In November, I was excited to be in New York City to train and facilitate a dialogue on Western States Center’s Uniting Communities project. Uniting Communities focuses on proactively bringing together the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer) community and communities of color because there is a need to work across communities and issues. Together, we can stand stronger.
We brought together 22 organizations based in communities of color and immigrants and refugees communities from across the country. Our goal was to support them to examine LGBTQ equality within their organizations and their work.
Queer people of color have struggled to bring their whole selves to advance racial justice because there has not been much work done in tandem between the LGBTQ community and communities of color. While I am thrilled to be working on this groundbreaking project, I was also anxious about the meeting. Anxious because we are working outside of our geographic scope for the first time. Anxious to talk about LGBTQ equality with mostly straight-identified leaders of color.
SAFIRE's Fall 2010 session came to a close this Monday. Ratema who has been part of SAFIRE for 2 years said, "My favorite SAFIRE session was this one." She wasn't the only one who felt this way. What made this session so special? This year we had the added bonus of a weekend at the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center. And we traveled around the Bay Area to do workshops with other youth on climate justice and strong families. But what makes every session what it is are the girls who are in SAFIRE. Every session (3 per year) a different group of girls come through SAFIRE. Some of them are new and some of them are returning but all of them are unique, bringing their own wonderful personalities to the group.
We closed out our session with a trip down the street to the Kapor Foundation's mural (created by local artist Favianna Rodriguez) outside of their new building, The Kapor Center, on 22nd and Broadway in downtown Oakland. There we found a picture of SAFIRE alumni, Judy Wu under the heading "It's time to develop our next leaders."
By Joel Tena [Reprinted by permission from the wonderful local site, OaklandSeen.]
“John” didn’t come to the US of his own choice. His parents, both undocumented immigrants from El Salvador and the Philippines, hurried from Canada one day to visit an ailing family member in the US. Without papers, it was amazing they arrived. More traumatic was that they were now stuck in the US, with no way to return home.
That was almost twenty years ago. Since then, John has led a productive life, living in Oakland since he was six years old, graduating from Oakland High School, and now attending a Peralta Community College here in the East Bay (because of concerns regarding his immigration status, John has chosen to use a pseudonym).
Yet he is still undocumented, and in this day of rising xenophobia and with the right-wing poised to take control of the House of Representatives, John has every reason to think that his place in this country, the only one that he has known since the age of two, is in jeopardy. Unless you help him, and literally millions of others like him, by joining the movement to get this lame duck session of Congress to pass the DREAM Act by Friday, December 17, 2010.
I want to pass along a message from two leaders in our SAFIRE youth program. Chrystal and Emily share their thoughts on how your support for ACRJ and SAFIRE has had - and will continue to have - an impact on their growth as leaders for their families and in their communities.
Five reasons to support ACRJ and SAFIRE this holiday season:
By Emily and Chrystal
#5: POSITIVE ENVIRONMENT: SAFIRE is a great place to be with people like you, who are here because they choose to be here. We work on a lot of different things for our community. -Emily
#4: SAFE SPACE: SAFIRE is a really safe environment where everything is kept confidential. -Emily
It's good and we need this because sometimes we don't have that support at home or at school. -Chrystal
#3: LEADERSHIP SKILLS: Right now we're doing workshops with other youth in the Bay Area to spread awareness about reproductive justice and climate justice. Since being part of SAFIRE, my public speaking skills are a lot better than before...I used to be really shy! Now I feel really confident doing workshops. -Chrystal
Last Thursday morning, I attended Eddy Zheng’s court hearing at the U.S. Court of Appeals – 9th Circuit in downtown San Francisco. When I arrived, the courtroom was filled with hundreds of supporters, family, and friends. I recognized a third of the faces there--it felt like community.
After being convicted as an adult for a crime he committed when he was 16-years old, Eddy served over 20 years behind bars, where he transformed himself into a renowned prisoner rights advocate, youth mentor, and poet and author. Released from prison in 2007, Eddy has dedicated his life to preventing youth violence and delinquency through his work at the Community Youth Center, Community Response Network, and many other SF Bay Area programs and organizations.
Having spent more than half of his life behind bars for a crime he committed at 16, Eddy won his parole only by demonstrating to the parole board and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger that he was a model inmate who acknowledged his mistakes, expressed remorse for his crime, and did everything he could to improve himself. The judge who sentenced Eddy, the Assistant District Attorney who prosecuted him, a former director of the California Department of Corrections, and dozens of state legislators, local politicians, and community leaders wrote letters of support for his parole. Eddy Zheng now faces deportation to a country he left as a child.
As our friends and allies prepared to head to Cancún this month for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, ACRJ's youth program SAFIRE worked to bring climate justice directly to youth organizing groups at home.
Working closely with our friend Ellen Choy of Check The Weather, SAFIRE created a workshop for youth on climate justice and our families. Last week, we went live!
You can check Ellen's page now for great live reports from Cancún, and take action now by signing this petition asking Obama to support real progress Cancún.
Meanwhile, here at home, SAFIRE met up with Bay Area youth from AYPAL, Chinese Progressive Association, and PODER. The SAFIRE girls facilitated activities about how climate change impacts all of our families.
We started by giving an introduction to climate change and how pollution warms the planet through the greenhouse effect. We then explained the domino effect climate change has on our families and communities. For example, the rising sea levels caused by melting glaciers will affect low-land communities the worst.
December 7th was an International Day of Action to support the families of farmers, indigenous peoples, and vulnerable communities who are affected first and worst by the climate crisis. Organizations in over 30 locations throughout the US and Canada demonstrated how community-based solutions are doing a better job at cooling the planet than the ghost-like proceedings at the UN Climate Negotiations in Cancún.
This is really important stuff, but are you finding yourself beginning to glaze over? Wondering if this has anything to do with the international drama over Wikileaks (which it does)? I know--the effects of climate change and what we need to do to keep it from escalating are so monumental and unprecedented, it may feel easier to just focus on holiday shopping or simply move the issue to the back burner in your mind until after the holidays or until you and your family HAVE to deal with it.
If I were to use one word to describe SAFIRE's first-ever retreat held at Occidental Arts & Ecology Center, that word would be friendship. Our weekend was filled with fun and laughter, tons of picture taking, and was a time for the girls to really bond with each other and - as the girls called us - the adults.
On top of all the fun we had, the weekend was also about strengthening and building confidence in the girls. Their deeper relationships and confidence helped bring out the leadership that will help them in the climate justice and strong families workshops they'll be facilitating for local youth organizations in the coming weeks.
a message from our Executive Director, Eveline Shen...
As the end of the year approaches and the holiday season is upon us, like most people I think about family. I feel grateful for my family and I think about families who are faring poorly during these harsh economic times. I wonder how we as a movement can make real change for families all across the country to bring about the support and resources they need to thrive.
At ACRJ, families are what matter to us most – they are at the core of reproductive justice. And as our friend and ally, your involvement and dedication to our work is what allows us to build power in our communities locally and build a strong Reproductive Justice Movement nationally to strengthen families of all kinds. We are grateful to have you as part of our community, and ask for your support so that together we can keep up this important work and build upon our achievements with our bold and exciting new plans for the coming year.
In the past few years, through EMERJ, ACRJ’s movement building initiative, we have worked with over 200 grassroots groups across the country to develop leadership, build capacity, and change policies on the local, state and national levels that have resulted in advancing reproductive justice for our communities.
Building on this foundation, EMERJ is taking movement building to the next level by launching a long-term national policy initiative, Strong Families.
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.
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...
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.
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 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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
Glenn Nichols, city manager of Benson, Ariz., said last year two men came to the city "talking about building a facility to hold women and children that were undocumented.
NPR aired an impressive piece of investigative journalism today. In short, after the private prison industry, led by the Corrections Association of America identified its growth area as "Immigrant women and children" it worked through a group called ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) to move this idea forward.
Glenn Nichols, pictured above, tells how salesman for the prison industry came to his Arizona town selling a prison that would hold immigrant women and children, be full for years and years, and bring money to his town through jobs for guards.
While the connection between the prison industry and legislators is nothing new, this piece connects the chilling dots on SB1070. Read or listen at NPR.org.
When it comes to toxic chemicals in consumer products, one of the most popular messages we hear are about the potentially harmful impact of chemicals on children's health and safety. As a new mom, I completely get this and spend countless hours researching for toys and products that will cause the least harm to my little one.
Most people pay attention to issues that put our children in harms way… But how can we get people to see that this issue affects everyone in our family? And depending on where our family members work, it may affect some families more than others.
For some of the young women we work with, this is just the case. They have parents who work in nail salons, dry cleaners, and other toxic industries where they work and are surrounded by toxic chemicals every day.
Workers health and safety and the impact of toxic chemicals in the workplace is a story we rarely get to hear. But just last week, our allies with the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative mobilized numerous members of the nail salon community to a meeting with the San Francisco Supervisors to consider local legislation that would encourage residents to patron nail salons that use green-er nail products.
The fight against toxic chemicals has been a long and bumpy road – one that is currently being waged in both sides of Congress at the federal level, as well as at the state level. It is great to see examples of local activism contributing towards change on this historically pressing issue NOW, and imagine that some families are taking in a big breath of fresh air knowing that some relief is in their near future.
Recently we worked with Emmy-award-winning filmmaker Charles Stuart to develop a short video documenting the story of a nail salon worker in our community. Such stories are critical to increasing public awareness of the need for comprehensive chemical policy that protect everyone, including workers who are at the front lines of exposure to toxic chemicals.
A couple of weeks ago, my coworker Amanda and I were in New Mexico to support Women Building Community, a collaboration of 12 women of color led organizations who are bringing together diverse communities, strategies and leaders to create a unique model of change that is by and for the communities of New Mexico.
As we were driving 90 miles an hour through the desert to get from Albuquerque to Anthony, a small town just 30 minutes from the boarder with Mexico, Amanda and were talking about the familiar and the unfamiliar. Familiar: the experience of meeting amazing grassroots leaders who are innovating effective strategies for change. Unfamiliar: the miles and miles of open desert; border patrol agents scanning for signs of movement under the hot sun; the particular mix of indigenous, Chicana, Latina, immigrant and rural cultures; and, the amazing chili (I like both red and green).
Being in an unfamiliar place provided us the opportunity to explore and remember some of the elements of deep and lasting change.
I remember being in 4th or 5th grade and getting separated from the boys to watch an animated short film about sex. It consisted of a cartoon version of this boy and girl getting it on in a car and suddenly stopping, apparently realizing that they shouldn't go any further. That's all I remember. I don't remember any conversations about sex, body, or sexuality.
In high school, I took Driver's Education. Sex Ed sort of included in health class. Through the the awkwardness of the whole deal and it was only awkward because the teachers probably felt awkward and didn't feel prepared to have these conversations, I didn't learn that much... or anything at all.
Where did I learn about sex? I learned about sex on television. We all know how accurately television portrays desire and sex and how often that becomes our molding for our own desires.
And what happened when I started to engage in sexual behavior (AKA having sex) in high school? Lots of awkwardness, misinformation, close calls and silence.
Elaine Kamilly, like four billion of our fellow earthlings,
spends a lot of time on the cell phone
By Lisa Russ
My first few years as a parent plunged me into a land of great mystery: yes, what is a boppy and how did I make my baby a spleen, but the more persistent, nagging mystery was how to know what is safe for my kids. While plastic baby bottles and flame retardant-filled nursing pillows were available in great abundance, there was a growing concern about the impacts the chemicals in these products had on children’s development. I tried to wrap my head around what was real, what was safe enough, and what we could afford.
As I waded through those murky waters, I found myself in a land of molecules and endocrine disrupters, early onset of puberty and possible links to breast cancer. And that was just trying to buy sunscreen. I found myself saddened and alarmed that these negotiations were left to consumers. My college science education consisted of one night-class in Astronomy, and I was ill-equipped to analyze various double-blind randomized trials to decide whether or not to buy organic milk.
Last month, we blogged about two important bills aimed at protecting the health and well being of some of the most marginalized communities in California to ensure strong and thriving families across the state.
Today, as we revel in the passage of one and lament the veto of the other, we give one enthusiastic thumb up and one disbelieving thumb down to Governor Schwarzenegger.
Farm workers, their families and their communities won a major victory with the passage of AB 1963, the Pesticide Poisoning Prevention Bill. The bill protects farm workers from overexposure to pesticides, which can damage the nervous system and cause reproductive harm, by establishing standards for their handling and use. Farm worker communities, made up of mostly immigrants and people of color, have long suffered the terrible health impacts of workers being immersed in toxic chemicals on a daily basis and carrying them home to their children and other family members through their pesticide-drenched clothes. Not surprisingly, it has been women leaders and residents who have led the fight for environmental justice and community health, recognizing the threat of heavy and prolonged exposure to pesticides for their families and communities, including respiratory problems, cancer, and miscarriage. Indeed, the protection of children, babies and women – including those who are pregnant – from toxins that affect them in particular is one of the most significant reproductive justice impacts of this bill.
There has been a massive toxic spill. State of emergency has been declared. Numerous people have either died or suffered numerous injuries from the contamination.
Have you heard yet?
This time it's not within the walls of this country but a European country, Hungary. The toxic sludge is made up of arsenic, chrome, mercury, and high levels of alkaline from iron oxide and aluminium oxide. These chemical can cause burns, cancer if inhaled, and other painful ailments. This accident resulted from a busted dam which was "unusually full" and looked already weakened in June. MAL, the company overseeing the plant, has been accused of overloading the reservoir of toxic residue.
Based on their gender, race, age, citizenship and criminal record, people throughout history have had to fight for their right to vote. . Many people still do not have the right to vote based on these things. So, if you have the privilege to vote, take advantage of it!
This video shows a timeline of the voting rights struggles in the United States. It was showcased at a SAFIRE youth conference on ballot initiatives during the 2008 elections season. We are dusting it off and sharing this video again because it is incredibly relevant to the moment we are in now. Here is "The Changing Face of Democracy":
Produced by Mateo Reyes, former staff of Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson and Amanda Wake, ACRJ Youth Organizer:
Please share this post with friends, family, co-workers, your organization, and your youth! And VOTE ON TUES. NOV. 2nd!!!
Jennifer and Lonna, one of the few sister-duos who participated in SAFIRE this past summer, decided to share their Strong Families story through a very cute and colorful puppet show! Their project shares how their parents started cooking and the difficulties they faced in supporting their families.
As you can see, there are many ways to tell your Strong Families story. Come share your story with us here and be part of our Strong Families Story Collection!
Last week I had a blast working with the incredible women of Young Women United in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They work with young women of color and run powerful campaigns on anti-violence against women and comprehensive sexuality education.
Moira Bowman and I had the opportunity to run a Forward Stance training for their staff and their members. We also collected their stories on what makes their families strong. Here is one powerful story we collected:
September 27, 2010
"My name is Avicra and I’m from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
My family includes my brother, my father and I. My family is strong because we have survived my mother’s incarceration. My family needs free counseling and referrals/access to drug rehab facilities as well as national policy education on treatment instead of incarceration possibilities."
With the onslaught of anti-gay bullying, intimidation, and overall harrasment of queer/LGBT youth resulting in numerous consecutive suicides this past month, it's been an emotional and heart breaking time.
I remember, in college, for myself the internalized homophobia and the struggle with giving up my "privilege" of being straight for someone more true, a more real self. I cannot imagine going through that in high school and being ridiculed mercilessly for just being... me. I know that when I came out, knowing my attraction is not bound by societal expectation of my gender... it was completely liberating. It breaks my heart to know and see the struggles that our young queer community faces with homelessness, HIV, depression, drug use, and other host of issues that are a product of intolerance, hate, and ignorance.
Here in California, we are no strangers to repeated attempts at passing thinly veiled anti-choice ballot initiatives that would take away the rights of women and youth and endanger their health and safety. Remember Prop 73 in 2005, which tried to mandate parental notification for minors accessing abortion services? Or Prop 85 in 2006 and Prop 4 in 2008, which were almost identical measures? None of them passed, although the proponents blatantly claimed victory just for forcing progressive organizations to divert their resources to fight tirelessly to defeat these initiatives.
While California is spared this year from these ridiculously obsessive anti-choice efforts, Colorado is not. For the second year in a row, the state is facing a so-called “fetal personhood” initiative which is even more ridiculous than parental notification. Amendment 62 reads:
"As used in sections 3, 6, and 25 of Article II of the state constitution, the term "person" shall apply to every human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human being."
The language may seem benign enough at first, but knowing who’s behind it can help us quickly connect the dots. Anti-choice proponents have been trying to pass similar initiatives all across the county, which refer to the fetus as if it’s completely separate from the pregnant woman who is carrying it and ignores her own life, her rights and her experiences. Not only does the measure make no sense, it could cause widespread harm to women and families in Colorado – as well as women and families across the country – by demonizing their decisions and possibly even criminalizing contraception and miscarriage, not to mention its obvious attempt to ban the right to abortion services.
Thank goodness for groups like Choice USA, a member of the EMERJ Strategy Team, for exposing the absurdity of these measures with this hilarious video:
Watch it, share it, and support women and families in Colorado and everywhere by making sure that we vote these measures down every time they arise. Read more in Choice USA Executive Director’s article, “Where’s the Woman,” on Huffington Post.
A friend shared a story of how she encouraged the men in her workplace to take Family Medical Leave when they and their partners had new babies.
Her argument was two-fold. First, she said because California was one of the handful of states that actually had policy to support new parents to take six weeks off to bond with a newborn baby, adopted, or foster child, the men COULD take this time off, be with their families, and still receive partial pay. Second, she said that men SHOULD take this time off because when they don’t, they inadvertently push women – who are often the primary caregivers and have little choice but to take time off work – further down the employment opportunity ladder.
Attorney Gloria Allred, left, escorts Nicandra Diaz Santillan
after a news conference at Allred's office in which she
said Meg Whitman's former housekeeper was
"exploited, disrespected, humiliated and emotionally
and financially abused." (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times / September 29, 2010)
FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The airwaves in California have been dominated by images of a teary immigrant housekeeper claiming she was mistreated by her billionaire employer and turned away when she asked for citizenship help.
It's far from the message Republican Meg Whitman wants to send to the state's crucial Latino voting bloc as she runs for governor.
Thank you Nicky Diaz Santillan! Thank you for showing us that Meg Whitman is even more foolish, selfish and small-minded close-up than she is from afar.
While money can't buy happiness or, apparently, good judgment, it does give you the ability to treat your employees fairly--in this case, the person you depend on to help raise your kids and run your home.
Nicky Diaz Santillan is Meg Whitman's former nanny and housekeeper who just announced that she is undocumented, and after years of mistreatment by the Whitman's, was recently fired when she made her immigration status explicit.
After looking through videos of stories ACRJ collected for the Strong Families Story Collection, I began to ask myself: “What makes my family strong?” The answer is pretty simple, my mom. Mama is the core of my family; she is the glue that keeps us intact. My mom is the person who motivates me and my sisters to be the best we can be, our success is just a thank you to all the hard work she has done for us.
It has been 17 long years since we emigrated from the Philippines to the United States. We moved to join my dad and to start a better life for our family. Mama was the first and only one in her family to immigrate to the U.S. Barely knowing the language, the culture, or anyone, she persevered through all these challenges to make sure my sisters and I were taken care of. In addition, having a physical but not so present father-figure, Mama ultimately played the role of both mother and father. Through her example, my sisters and I learned to be independent and to find our own strength and power within to motivate ourselves to constantly aim for our goals and our highest potential.
Have you ever been called a bad name? It’s annoying, right? Have you ever been called a racial slur? Now that’s downright infuriating. And it’s wrong.
This week, the Applied Research Center launched a national public education campaign called Drop the I-Word, with the goal of eliminating the use of the word “illegal” from the media and public discourse in reference to immigrants who are undocumented. The campaign’s website states,
The I-Word creates an environment of hate by exploiting racial fear and economic anxiety, creating an easy scapegoat for complex issues, and OK-ing violence against those labeled with the word.
This summer I collected dozens of stories from people across the nation. I was humbled by people's experiences and inspired in their resilience. I have always known that I love stories. I love people. Every single person has a story (if animals and trees could talk…) . We all come from broken hearts, homes, and spirits. We also come from loving, laughing, and living through our tribulations. It is the strength of the human condition to march forward despite oppression and subjugation that drives us forward and into movements for social justice.
I was at the Facing Race Conference in Chicago, IL last week , and I was able to get some stories on video and many more on paper . It resonate d and stir ed something in people when I asked them to share with me their story about their family and why they’re strong.
This summer ACRJ's SAFIRE youth collected family stories from their elders and came up with creative ways of sharing them with all of you.
Here is a video filmed and edited by SAFIRE participant Judy Wu, a recent graduate of Oakland High School and new student at UCLA. Watch how Judy compares her father's childhood growing up in China with her childhood in Oakland.
SAFIRE's stories will continue to be posted on our blog and become part of our Strong Families Story Bank. You can also be part of our story bank. Share your story here.
It has been a month since my return to work from parental leave. The transition has been relatively easy. I mean, there are days where my eyes burn from lack of sleep or when I forget what I want to say mid-sentence, but really… I have no complaints.
I had 2 months off to welcome and nurture my little one into the world and to support my wonderful partner who labored him for three and a half days and who is amazing! My family and I rested well knowing that our health insurance would continue while I was on leave and that I would have a good job to return to. I felt fortunate to have the option of flexing the time I had left towards a shorter work week (for the remainder of the year) so that I could have more time with my new family.
Unfortunately, my story is not common. I am lucky to work for an organization that supports its workers and supports family. But I am just beginning to deeply understand how lucky I really am.
I was at a meeting the other week with Netsy Firestein of the Labor Project for Working Families where I learned that parental leave just became California policy in 2002 and that California was the first of 3 states to pass this policy to support working families.
We have along way to go. The only way we are going to get there is by moving together, organizing and sharing what our families need to be strong. Be part of ACRJ’s new Strong Families Initiative and tell us your story of what your family needs to be strong!
There are plenty of stories collected from ACRJ’s SAFIRE youth that are just waiting to be shared. Here is another story collection project from Summer SAFIRE 2010.
Holly Liu is currently a sophomore at Oakland High School. Her project titled “The Story of the Liu Family” is a poem that shares the journey of her family from China and how she got to where she is today.
Holly’s project, as well as other stories collected, is a part of our Strong Families Story Bank. Interested in contributing to our Strong Families Story Bank? Share your story with us here.
Dan Savage's column and podcast are hugely popular all over the country, including conservative communities where, apparently, teenagers are sneaking a listen late at night. His new YouTube channel is inspiring. Born out of grief and frustration over the suicide of a gay teenager, Billy Lucas, Dan Savage has started the It Gets Better Project.
He explains it below in today's Savage Love column:
Another gay teenager in another small town has killed himself—hope you're pleased with yourselves, Tony Perkins and all the other "Christians" out there who oppose anti-bullying programs (and give actual Christians a bad name).
Billy Lucas was just 15 when he hanged himself in a barn on his grandmother's property. He reportedly endured intense bullying at the hands of his classmates—classmates who called him a fag and told him to kill himself. His mother found his body.
Nine out of 10 gay teenagers experience bullying and harassment at school, and gay teens are four times likelier to attempt suicide. Many LGBT kids who do kill themselves live in rural areas, exurbs, and suburban areas, places with no gay organizations or services for queer kids.
"My heart breaks for the pain and torment you went through, Billy Lucas," a reader wrote, after I posted about Billy Lucas to my blog. "I wish I could have told you that things get better."
I had the same reaction: I wish I could have talked to this kid for five minutes. I wish I could have told Billy that it gets better. I wish I could have told him that, however bad things were, however isolated and alone he was, it gets better.
But gay adults aren't allowed to talk to these kids. Schools and churches don't bring us in to talk to teenagers who are being bullied. Many of these kids have homophobic parents who believe that they can prevent their gay children from growing up to be gay—or from ever coming out—by depriving them of information, resources, and positive role models.
Why are we waiting for permission to talk to these kids? We have the ability to talk directly to them right now. We don't have to wait for permission to let them know that it gets better. We can reach these kids.
So here's what you can do, GBVWS: Make a video. Tell them it gets better.
I've launched a channel on YouTube—www .youtube.com/itgetsbetterproject—to host these videos. My normally camera-shy husband and I already posted one. We both went to Christian schools and we were both bullied—he had it a lot worse than I did—and we are living proof that it gets better. We don't dwell too much on the past. Instead, we talk mostly about all the meaningful things in our lives now—our families, our friends (gay and straight), the places we've gone and things we've experienced—that we would've missed out on if we'd killed ourselves then.
"You gotta give 'em hope," Harvey Milk said.
Today we have the power to give these kids hope. We have the tools to reach out to them and tell our stories and let them know that it does get better. Online support groups are great, GLSEN does amazing work, the Trevor Project is invaluable. But many LGBT youth can't picture what their lives might be like as openly gay adults. They can't imagine a future for themselves. So let's show them what our lives are like, let's show them what the future may hold in store for them.
The video my husband and I made is up now—all by itself. I'd like to add submissions from other gay and lesbian adults—singles and couples, with kids or without, established in careers or just starting out, urban and rural, of all races and religious backgrounds. (Go to www.youtube.com/itgetsbetterproject to find instructions for submitting your video.) If you're gay or lesbian or bi or trans and you've ever read about a kid like Billy Lucas and thought, "Fuck, I wish I could've told him that it gets better," this is your chance. We can't help Billy, but there are lots of other Billys out there—other despairing LGBT kids who are being bullied and harassed, kids who don't think they have a future—and we can help them.
They need to know that it gets better. Submit a video. Give them hope.
Jett shares the story of his strong family, which comes together to support his brother who has a mental illness. While many of our families struggle with a whole host of issues, I think it’s particularly courageous of Jett to talk about his family’s experience with mental illness, which is such a taboo topic, especially in many communities of color. By sharing his family’s story, Jett is breaking down the stigma and shame and helping viewers – be they movement allies, elected officials, or people whose lives have been impacted by mental illness themselves – become aware of the need for understanding, support and resources not only for individuals and families, but also for entire communities.
What about your strong family? Do you have a story you want to share? Be a part of our Strong Families Story Collection Project and help us collect 5,000 stories from folks all across the county so that our families can be seen, our voices can be heard, and our needs and priorities can shape policies through theStrong Families initiative.
Just yesterday, my colleague Yvonne Tran and I were doing some fact checking to prepare for a workshop Yvonne is leading at Applied Research Center’s Facing Race Conference happening this week. Part of our “What’s Family Got to Do With It?” workshop is about how the concept of family has been defined over the years in public policy. We were thinking about the New Deal – a number of policies that got passed during the Great Depression when Franklin D. Roosevelt was president. It was during that time that new policies were put in place around housing, jobs, welfare, and social security to aid and support American families who were suffering. Well, some families…
“As is often true in American history, there is another less visible story line. The truth of the matter is that the New Deal era programs pulled many white families up from the Depression, while pitifully few families of color received such aid.”
In her article, For Families of Color, New Deal – or Same Old Shuffle, Lui goes on to give examples of ways in which families of color were left behind by housing loans, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Works Progress Administration and other programs. We know that history has a tendency of repeating itself so we are using our Strong Families initiative to both understand the history of families of color in the U.S. as well as to lift up the “less visible story line” of families of color at the present moment.
This week, Yvonne is collecting stories of families of color at Facing Race. And through 2011, we will be collecting strong family stories all across the country so that we reveal who families are, demand what our families need, and ensure our families stay strong.
Check out strong family stories on our website and share the story of your family. These are the stories we need to guide policies that ensures support for families through the ongoing economic crisis.
What does your family look like? Does it look like the stereotypical nuclear family – two straight parents, two kids and a dog living in a house with a white picket fence? Probably not. Mine certainly doesn’t, and neither do the vast majority of the families in this country.
Then why do so many policies treat us as if our families are any less valuable or deserving? Because the very limited way that “family” has been defined by the Right for the past thirty years means that our families, which come in all different shapes, colors and sizes, are often left out and even punished.
It’s time to fight back, and tell the world what OUR families look like. So we’re collecting 5,000 stories as part of our new Strong Families initiative, which will change the culture and policies in this country to benefit our families, the way that we define them and no matter what they look like. By telling our stories, we can send a strong message to opinions leaders and elected officials about what our families need and what makes our families strong. Tell your strong family story today!
Many of our friends and allies have already told their strong family story. Here’s one of my favorites. Emma tells the story of how she and her mom have overcome struggle by keeping hope alive.
Frank tells us an amazing story of how strong women helped shape, support, and helped guide his life. They instilled in him a sense of community and giving that is with him today. Stories like Frank's, of single parents, immigrants, and living in unsupported neighborhoods are not unique but do show the resilience and ability of our families to support and uphold our communities.
This story are among others that we are collecting for our Strong Familie s Story Collection Project in which we aim to gather 5,000 stories across the nations to illuminate what families are struggling with and triumphing over.
Maddie had her dinner tonight in the shopping cart.
By Lisa Russ
It’s the back-to-school time of year, full of sharp pencils, clean notebooks, and heaps of advice about how families should handle the incessant balancing of act of parenthood.
A favorite topic for researchers is the benefits of families eating dinner together. Most of these groundbreaking studies say the same thing: families that eat together are more likely to thrive by just about every measure -- grades, happiness, family planning, drug use, and even divorce. You name it, it seems that by sitting down and eating together, you can solve it.
I was raised by a statistician (who was also a single parent) and so whenever I see data like this I wonder about cause and effect. And now that I am a working mother with two small children, I feel even more dubious about the magical impact of the elusive family dinner.
It’s what I call the “Under The Table Syndrome.” As in, what were all the invisible steps, the pieces hidden under the table, it took to get that food and that family, warm, nutritious, and ready to connect, all there at the same time? And isn’t it really all of those things, which mostly boil down to time and money, that give families the leg up?
If you missed the Permaculture for the People Report Back at the new vegetarian Filipino Restaurant, No Worries in Downtown Oakland, then NO WORRIES!
Below is a video clip of what I had to say about my experience at the 2 week long Permaculture for the People intensive training organized by Movement Generation and Occidental Arts and Ecology Center. I spoke about how permaculture relates to movement building and how it contributes to youth development and immigrant justice through cultural reclamation. I told the story of how permaculture was taken away from my family during WWII when they were forced into internment camps for being of Japanese descent. I ended with how cultural reclamation of permaculture practices strengthens families.
I was at a gathering of friends recently, where as usual, we were lamenting the various challenges of the current political climate. Then, I mentioned the inspiring victory of Domestic Workers United in New York. Just a couple weeks ago, they celebrated the signing of legislation that guarantees overtime-pay, a minimum of 1 day off every 7 days, three days of paid leave per year and protections from discrimination. This WIN is groundbreaking for domestic workers and their families and moves us closer to ensuring that the workers who take care of homes and families all across the country can support their own families as well. But, at our party, no one knew about this victory. And when they heard, conversation shifted from how tough it is to make change, to the possibilities of change.
Yes, yes. You probably have all read the NY Times articles on bed bugs terrorizing cities from the Big Apple to Detroit to Columbus, OH. You probably even googled what they looked like and cringed in anticipation when you opened your sheets at night. You can’t stop talking about it to your co-workers - describing new facts you’re learning from the media blitz on these little parasites.
Okay, maybe that’s just me.
But it is a real and financially devastating problem for many folks. Some of the hardest hit are not just the random White upper/middle class families/couples/singles living in NYC (that are quoted all the time in the media) but the working class families and communities of color who can’t afford the thousands upon thousands of dollars to eradicate these small beasts (or as my friend calls them, “Satan’s spawns”).
So, BB (since it’s gotten that intimate with some folks), are about the size of an apple seed and looks like a tick (refer to this post’s picture). They are noticeable and they basically feed on humans at night when you’re sleeping. They are particularly tricky because they give off an anesthesia agent that makes the bites painless then and very itchy later. These creatures have eluded even the best of pest control companies and city officials.
When I was in college (learning about politics, economics - and justice on the side) I joined a group of students on a tour through Richmond neighborhoods bordering the Chevron oil refinery to learn about the community’s fight to hold the company accountable for its harmful affect on the residents’ health and the environment. I was struck by how close homes, schools and play yards were to Chevron, and how homes appeared to practically disappear within its shadow. As part of the tour, we also got to hear stories from local residents. I remember one woman speaking and pointing to a home that looked vacant. She said that a family had lived there for years growing and eating their own fruits and vegetables because that was all they could afford. Then over time, each family member became seriously ill.
In November, I was excited to be in New York City to train and facilitate a dialogue on Western States Center’s Uniting Communities project. Uniting Communities focuses on proactively bringing together the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer) community and communities of color because there is a need to work across communities and issues. Together, we can stand stronger. 
Have you ever been called a bad name? It’s annoying, right? Have you ever been called a racial slur? Now that’s downright infuriating. And it’s wrong. 
