May 27, 2011
ACRJ is hiring for Communications Director
ACRJ is looking for a Communications Director to lead our exciting Strong Families communications efforts. To read more or download the job announcement, go to our Jobs page. And please, spread the word.
Growing from Groundwork
By Kalpana Krishnamurthy, Western States Center
Imagine watching your child enter the world between the chains on your wrists and feet, her cry rising against the squawk of guards’ radios and hollow bite of deadbolts.
Female inmates are shackled as they undergo the most arduous process of childbirth in 40 out of 50 state penitentiaries and numerous county jails in the U.S.
The infant mortality rates for black babies in Oregon is closer to those of Sri Lanka and Botswana than the U.S. average; and black infants are twice as likely as white to be born prematurely and die before one year of age.
Imagine watching your newborn coo and squeal next to her companions in a maternity ward, knowing that she has less of a chance —not at something as amorphous as “liberty” or “freedom,”---at life itself.
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| Download the report here |
Imagine watching your child enter the world between the chains on your wrists and feet, her cry rising against the squawk of guards’ radios and hollow bite of deadbolts.
Female inmates are shackled as they undergo the most arduous process of childbirth in 40 out of 50 state penitentiaries and numerous county jails in the U.S.
The infant mortality rates for black babies in Oregon is closer to those of Sri Lanka and Botswana than the U.S. average; and black infants are twice as likely as white to be born prematurely and die before one year of age.
Imagine watching your newborn coo and squeal next to her companions in a maternity ward, knowing that she has less of a chance —not at something as amorphous as “liberty” or “freedom,”---at life itself.
May 26, 2011
ACRJ’s NEW summer youth programs challenge patriarchy and homophobia
This summer we are doing exciting NEW things with Asian youth in Oakland. In addition to our 30 youth SAFIRE young women’s program we are launching a brand new Summer Young Men’s program for Asian young men in high school (or recently graduated). They will explore the ways reproductive justice intersects with their lives. Reproductive Justice is a movement that fights for the self determination of all people when it comes to their gender, bodies and sexuality. Reproductive Justice is not just for women. If we want to see the change that we want to see we must invest in the young men in our communities. This summer we are doing just that! Both programs will be challenging gender roles, homophobia, racism and patriarchy both inside themselves and in their communities. Stay tuned into our blog to hear updates on both of our summer youth programs.May 18, 2011
Dear Gmama
It is past Mothers Day, but there should never be a day that goes by where we don't honor the women in our lives who raised us. Here's a letter from Fatimah, one of our young women from SAFIRE, to the woman in her life that made her the leader that she is today.
Dear Gmama,
I thank you for everything you have done for me, I know it wasn’t easy to raise 7 kids including me. We’ve been through it all, to have no money to have everything we wanted. It wasn’t easy for me growing up, my dad left when I was at a young age. Not only that, my mother left once I was born. As I was growing up I didn’t have any perfect parent’s figures, all I had was you, and you took care of me like I was your own child. Once I finally met my dad, I was angry at him because he made feel like I was unwanted. You explained why my dad had to leave, he had to leave so he can provide for us. It took a while for me to understand the whole situation.
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| Gmama |
I thank you for everything you have done for me, I know it wasn’t easy to raise 7 kids including me. We’ve been through it all, to have no money to have everything we wanted. It wasn’t easy for me growing up, my dad left when I was at a young age. Not only that, my mother left once I was born. As I was growing up I didn’t have any perfect parent’s figures, all I had was you, and you took care of me like I was your own child. Once I finally met my dad, I was angry at him because he made feel like I was unwanted. You explained why my dad had to leave, he had to leave so he can provide for us. It took a while for me to understand the whole situation.
May 17, 2011
Staying strong in juvenile hall
By Miranda “Camboslice” Uong, SAFIRE Participant
My family includes my mom and two younger brothers. My family never really had a father figure, but that never stopped us four as being a family. My mom is always there for my brothers and myself. Even though I am incarcerated, they still are here for me even though we may fight.
This strong family story was written by Kaleen in the Juvenile Detention Center in San Francisco. Before meeting these young women, I assumed most of the time that people in jail, prison, or juvie were “bad.” But after this experience I’ve learned a lot about them, and they changed my perspective. I became more open minded and less judgmental. One thing I learned from all of these ladies were that they all love what they call family and they showed me that they are strong women and they have strong families.May 14, 2011
Musings on (the day after) Mother’s Day
[This is an excerpt from a post that originally appeared in Crunk Feminist Collective.]
By moyazb
As a graduate student, with a penchant for procrastination, I watch a lot of reality TV. In particular, I watch a lot of shows on Bravo that point out the hardships of being rich, white, and woman in a world made for their husbands rich white men. Some of these women are mothers and in light of yesterday’s really awesome holiday turned commercialized grossness, I thought I’d muse on motherhood as represented in these shows.
By moyazb
As a graduate student, with a penchant for procrastination, I watch a lot of reality TV. In particular, I watch a lot of shows on Bravo that point out the hardships of being rich, white, and woman in a world made for their husbands rich white men. Some of these women are mothers and in light of yesterday’s really awesome holiday turned commercialized grossness, I thought I’d muse on motherhood as represented in these shows.I’m particularly fond of Bethenny Getting Married now Bethenny Ever After, a show featuring Bethenny Hoppy, a new mother of one. In one episode she and her recently wed husband discussed childrearing over dinner and her eight month pregnant stomach. They admitted that neither of them had baby sat before nor ever really been around an infant for any length of time. They laughed it off and continued to enjoy their Honeymoon in St. Bart’s.
May 13, 2011
Mama's Day 2011: Looking back, looking ahead
[This post is part of a Mama’s Day Series by The Strong Families Initiative. To follow all of the Mama's Day events, visit us on Facebook and Twitter.]
By Eveline Shen
I spent Mother’s Day in the in the most amazing way – surrounded by my partner, my children, both sets of grandparents, and their 3 uncles. I bathed in the warmth and presence of these people whom I love and felt gratitude in each moment for our health, safety and togetherness. But I also spent Mother’s Day surrounded by the voices and stories of mamas and families from communities all across the country that joined together in the Strong Families Mama’s Day campaign – a celebration of all the mothers in our lives who are often overlooked during traditional Mother’s Day conversations. Their voices resonated throughout the day for me and echoed my hopes for the future.
Together, we created an opportunity for Strong Families friends and allies to join together in telling our stories. We heard of people’s joys, the love of mamas for their children and of children for their mamas.
Malkia Cyril’s Facebook comment put it best:
By Eveline Shen
I spent Mother’s Day in the in the most amazing way – surrounded by my partner, my children, both sets of grandparents, and their 3 uncles. I bathed in the warmth and presence of these people whom I love and felt gratitude in each moment for our health, safety and togetherness. But I also spent Mother’s Day surrounded by the voices and stories of mamas and families from communities all across the country that joined together in the Strong Families Mama’s Day campaign – a celebration of all the mothers in our lives who are often overlooked during traditional Mother’s Day conversations. Their voices resonated throughout the day for me and echoed my hopes for the future.
Together, we created an opportunity for Strong Families friends and allies to join together in telling our stories. We heard of people’s joys, the love of mamas for their children and of children for their mamas.
Malkia Cyril’s Facebook comment put it best:
May 12, 2011
Sex education starts at home
By Aimée Thorne-Thomsen
Before I was a reproductive health, rights and justice activist, or even pro-choice, I was a little brown girl from the Bronx. I grew up in racially and economically diverse communities in Washington Heights and Marble Hill surrounded by my clan - my very large, very loud, mostly Puerto Rican family. They raised me with an enormous amount of unconditional love and provided my mother all the support she needed as a single parent. Through some luck and hard work, I attended a private Catholic school with other working class kids from all over the city, whose families and communities were pretty similar to mine. This was around the time that crack cocaine was wreaking havoc across the city and HIV/AIDS would soon do the same.
Strong families love unconditionally
[This is an excerpt from an article that originally appeared in On The Issues Magazine.]
By Susan Lehman
As the mother of grown children, I have basked in the annual glow of Mother's Day recognition for a long time. Both my family and my community offer me blessings and praise for raising and providing for my children. But one of my most deeply maternal choices, my abortion, does not warrant the same recognition.
Data from the Guttmacher Institute states that one in three women will have an abortion at some point in her life, and that the "reasons [women] give for having an abortion underscore their understanding of the responsibilities of parenthood and family life." Even more significant as we approach Mother's Day and as we celebrate strong families, Guttmacher reports that 61 percent of women having abortions are already mothers.
At Exhale, the pro-voice organization creating a more supportive and respectful social climate around abortion, where I serve as a counselor on our national multi-lingual talkline and as a moderator for our online community, I hear from women of all ages talk about abortion and parenthood. I hear some young women speak quite longingly of motherhood, and who wonder if they have lost the opportunity to be mothers. Women who already have children speak of what they have lost, and a few worry if they have failed as mothers. Others call to feel supported for doing what they know to be a responsible, parenting decision.
To read the rest of the article, click here.
By Susan Lehman
As the mother of grown children, I have basked in the annual glow of Mother's Day recognition for a long time. Both my family and my community offer me blessings and praise for raising and providing for my children. But one of my most deeply maternal choices, my abortion, does not warrant the same recognition.
Data from the Guttmacher Institute states that one in three women will have an abortion at some point in her life, and that the "reasons [women] give for having an abortion underscore their understanding of the responsibilities of parenthood and family life." Even more significant as we approach Mother's Day and as we celebrate strong families, Guttmacher reports that 61 percent of women having abortions are already mothers.
At Exhale, the pro-voice organization creating a more supportive and respectful social climate around abortion, where I serve as a counselor on our national multi-lingual talkline and as a moderator for our online community, I hear from women of all ages talk about abortion and parenthood. I hear some young women speak quite longingly of motherhood, and who wonder if they have lost the opportunity to be mothers. Women who already have children speak of what they have lost, and a few worry if they have failed as mothers. Others call to feel supported for doing what they know to be a responsible, parenting decision.
To read the rest of the article, click here.
May 11, 2011
Honoring Young Mamas in North Carolina
[This was originally posted on the University of North Carolina's Feminist Students United blog.]
by Feminist Students United
These days, all sides of the political spectrum attempt to claim mothers as a demographic they represent. When it comes to Democrats and Republicans, it seems the mothers they speak of have “mom haircuts”, are white, “middle-class”, Christian, married, and around 40 years old. But what about the hip, new moms? What about working-class, single moms who educate themselves and raise a family? What about black, feminist women? Or young moms, who may still be in high school or college?
Screech. Hold the phone. Now it’s gettin’ sticky. Most articles/pictures/sociological studies about young mamas end up shaming the women, how the public school systems/government has failed them, whether or not they should have the choice to terminate the pregnancy. But what about celebrating these mamas? On this Mother’s Day I ask that viewers watch the above video, and think of one of the kickass young mamas in my life: Cathey Stanley.
by Feminist Students United
These days, all sides of the political spectrum attempt to claim mothers as a demographic they represent. When it comes to Democrats and Republicans, it seems the mothers they speak of have “mom haircuts”, are white, “middle-class”, Christian, married, and around 40 years old. But what about the hip, new moms? What about working-class, single moms who educate themselves and raise a family? What about black, feminist women? Or young moms, who may still be in high school or college?
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| Cathey & Jaiden |
Mama’s not just another statistic
[This post is part of a Mama’s Day Series by The Strong Families Initiative. To follow all of the Mama's Day events, visit us on Facebook and Twitter.]
By Shantae Johnson
I never wanted to become a statistic, another young, single black woman with a baby. The same day I found out I was pregnant with my firstborn son at 20 years old, I found out his father was incarcerated and would be for many years after that. I felt doomed and pigeonholed into being labeled unworthy of this new status in womanhood called motherhood. My family did not let me forget either, that I was unworthy of this choice and parenthood was simply not for me. I worked part-time, was a freshman at a community college and living on my own with roommates, barely supporting myself.
Our ideas of who should be a mother and who should not is shaped by what society tells us is right. Many women are haunted by the one prototype of what being a family and mother is supposed to be: a married parental unit, homeowners and careers established. This is so unrealistic and difficult for many families to uphold, let alone me.
By Shantae Johnson
I never wanted to become a statistic, another young, single black woman with a baby. The same day I found out I was pregnant with my firstborn son at 20 years old, I found out his father was incarcerated and would be for many years after that. I felt doomed and pigeonholed into being labeled unworthy of this new status in womanhood called motherhood. My family did not let me forget either, that I was unworthy of this choice and parenthood was simply not for me. I worked part-time, was a freshman at a community college and living on my own with roommates, barely supporting myself.
Our ideas of who should be a mother and who should not is shaped by what society tells us is right. Many women are haunted by the one prototype of what being a family and mother is supposed to be: a married parental unit, homeowners and careers established. This is so unrealistic and difficult for many families to uphold, let alone me.
Honoring all mamas on Mother’s Day
[This post originally appeared in Ms. Magazine.]
By Laura Paskus
On Mother’s Day, it’s easy to get caught up in the Hallmark image of Mom. Even in the 21st century, the idealized mother often appears as straight, married and, if not stately or stodgy, at least mature in years.
But how many mothers actually fit that stereotype?
The Strong Families Initiative (led by Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice) is introducing Mama’s Day—a celebration of women overlooked during traditional Mother’s Day conversations:
In particular, we want to give love to those Mamas who are immigrants, single, young, queer or low-income. We know these Mamas are often at the core of our families and communities, but are often overlooked or worse—they are scapegoated by policy-makers and right-wing conservatives.
As part of that celebration, a variety of women’s organizations nationwide have been holding events all week: On May 5th in New Mexico, for example, Young Women United, a “fierce group of revolutionary women” that supports and empowers young women of color, Tewa Women United, an inter-tribal, inter-generational group of Native women and Española Valley Women’s Health participated in a three-mile walk in solidarity with midwives worldwide.
As Tewa Women United’s Kathy Sanchez explained to me, one of the ways the scientists and government bureaucrats in New Mexico have most affected women was by, during the 1950s, discouraging home birthing practices and advising women to deliver in the Indian Hospital. “Here, we were forced out of it, we were shamed out of it,” Sanchez said.
To read the rest of the article, click here.
By Laura Paskus
But how many mothers actually fit that stereotype?
The Strong Families Initiative (led by Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice) is introducing Mama’s Day—a celebration of women overlooked during traditional Mother’s Day conversations:
In particular, we want to give love to those Mamas who are immigrants, single, young, queer or low-income. We know these Mamas are often at the core of our families and communities, but are often overlooked or worse—they are scapegoated by policy-makers and right-wing conservatives.
As part of that celebration, a variety of women’s organizations nationwide have been holding events all week: On May 5th in New Mexico, for example, Young Women United, a “fierce group of revolutionary women” that supports and empowers young women of color, Tewa Women United, an inter-tribal, inter-generational group of Native women and Española Valley Women’s Health participated in a three-mile walk in solidarity with midwives worldwide.
As Tewa Women United’s Kathy Sanchez explained to me, one of the ways the scientists and government bureaucrats in New Mexico have most affected women was by, during the 1950s, discouraging home birthing practices and advising women to deliver in the Indian Hospital. “Here, we were forced out of it, we were shamed out of it,” Sanchez said.
To read the rest of the article, click here.
How our immigration policies hurt families--and all of us
[This post, which excerpts an RH Reality Check piece, is part of a Mama’s Day Series by The Strong Families Initiative. To follow all of the Mama's Day events, visit us on Facebook and Twitter.]
By Christine Soyong Harley
On March 24th, the Associated Press broke a story about the discovery of a maternity ward for women from China being operated in the San Gabriel Valley in California. The AP article described the upscale, luxury townhomes, part of a quiet residential condo development, that had been converted into a maternity ward for middle- and upper-income Chinese women to deliver American-born children in the hopes that U.S. citizenship would provide greater opportunities for their children within China. However, subsequent articles painted a different, more nefarious picture about a seedy Chinese American man being fined for running an illegal business (rather than for building code violations for removing some interior walls to create separate living quarters for the women), converted kitchens crammed with bassinets, pamphlets and baby formula, and neighbors complaining of the scent of “cheap canola oil” in the air.
This story has had additional leverage in helping anti-immigrant advocates assert a new “baby boom” among “millions” of “birth tourists” who come to the US in order to have themselves an American baby. Although the statistics indicate that less than one percent of all births in the US are to foreigners visiting on tourist visas, that didn’t stop Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) from making claims of a long-term plot by pregnant foreign women to hatch “terror babies” so that “one day, 20, 30 years down the road, they can be sent in to help destroy our way of life."
Really? As absurd as this sounds, this leap from reality is being used to justify harsh anti-immigrant policies that have had devastating and dangerous impacts on the lives of immigrant mothers and their children. As immigration debates have increasingly cast immigrant women as “unfit” and “undesirable,” reproductive rights and the ability of immigrant women to make healthy decisions for themselves and their families has been increasingly undermined. Attacks on the 14th Amendment and efforts to strip the right to citizenship from American-born children of immigrant mothers are just the most glaring examples of efforts to restrict the reproductive rights of immigrant women and control the growth of non-White families.
To read the rest of the article, click here.
By Christine Soyong Harley
On March 24th, the Associated Press broke a story about the discovery of a maternity ward for women from China being operated in the San Gabriel Valley in California. The AP article described the upscale, luxury townhomes, part of a quiet residential condo development, that had been converted into a maternity ward for middle- and upper-income Chinese women to deliver American-born children in the hopes that U.S. citizenship would provide greater opportunities for their children within China. However, subsequent articles painted a different, more nefarious picture about a seedy Chinese American man being fined for running an illegal business (rather than for building code violations for removing some interior walls to create separate living quarters for the women), converted kitchens crammed with bassinets, pamphlets and baby formula, and neighbors complaining of the scent of “cheap canola oil” in the air.
This story has had additional leverage in helping anti-immigrant advocates assert a new “baby boom” among “millions” of “birth tourists” who come to the US in order to have themselves an American baby. Although the statistics indicate that less than one percent of all births in the US are to foreigners visiting on tourist visas, that didn’t stop Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) from making claims of a long-term plot by pregnant foreign women to hatch “terror babies” so that “one day, 20, 30 years down the road, they can be sent in to help destroy our way of life."
Really? As absurd as this sounds, this leap from reality is being used to justify harsh anti-immigrant policies that have had devastating and dangerous impacts on the lives of immigrant mothers and their children. As immigration debates have increasingly cast immigrant women as “unfit” and “undesirable,” reproductive rights and the ability of immigrant women to make healthy decisions for themselves and their families has been increasingly undermined. Attacks on the 14th Amendment and efforts to strip the right to citizenship from American-born children of immigrant mothers are just the most glaring examples of efforts to restrict the reproductive rights of immigrant women and control the growth of non-White families.
To read the rest of the article, click here.
May 10, 2011
Why reproductive justice is a Black thing
[This post, an excerpt from an RH Reality Check article, is part of a Mama’s Day Series by The Strong Families Initiative. To follow all of the Mama's Day events, visit us on Facebook and Twitter.]
By Walidah Imarisha
Childbirth can be a deadly matter in the U.S., especially if you are middle or working class. But it was when looking at race and income together that one civil rights organization decided it needed a new lens.
Women in the U.S. living in lowest-income areas are twice as likely to die during pregnancy and childbirth, according to a groundbreaking report released today by Amnesty International. In Amnesty’s one year update to their Deadly Delivery report on maternal health, they showed that the U.S. is one of the most dangerous countries to go give birth in the west, especially if you are poor.
But thanks to a pioneering report by the Urban League of Portland, Oregonians know that pregnancy is dangerous to both mother and child, and that race plays as much of a factor as income in who lives and dies. It turns out that the intersections of race, gender and class are, literally, a killer.
To read the rest of the article, click here.
By Walidah Imarisha
Childbirth can be a deadly matter in the U.S., especially if you are middle or working class. But it was when looking at race and income together that one civil rights organization decided it needed a new lens.
Women in the U.S. living in lowest-income areas are twice as likely to die during pregnancy and childbirth, according to a groundbreaking report released today by Amnesty International. In Amnesty’s one year update to their Deadly Delivery report on maternal health, they showed that the U.S. is one of the most dangerous countries to go give birth in the west, especially if you are poor.
But thanks to a pioneering report by the Urban League of Portland, Oregonians know that pregnancy is dangerous to both mother and child, and that race plays as much of a factor as income in who lives and dies. It turns out that the intersections of race, gender and class are, literally, a killer.
To read the rest of the article, click here.
Supporting her journey: A full-spectrum doula’s look at the politics of motherhood
[This post, which excerpts an RH Reality Check piece, is part of a Mama’s Day Series by The Strong Families Initiative. To follow all of the Mama's Day events, visit us on Facebook and Twitter.]
By Lauren Guy-McAlpin
Motherhood isn’t exactly what comes to mind when many folks hear the term “reproductive rights.” Even in our own movement, we sometimes forget that the right to become a mother (and to do so on one’s own terms) is inseparably tied to what it means to be pro-choice.
Of course, I’m part of a community that focuses on it plenty: as a doula, I accompany expectant mamas and their partners during labor, childbirth, and the immediate postpartum period. Not being a mother myself, what led me to pursue doula work was my background as a reproductive rights activist. However, like many of my pro-choice sisters, it wasn’t something I immediately equated reproductive rights with, either.
To be sure, the rights of childbearing women are not as publicly threatened as they are for those seeking abortions. By which I mean, the limitations on the right to be a mother don’t have their own rallies and pickets; no, these are contained, politically, within the crowds of protesters expressing their opposition to health care access, inside Congress’ bargaining sessions, and in state and local governments that restrict access to certain facets of reproductive events, from contraception to laws about where women can and cannot give birth.
To read the rest of the article, click here.
By Lauren Guy-McAlpin
Motherhood isn’t exactly what comes to mind when many folks hear the term “reproductive rights.” Even in our own movement, we sometimes forget that the right to become a mother (and to do so on one’s own terms) is inseparably tied to what it means to be pro-choice.
Of course, I’m part of a community that focuses on it plenty: as a doula, I accompany expectant mamas and their partners during labor, childbirth, and the immediate postpartum period. Not being a mother myself, what led me to pursue doula work was my background as a reproductive rights activist. However, like many of my pro-choice sisters, it wasn’t something I immediately equated reproductive rights with, either.
To be sure, the rights of childbearing women are not as publicly threatened as they are for those seeking abortions. By which I mean, the limitations on the right to be a mother don’t have their own rallies and pickets; no, these are contained, politically, within the crowds of protesters expressing their opposition to health care access, inside Congress’ bargaining sessions, and in state and local governments that restrict access to certain facets of reproductive events, from contraception to laws about where women can and cannot give birth.
To read the rest of the article, click here.
Unbound: a Mother's Day gift
[This post, an excerpt from a Western States Center piece, is part of a Mama’s Day Series by The Strong Families Initiative. To follow all of the Mama's Day events, visit us on Facebook and Twitter.]
By Aimee Santos-Lyon
What must it feel like to be pregnant and ready to give birth... while wearing restraints?
For many women, anxiety and fear are part of the normal childbirth experience and physical discomfort is part of the process of labor. Although the actual birthing experience varies wildly from woman to woman, it is no picnic in the park for anyone. It is a herculean feat in which women summon energy from the depths of your being for hours on end. It is painful and it is exhausting.
Now imagine being shackled at your hands and feet while all of this is happening.
Incarcerated mothers nationwide experience this humiliation and degradation while giving birth in federal, state and county prisons. Across the country, a patchwork of policies exist to address birthing practices at state and county jails or detention centers—but there is no universal recognition or protection of the dignity and safety of incarcerated birthing mothers. At the federal level, the Rebecca Project for Human Rights won a federal ban in 2010 but the ban does not cover state penitentiaries or county jails. As of 2011, only 10 states in the country have banned the practice of shackling women during childbirth.
To read the rest of the article, click here.
By Aimee Santos-Lyon
What must it feel like to be pregnant and ready to give birth... while wearing restraints?
Now imagine being shackled at your hands and feet while all of this is happening.
Incarcerated mothers nationwide experience this humiliation and degradation while giving birth in federal, state and county prisons. Across the country, a patchwork of policies exist to address birthing practices at state and county jails or detention centers—but there is no universal recognition or protection of the dignity and safety of incarcerated birthing mothers. At the federal level, the Rebecca Project for Human Rights won a federal ban in 2010 but the ban does not cover state penitentiaries or county jails. As of 2011, only 10 states in the country have banned the practice of shackling women during childbirth.
To read the rest of the article, click here.
May 9, 2011
The up and down journey of motherhood: let's lift as they climb
[This post, an excerpt from RH Reality Check, is part of a Mama’s Day Series by The Strong Families Initiative. To follow all of the Mama's Day events, visit us on Facebook and Twitter.]
By Marlene Sanchez
Mother’s Day always makes me think about the up and down journey motherhood has been for me and many of the women I know. I had my first child at nineteen and I still don’t know how I made it. I worked two jobs, with the first one starting at five in the morning and the second one finishing at nine at night. I couldn’t afford full-time childcare, so I moved my son Danny between two part-time centers that weren’t as good as I hoped for but better than I could afford.
One of my most vivid memories from that time was going down to an alley in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco to buy my formula. Because I had two jobs, I didn’t qualify for WIC, and because I worked so much, I wasn’t around enough to breastfeed my baby. A can of formula at my local Safeway was $24, which it took me about 4 hours to earn. Instead, I would go to this little spot downtown that sold the formula for half price. I don’t know where they were getting it, but it was the real stuff and thankfully, despite the many stresses in our lives, Danny was a happy baby and thrived.
What got me through that time were the other young, single moms I knew; we took care of each other in so many ways. We would watch each other's kids, and I never came back from the alley with just one can of formula. We were always teaming up to get things done: grab food and diapers for each other, make dinner, and help our seemingly impossible schedules work somehow.
To read the rest of the article, click here.
By Marlene Sanchez
Mother’s Day always makes me think about the up and down journey motherhood has been for me and many of the women I know. I had my first child at nineteen and I still don’t know how I made it. I worked two jobs, with the first one starting at five in the morning and the second one finishing at nine at night. I couldn’t afford full-time childcare, so I moved my son Danny between two part-time centers that weren’t as good as I hoped for but better than I could afford.
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| Marlene & her two sons |
What got me through that time were the other young, single moms I knew; we took care of each other in so many ways. We would watch each other's kids, and I never came back from the alley with just one can of formula. We were always teaming up to get things done: grab food and diapers for each other, make dinner, and help our seemingly impossible schedules work somehow.
To read the rest of the article, click here.
Motherhood, media, and a 21st century movement
[This post is part of a Mama’s Day Series by The Strong Families Initiative. To follow all of the Mama's Day events, visit us on Facebook and Twitter.]
By Malkia Cyril
I love my mother.
From my birth in 1974 to her death in 2005, my mother taught me through her stories about the women of the Black Panther Party, that mothers are a key vehicle for social change and are critical to the fight for democratic rights and regulation. Perhaps this is why the conservative Right has so viciously and aggressively targeted their communications at mothers and motherhood within communities of color, poor communities, and young communities. Without the voices and visions of mothers, and their leadership at multiple levels, 21st century progressive movements cannot win.
I grew up the daughter of a woman in pain. With both sickle cell anemia and a history of abuse, my mother knew what suffering was. That pain, and my mother’s lifelong attempts through child-rearing, education, and community organizing in the Black Panther Party to transform her own suffering into both safety and belonging, provide the context for my analysis about the critical role of motherhood in building social movements. Personally, I hope this analysis will also usher in a new phase of life that brings a turning point where I am transformed from a single person accountable primarily to myself- to a nurturer of children, of leaders, and of the kind of social movements that give birth to new vision, new conditions, and new ways of governing and making change.
By Malkia Cyril
I love my mother.
From my birth in 1974 to her death in 2005, my mother taught me through her stories about the women of the Black Panther Party, that mothers are a key vehicle for social change and are critical to the fight for democratic rights and regulation. Perhaps this is why the conservative Right has so viciously and aggressively targeted their communications at mothers and motherhood within communities of color, poor communities, and young communities. Without the voices and visions of mothers, and their leadership at multiple levels, 21st century progressive movements cannot win.
I grew up the daughter of a woman in pain. With both sickle cell anemia and a history of abuse, my mother knew what suffering was. That pain, and my mother’s lifelong attempts through child-rearing, education, and community organizing in the Black Panther Party to transform her own suffering into both safety and belonging, provide the context for my analysis about the critical role of motherhood in building social movements. Personally, I hope this analysis will also usher in a new phase of life that brings a turning point where I am transformed from a single person accountable primarily to myself- to a nurturer of children, of leaders, and of the kind of social movements that give birth to new vision, new conditions, and new ways of governing and making change.
May 6, 2011
Mother's Day scavenger hunt for the impossible perfect gift
[This post is part of a Mama’s Day Series by The Strong Families Initiative. To follow all of the Mama's Day events, visit us on Facebook and Twitter.]
By Jody, SAFIRE Participant
So it is coming closer to that time of the year, when we celebrate Mother’s Day! Thinking of Mother’s Day brings back memories of my encounter of the dreaded, yet fun, scavenger hunt for Mother’s Day gifts that occurred last year…
By Jody, SAFIRE Participant
So it is coming closer to that time of the year, when we celebrate Mother’s Day! Thinking of Mother’s Day brings back memories of my encounter of the dreaded, yet fun, scavenger hunt for Mother’s Day gifts that occurred last year…It was a day before Mother’s Day, and I planned a way to get something materialist for my mom. Although she said she didn’t want anything, I felt it was my “duty” to not only give something to my mom but to make her feel happy and appreciated.
Long story short of my adventure of “Mother’s Day Scavenger Hunt”: I walked up and down Piedmont Avenue in Oakland, CA for about or an estimated two hours. Eventually, I found three gifts that my mom really appreciated after I gave them to her, which were yellow flowers, a card, and a handmade brown clay elephant.
Queer parenting: being genderqueer and pregnant
[This post is part of a Mama’s Day Series by The Strong Families Initiative. To follow all of the Mama's Day events, visit us on Facebook and Twitter.]
By Yvonne Tran
By Yvonne Tran
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| Kiyo and Janelle |
I recently had a conversation with Janelle, a good friend and mentor of mine, about their experience being a queer parent to a cute bubbly toddler and their journey to have a second child. It was an interesting discussion that brought up questions of gender roles and expectations, challenges when conceiving as a queer couple, and queer/gender formation in the context of being pregnant.
Janelle doesn’t identify with the term “mom” and is in the process of figuring out their own gender expression and identity… but what does that all mean when they are the one pregnant with a baby? Pregnancy is intrinsically tied to gender and that it is “woman’s work”, so what does that mean for a gender queer person to be pregnant?
I explore some of these questions and more in our informal interview.
May 5, 2011
Separate and uninformed: discrimination against pregnant and young Latina mothers in California schools
By Rocio Córdoba
[As part of our Mama's Day blog series, we are sharing an excerpt from a piece written by Rocio one year ago, when she was Executive Director of California Latinas for Reproductive Justice. CLRJ has kept up their powerful work with and for young moms through their Justice for Young Families Initiative.]
Separate is not equal. We know that to be true in many contexts, including historically segregated schools, neighborhoods, and institutions. The young people in our communities seeking an equal opportunity to learn, be healthy and thrive face countless challenges as the policies created to support them are but a faint backdrop, if present at all, in their lives.
[As part of our Mama's Day blog series, we are sharing an excerpt from a piece written by Rocio one year ago, when she was Executive Director of California Latinas for Reproductive Justice. CLRJ has kept up their powerful work with and for young moms through their Justice for Young Families Initiative.]Separate is not equal. We know that to be true in many contexts, including historically segregated schools, neighborhoods, and institutions. The young people in our communities seeking an equal opportunity to learn, be healthy and thrive face countless challenges as the policies created to support them are but a faint backdrop, if present at all, in their lives.
May 4, 2011
What to expect when you are (young and) expecting--The Frisky
[This post is part of a Mama’s Day Series by The Strong Families Initiative. To follow all of the Mama's Day events, visit us on Facebook and Twitter.]
Adriann Barboa rocks it at The Frisky! She takes on stigma, and calls for a National Day to Honor Young Parents. Here is a sampling...
Adriann Barboa rocks it at The Frisky! She takes on stigma, and calls for a National Day to Honor Young Parents. Here is a sampling...
When I look back on those frightening moments in the hospital room and being too afraid of the nurse’s judgment to push the call button, I wonder about how many young moms and dads hesitate to reach out for help and support when they need it?
Now that I am well into my 30s and have seen my friends have babies at every age, I know that all new moms struggle with uncertainty. Most of us have both a powerful love for our new babies and a nagging fear that we won’t know how to be good mothers. The women who thrive in motherhood are usually those with trusted networks of support and the humility to ask for help when needed.
When I see the dismal statistics and negative images our communities are bombarded with, I wonder how many of the negative outcomes are caused not by the age of the parents, but by the stigma heaped on them and the isolation that results? We all know there is nothing inherently wrong with giving birth at 18. Humans have been doing it throughout time; President Barack Obama’s mom did it, every 30-year-old I know has a mother who was “young” by today’s standards.Check out the whole post, it's beautiful.
May 3, 2011
War, death and mamas
[This post is part of a Mama’s Day Series by The Strong Families Initiative. To follow all of the Mama's Day events, visit us on Facebook and Twitter.]
By Lisa Russ
I just walked by the USA Today front-page headline about Osama bin Laden’s death: Huge Boost for America. This is probably the last big media event my son Zach will miss. He is almost six years old, reading cereal boxes, street signs and simple books. With luck and an off-switch on the NPR, he’s missed it entirely. Like most six year olds, little bits of information about the world leave him asking, “Why? And why not??” This was one conversation I didn’t want to have: "Why are people celebrating the fact that this man is dead?"
Six year olds love right and wrong, and clear winners and losers. We live in Oakland, and when Zach got wind of Johannes Mehserle’s verdict in the trial for the killing of Oscar Grant, that led to a whole string of questions: "Why was he afraid of Oscar Grant? Why would he pull the trigger? Do you think it was an accident? Why would he lie?"
By Lisa Russ
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| Zach who loves "why?" |
Six year olds love right and wrong, and clear winners and losers. We live in Oakland, and when Zach got wind of Johannes Mehserle’s verdict in the trial for the killing of Oscar Grant, that led to a whole string of questions: "Why was he afraid of Oscar Grant? Why would he pull the trigger? Do you think it was an accident? Why would he lie?"
SAFIRE Mama's Day Series: "Babies need love, moms do too"
[This post is part of a Mama’s Day Series by The Strong Families Initiative. To follow all of the Mama's Day events, visit us on Facebook and Twitter.]
By Ratema Uch, SAFIRE Participant
As we get closer and closer to Mothers Day ACRJ's SAFIRE youth program will be honoring the mothers in our community who don't always get a lot of love, but deserve all the respect that we can give them. For the rest of the week check out our SAFIRE Mama's Day Blogs leading up to the Young Families Day Celebration on Saturday, May 7th in SF's Civic Center Plaza.
Here's my piece honoring the young mothers in our community:
By Ratema Uch, SAFIRE Participant
As we get closer and closer to Mothers Day ACRJ's SAFIRE youth program will be honoring the mothers in our community who don't always get a lot of love, but deserve all the respect that we can give them. For the rest of the week check out our SAFIRE Mama's Day Blogs leading up to the Young Families Day Celebration on Saturday, May 7th in SF's Civic Center Plaza.
Here's my piece honoring the young mothers in our community:
Respect corrupted by the judgmental thoughts of others. A strong woman who works hard to feed her child during an age when many of her friends are busy with experimentation and a carefree lifestyle does not deserve this type of judgment. A strong woman who beats the odds through success despite her expected downfall. Nothing can hold this woman back from her dreams, she can have it all - a family and a successful career.
May 2, 2011
Who thought up Mother's Day, anyway?
As the news about Osama bin Laden's death sinks in, we have been thinking about the roots of Mother's Day. It was a call to peace. It's gotten buried in the years since, but it is always worth reviving. The language is old-fashioned but the sentiment is timeless. Here it is.
Mother's Day Proclamation
by Julia Ward Howe, 1870
Arise, then, women of this day! Arise, all women who have hearts, whether your baptism be that of water or tears!
Say firmly: "We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies. Our husbands shall not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have taught them of charity, mercy and patience. We women of one country will be too tender of those of another to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."
From the bosom of the devastated earth, a voice goes up with our own. It says, "Disarm, Disarm!"
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| artwork by Nikki McClure: http://www.buyolympia.com |
by Julia Ward Howe, 1870
Arise, then, women of this day! Arise, all women who have hearts, whether your baptism be that of water or tears!
Say firmly: "We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies. Our husbands shall not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have taught them of charity, mercy and patience. We women of one country will be too tender of those of another to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."
From the bosom of the devastated earth, a voice goes up with our own. It says, "Disarm, Disarm!"