, and disunity over his death. The most common questions raised by community members are: Was it murder? Did Johannes Mehserle mean to use his taser or did he really intend to kill? Will he be prosecuted like any other citizen or will he get away with it like most cops do? Was it an act of racism?

As a member of this community, I feel a large amount of confusion regarding this case. At the same time, it’s hard to not begin having an opinion when accusations are being thrown from left to right. Issues of Oscar’s now fatherless child, money for the family, and most of all, justice to Oscar’s family and community are some of the major factors in this complex case.

Where are we? EMERJ in the media--week of August 13, 2010

By Lisa Russ

Through ACRJ’s work with EMERJ, we have the great fortune of working with an inspirational crew of organizations working on a wide range of issues. That means in any one week, we might be talking about access to birth control for Latinas, the importance of great sex ed, or the campaign that Rebecca Project for Human Rights is leading to get Craigslist to remove their adult services ads. And this was a fabulous week for us and our partners, because all of these issues had great news coverage.

National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health and California Latinas for Reproductive Justice, both EMERJ Strategy Team members, along with our close ally COLOR (Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights) organized Latina Week for Reproductive Justice. RH Reality Check, Huffington Post, and many other sites ran amazing pieces—see Latina Institute's FB Page for a great wrap up! ColorLines wrote a really nice piece about the week. Huge congratulations to all involved.

The Rebecca Project for Human Rights has done high profile work on sex trafficking, with favorable coverage in the New York Times, CNN, ABC, CBS and more. This CNN piece was powerful. Following the media pressure, Craigslist finally offered a response. The campaign continues.

Story Collection Project: Voices of YP4 Students

By Yvonne Tran

Last weekend I was asked to do a workshop on reproductive justice for Young People For, an organization that works with college-aged and recent college graduates in developing their social and political consciousness and set them up to do community-centered projects in their communities or have them intern in non-profits around the nation.

They were definitely a diverse and energetic group of 18-21 year old students. The workshop went great but the real gems were the stories I collected before and after the workshop.

Stories like Sophia from San Diego, whose mom survived a violent assault and was told she could not have children and had 3 instead. Now, Sophia and the rest of her sisters are not able to have children and have had serious surgery around their reproductive system since they were young. But yet, through it all, these experiences have made their family stronger, more feminist-minded, and a lifelong passion for reproductive justice.

That is just one of the stories I’ve collected. There are a dozen others, detailing with poverty, displacement, immigration, dreams, hopes, love, and faith.

It is renewing every time I go and collect stories to be able to be in the presence of such strength of every story teller.

Hear Joseph’s story below:

Silvia Henriquez, EMERJ Strategy Team member, tells is like it is. . .

Check out Latinas and the High Cost of Birth Control by Silvia Henriquez, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health. She says, "the Latina experience is stigmatized while the Latina voice is silenced."  But she and Latinas across the country are changing the game through the Latina Week of Action for Reproductive Justice.   Let's back up our Latina sisters.

Stopping toxins before they get to our families

Don't miss out on a chance to help pass the strongest bill ever introduced in Congress to protect our families from toxic chemicals. The Toxic Chemicals Safety Act of 2010 is our opportunity to require the chemical industry to ensure that chemicals are safe BEFORE they enter our schools, homes, bodies and families. The Safer Chemicals/Healthy Families Coalition has made it easy for us to tell our Representatives to co-sponsor the bill. I just took action. Join me.

SAFIRE Youth Collect Stories and Connect with Family

by Maria Nakae

After being at ACRJ for almost five years, you don’t have to tell me what month it is for me to know it’s summer. Each year around this time, the office buzzes with incredible energy during the SAFIRE youth leadership program’s intensive summer session. This year, the girls are collecting stories from family members about their histories, struggles and accomplishments, and putting together a multi-media story telling project to present at the SAFIRE Summer Celebration on August 19th.

As someone who doesn’t regularly work directly with the girls, I often just see and hear all the hard work that the girls are putting into their projects and campaigns from the other side of the office. But yesterday I had the rare privilege of supporting a small group of girls in crafting their stories, pulling out the highlights, and thinking about how they want to present them. As the girls told the stories they had gathered form their parents – about lives filled with hardship back in their home countries, difficulties of immigration, and putting everything they had into ensuring that their children could have the American dream – I was moved and inspired. These stories are amazing!

The girls shared that not only did the process of gathering stories help them to understand their families’ histories and appreciate everything they had gone through, but it also motivated them to build stronger relationships with their family members to learn more about their roots. For these young women from immigrant and refugee families who are growing up in a very different world than that of previous generations, the story collection project has been a powerful way for the SAFIRE youth to better understand, connect with, the strengthen their families…and in turn, themselves.

Story Collection Project - Heart of Building Strong Families

By Yvonne Tran

I will be trying to do a weekly post about a story or two that we have been collecting here at ACRJ.

For folks who don’t know yet (or been under the proverbial ACRJ rock), we are unleashing our Strong Families Initiative this year (kind of a soft launch) to directly confront the Right’s family agenda. We want to take back the value of family from the Right, who have defined it in the last 30-40 years (and in mainstream society… basically since the industrial revolution) as a heterosexual-two-parent-household-man-breadwinner-stay-at-home-mom-with-two-kids-a-dog-and-a-white-picket-fence-nuclear-family family.

Guess what? Under 25% of American families actually resemble that (according to 2000 Census). So, what about the rest of us?

Yup, we’re still here. Forming and re-forming our own families.

And we want to collect all of those stories. Five thousand to be exact.

And we started at Western States Center’s annual Community Strategic Training Initiative in Portland, OR two weeks ago. We got to collect over 25 stories from participants all over the western states including Idaho, Montana, Washington, and Wyoming.

I definitely ran around all weekend along with my co-workers to collect these stories and it has been one of the most rewarding projects I’ve worked on. For me to be able to be in the same space as participants share their story with me on camera, something that is usually reserved for the most intimate spaces, has been truly humbling.

Here is a sample of a story I collected by Patty Katz from Partnership for Safety & Justice in Oregon at CSTI:

Guns N Genitals

Is information really so scary? 

By Lisa Russ

Seems to me that simple, clear communication works best, even with young kids. When there is a threat or an opportunity I let my kids know in plain and simple terms.  No running with scissors.  Walk carefully near the edge of a pool.  Put the matches down.  So far this plain-talking strategy has kept ER visits to a minimum and led to a relatively peaceful life with 2 pre-schoolers.

Judging from the turbulence caused by a sex ed curriculum under consideration by the School Board in Helena, MT, there are people who disagree.  According to Fox News, some local parents are in a tizzy about their kindergartners learning the actual words for their body parts, including those covered by their bathing suits.  When we as parents want to, and need to, communicate important information to our kids (or hear important information from them), why wouldn’t we use the right words?  Their objections to the curriculum go on from there, but it seems grounded in the same basic fear of information.

The data, as usual, supports a reasonable approach.  Teens who have accurate information, resources and support around their bodies and sexuality are better armed to make the daily decisions that affect their well-being both now and into the future.  According to recent research, the average age for first-time sex for white Evangelical Protestants is 16, among the earliest average age for any group. They are also the least likely of any group of teens to use contraception, and the most likely to have been given abstinence-only sex ed, which I guess avoids using actual names for body parts until pretty late in the game.

New book on nail salon industry quoting former POLISH organizer!

Former ACRJ worker organizer Trang Nguyen is quoted in a new book, The Managed Hand: Race, Gender, and the Body in Beauty Service Work by Miliann Kang. In the book, which is an in-depth examination of the nail salon industry, Trang raises concerns about the excessively punitive inspections process by state regulators targeting nail salons. In her three years at ACRJ, Trang's leadership in the POLISH program (Participatory Research, Organizing and Leadership Initiative for Safety and Health) helped win significant changes at the California State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology, including health and safety materials translated into Vietnamese and modifications to the inspections process to be less punitive and more educational - a MAJOR accomplishment!