Long distance family: not home for the holidays

By Dana Ginn Paredes

Thanksgiving is one of the holidays I look forward to most. It is the kick-off event to the days of holiday festivities to come – which for my family means through the Lunar New Year. It is a time where get together over way too much food and with just enough story and fun to take us into the next morning. This year will be different though: this year we will be Skyping.

As many others in the US, my family has had to make tough choices to stay afloat during this Great Recession, particularly my parents. My parents are members of the baby-boomer generation and were among the first to experience job insecurity or be laid off in this down turn. Whenever I spoke to them about how things were going, my mother would sigh or curse at whichever politico happened to be on TV and my father would tell us that they have been through recessions before and come out alright.

So far, to be “alright” has meant that last summer my parents had to leave their family and community of 24 years and relocate to New York because my mother was one of the lucky few to stay employed at Macy’s after they closed down their corporate office in San Francisco. My parents went along with this because they felt this was the best choice they had. It wasn’t and still isn’t easy for them to be 3,000 miles (instead of 30 minutes) away from their first grandchild. “And after so much waiting,” my mother would say.

SAFIRE girls reflect on Oakland's new mayor

We asked the girls from our SAFIRE youth program what they think about Jean Quan becoming the first Asian American and woman Mayor of Oakland. Here's what Holly, Tram and Ratema think...

Movement in action: EMERJ's Strategy Team moves together

By Yvonne Tran

Last week was one of those weeks that was just jam-packed. Here at ACRJ, we have been preparing for 3 days of our Forward Stance Leadership Initiative and 2 days of EMERJ's Strategy Team Convening. There was many hours of mind + body work going on and many transformative moments not only for the participants but for us as staff as well.

Kate and Darshon from Choice USA chat with Miriam of NAPAWF.

When I heard updates from each organization, I was amazed each and every time by the innovative work to advance reproductive justice in so many ways.

From working on anti-shackling legislation in California or holding Craigslist accountable for not doing enough to protect girls who are trafficked for sex, to aligning leadership development and research in institutions of higher education and highlighting issues faced by young mothers, these organizations are giving finding amazing ways to support and build the movement for reproductive justice and Strong Families.

It was all very inspiring. I told Lisa Russ of the Movement Strategy Center that I would work for any of those organizations and she reminded me, "You already do!"  She meant my amazing role as part of ACRJ, EMERJ and Strong Families.  I am reminded constantly of the important work we all do to advance justice for our communities and for women of color in the name of human rights.

Standing forward: thoughts from the Forward Stance Leadership Initiative

 

By Anasa Troutman

Anasa participated in ACRJ’s second Forward Stance Leadership Initiative last week (FSLI2).

A year and a half ago, as a new fellow at the Movement Strategy Center, I agreed to attend a training given by a woman named Norma Wong. I had absolutely no idea what that meant or what I was in for but I decided to go with it. As a team, we were beginning to explore what it meant for us to be an organization that believes in transformative organizing and what that means for how we move in the world day to day. Norma, a woman of sharp wit whose physical presence betrays the energetic and intellectual giant that she is, was our guide for the day. The terrain we were exploring was Forward Stance.

As I understood it, Forward Stance was an approach, a way of being in the world. Literally, how you stood, steady, aware, slightly forward with a solid but relaxed stance, not overextended but definitely ready to move. Assertive, centered, grounded and ready.

ACRJ recognized as 2010 top nonprofit!

ACRJ is proud to announce that we've been named one of the top nonprofits in 2010 working on reproductive health, rights and justice at the national level!

Through a survey of nearly 200 experts in the field, ACRJ has been recognized for its high impact work, and we are highlighted in Philanthropedia, an online resource for donors.  A big congratulations to all of our allies who have also been recognized - we're thrilled and humbled to share this honor with you all.

If you too believe in the work of ACRJ and the impact we've making in our communities and the Reproductive Justice Movement, you can show your support by making a contribution to ACRJ today!

Lailan Huen reflects on her mother's election as Oakland's mayor

By Yvonne Tran

For folks who have watched the local Oakland elections closely, the waiting ended at 6pm last night.  Jean Quan was declared the winner with 53,778 vs. Don Perata's 51,720. It was an incredibly tight race, with Quan receiving 50.98% and Perata with 49.02% of votes.

The election can be characterized in many ways.  One of the most exciting is how Quan's supporters mobilized, and how we saw the power of door-knocking beat the power of dollar-spending.  The only independent expenditure for Quan was from Oakland Rising, which spent $16,000 getting out the vote.  Perata raised well over $400,000 from the prison guards union, developers and police unions, most of which seemed to be spent on negative mailers. 

Jean Quan will be Oakland's first female mayor and first Asian American mayor. She is also this nation's first Asian American woman mayor of a major U.S. city. Quan is a Oakland native and previously served as a City Councilwoman for District 4. She had served on OUSD's board and been working in the community for over 20 years.

Last night, after the results were in, I sat down with Lailan Huen, Jean Quan's daughter to hear her reflections on her mom's campaign and her hopes for the next 4 years.

Wonderful news for nail salon workers in SF!

By Dana Ginn Paredes

Exciting news! The San Francisco Board of Supervisors UNAMINOUSLY passed the Nail Salon Recognition Ordinance (11-0) which is the city's first program that promotes and awards nail salons who use three-free nail polish products! After the Mayor signs it, the ordinance will go into effect in 30 days!

The three chemicals considered dangerous and found in most nail polishes are toluene, dibutyl phthalate and formaldehyde. Public health advocates say exposure to them can lead to headaches, dizziness and asthma.

Congratulations to the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative, Asian Law Caucus and Environment California for leading this important effort and setting a greener standard for other cities to follow.

Mothers Behind Bars—powerful new report card

At ACRJ, we think a lot about Strong Families. We talk to people and hear their contributions to the Strong Families stories project.  We think about the kind of changes we need to make in policy and in our culture to support all families to thrive.  And we think about our own extended families and the web of relationships, resources and networks that support us.  

As we explore these questions, it becomes clear that Strong Families build strong communities, and that this support nourishes each of us on the long road of life, shoring us up in the hard times and celebrating our success.  And it is clear that there are a few keystones in this structure.

One is access to ample resources to support the basic functioning of a family: food, shelter, care and safety.   Another is the ability to remain together to provide and share that support.  There are many things that can get in the way of that--one of the harshest is the detention and incarceration of mothers and fathers.

Mothers Behind Bars, a report by The Rebecca Project for Human Rights and the National Women's Law Center, sheds light on conditions behind bars for mothers.  It also adds illuminates a few sweeping and essential steps we can take toward reversing the crisis. 

Stories from the SOUL

By Amanda Wake

Yvonne Tran and I had the opportunity to run a workshop and collect stories at SOUL's National Youth Organizing Training Institute a couple weeks ago. SOUL (School Of Unity and Liberation) brought together young organizers from across the country for a 3 day training.

Our workshop topic was "Sustaining the Organizer," which we facilitated through forward stance. Participants shared the many struggles they face in not burning out. Their struggles included balancing work and family, juggling too many things on their plate, not having the resources to do the work they want to do, retaining members and more. Yvonne and I used forward stance as a way to have participants reflect on these issues and gain insight through our bodies. So often we are in our heads and forget that we have a whole other part of ourselves, our bodies, that can help us to make decisions, reflect and most importantly move forward. We were able to get to the heart of many of the issues that they face with very little talking and a lot of "a ha" moments.

We also collected Strong Families stories from these powerful young people. Here's one from Vikter Medina of Phoenix, Arizona. He talks about growing up in a large family, being a queer Chicano male and wanting a family of his own with his undocumented partner.

Women of Color are kicking butt in Idaho!

by Maria Nakae

I was inspired and humbled when I talked to Dina Flores-Brewer, a board member of Women of Color Alliance (WOCA) in Idaho. You might be thinking, “There’s an alliance of women of color in Idaho?” I might have not known about them either if they weren’t a member of the Groundwork Strategic Cohort. Groundwork, a collaboration between EMERJ and Western States Center, is working with eight grassroots groups in Oregon, Idaho and Washington to build a movement for reproductive justice in the Pacific Northwest by making change on a range of issues that are core to Strong Families. WOCA has just come out with a fantastic new resource, The WOCA Roadmap to Voting: A Voter Guide for Women of Color.

A second generation Idahoan, Dina grew up taking great pains to deny her Latina roots. It wasn’t until she moved to Portland that she saw diversity embraced.  Thirteen years later she returned to Idaho to bring her experience back to her family.  As a mother of two, she doesn’t want them to face the same hurdles she did. “I talk to young women in junior high and high school, incredibly bright young women who are withering away because they’re not being encouraged. It’s been 25 years since I’ve been in high school, and nothing has changed.”