Strong Families Blog

We are typical American families

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 19 Feb 2016 17:02:00 +0000

Strong Families, Feminist Women's Health Center, and the Atlanta artists behind Typical American Families collaborated with Georgia Strong Families partners Racial Justice Action Center and SPARK Reproductive Justice Now! to share the stories of their families.

Today, those stories are on display at the state capitol in Atlanta, Georgia, to remind legislators about the changing face of Georgia families, and the policies they need to thrive.

Legislators are being asked to support HR 746, the Strong Families Resolution, which is a values based resolution to start conversations about the role of government in ensuring all Georgia families have the rights, recognition and resources they need to thrive.

If you're in Georgia, you can show your support for the Strong Families Resolution by emailing your representative and asking them to vote YES on this bill.

Regardless of where you live, share the story of your family and what they need to thrive here.

Art Connects Legislators to Georgia’s Diverse Families

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 11 Feb 2016 00:14:00 +0000

MEDIA ALERT

“Typical American Families” Photography Exhibit Uses Art To Connect Legislators to Georgia’s Diverse Families

Exhibit Encourages Legislators to Support the Strong Families Resolution

What: The “Typical American Families” photography exhibit highlighting the diversity of Georgia’s families to garner support for the Strong Families Resolution.

When: One day only: Friday, February 19 from 1-5 p.m.

Press event: 1 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Where: The Rotunda, Georgia State Capitol Building, 206 Washington St SW, Atlanta, GA 30334

Why: Through powerful visuals and storytelling, the photo exhibit features the ethnic, generational and geographic diversity of both blood and chosen families from throughout Georgia to depict their lived realities. The message for legislators is that there is no typical American family and policies must reflect the state’s diversity.

Feminist Women’s Health Center, Racial Justice Action Center and SPARK Reproductive Justice Now are asking legislators to sign on to the Strong Families Resolution (HR 746) which highlights urgent issues affecting all families and commits legislators to doing something about them. The Strong Families Resolution addresses four key areas that affect Georgia families: improving maternal and infant health by increasing access to affordable and comprehensive health care, addressing racial disparities in health outcomes, protecting all Georgia families, and helping families be productive at work and home.

“Our goal is to introduce legislators to the realities of Georgia’s “typical” families, who are more diverse and unique than our policies recognize,” affirms MK Anderson, Public Policy Associate at the Feminist Women’s Health Center. “The exhibit is an opportunity to introduce these families to our legislators through art so they will remember these stories when they are voting on issues like healthcare and the economy.”

Who: Strong Families led by Feminist Women’s Health Center, Racial Justice Action Center and SPARK Reproductive Justice Now, exhibit photographer and artist Carlton Mackey, families that participating in the photo exhibit, and legislators.

Press event speakers:

MK Anderson – FWHC
Kalpana Krishnamurthy – Forward Together
Carlton Mackey – Typical American Families
Tishana J Trainor – SPARK RJ Now Board Member
Marilynn Winn – Racial Justice Action Center/Women on the Rise

About the Exhibit: Typical American Families was created in 2015 by artists Ross Oscar Knight and Carlton Mackey to capture stories and to explore what the definition of a family is. When they learned about the Feminist Women’s Health Center’s work and the Strong Families Resolution, they wanted to collaborate. “I believe that the concept of "family" is ever evolving in the U.S. as well as around the world,” said Knight. “I wanted to help elevate these stories in ways that can have meaningful impact on policies and these families’ daily lives.”

Who Made the Grade? Strong Families New Mexico’s Legislative Report Card Details Legislators Commitment to Strengthening Families Across the State

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 14:34:00 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

Jessica Collins, Strong Families New Mexico

Jessica@forwardtogether.org, 505-459-7181

Janna Zinzi, Forward Together

janna@forwardtogether.org, 917-715-8484

Who Made the Grade?
Strong Families New Mexico’s Legislative Report Card Details Legislators Commitment to Strengthening Families Across the State

Santa Fe, New Mexico – On Thursday, January 28, Strong Families New Mexico will launch their 2015 Legislative Report Card grading individual legislators on their support of family-friendly policies. The report card measures how local policy makers, and the policies they enact, impact New Mexico families. This analysis aims to help policymakers understand how their decisions directly affect the diverse communities across the state. It also provides an avenue for policymakers to work with local organizations to ensure that families have the rights, resources and recognition they need to thrive. Strong Families supporters will be in Santa Fe to deliver the report cards directly to their representatives today.

While the legislative season generated some improvements for New Mexico families, like creating online voter registration, expanding Medicaid for formerly incarcerated people and preventing bullying in schools, many important bills were voted down. This includes increased funding for early childhood education, sexual assault prevention, and statewide broadband infrastructure. Only four of the bills featured that strengthen families were signed into law.

“There is not just one type of family in New Mexico, our communities are very diverse,” explains Adriann Barboa, Strong Families New Mexico Field Director. “During the legislative session, we bring community members and their stories to our decision makers so they can hear firsthand what families are experiencing. Even though there were a lot of missed opportunities in 2015 to create policies that strengthen our families, we believe that legislators can be partners. That’s why this report card is so important: it’s an opportunity to build from where we agree and work toward alignment on policies that support all families in New Mexico.

The report card examines 18 pieces of legislation introduced during the 2015 legislative session that affect New Mexican families. Legislators were graded individually, along with collective grades for the House and Senate.

As the legislative session begins, the report card also features recommendations for legislators as they consider the needs of their constituents. Strong Families New Mexico asks legislators to enact policies that would support all families while addressing the families with the fewest resources. Data shows that rural families, low-income families and families of color, especially Native Americans, are most affected by policies and at the same time left out of the conversation. Therefore, it is recommended that legislators partner with community groups to create policies that reflect the needs of these families. Finally, Strong Families New Mexico offers a five question policy criteria that can be used by policymakers to determine how policies will affect the wellbeing of all families.

“This report card represents diverse families and captures the varying needs of New Mexicans as the legislature and Governor craft a very important budget for our state,” says Amber Royster, Executive Director of Equality New Mexico. "During this session, legislators will decide on a great deal of important bills. We are glad to have participated in this report card and feel hopeful that our elected leaders will heed the input of their communities.”

The full Strong Families New Mexico report card is available both online and in print. Interviews are available upon request.

Strong Families New Mexico, a state-based action site of Forward Together, works to shift culture and create policies that recognize the many kinds of families in our state. We are a network of over 15 organizations and thousands of individuals working to build a better life for all our families and generations to come. Strong Families’ vision is that every family has the rights, recognition, and resources it needs to thrive.

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What progressives can learn from the militia occupation in Oregon

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 17:24:00 +0000

By Kelley Weigel, Executive Director, Western States Center, and a member of the Strong Families community

It’s day 26 of the standoff between the federal government and armed militants occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, Oregon – and it’s clear the occupation isn’t packing up and heading home anytime soon.

This is a complex story that has been surfacing for months. Yet I’ve watched progressives either dismiss the militia as another publicity tactic for right wing extremists, or rush to defend the wildlife preserve. Missing in all of this? The people of Harney County and the Burns Paiute Tribe, people whose home is a place many can't find on a map. People who, in spite of asking the militia to leave, have instead been faced with threats and intimidation, silence from the federal government, and the media’s focus on birds than the people themselves. People whose anger and distrust is being swept up in the “silent majority” of Donald Trump’s campaign instead of being channeled into proactive change making with progressive organizations.

What’s actually happening in Harney County

Like many rural places, Harney County’s economy was built on resource extraction—the logging industry. When forest sustainability began to inform our country’s forest management practices, Harney County saw losses in jobs and then saw its tax base erode. Between decades of anti-tax rhetoric and state and federal policy changes that have placed the largest burden of taxes on the working class, the end result is that one in four Harney County residents lives below the poverty level. Schools, roads, and public spaces are under-resourced. There are times when you call 911 and no one answers, because emergency services are so short-staffed that they can’t answer calls. So it’s easy to understand the distrust – and anger – some Harney County residents feel towards the government.

We might do well to remember that this is by design. The anti-tax work of Grover Norquist from the 1980s that wanted to “shrink government down to a size so you can drown it in the bathtub” has been at work across the county. Tax revenues in Harney County are approximately 25% less now than they were in the 1990s due to anti-tax successes. Now the Militia takes it to a whole new level where they do not even recognize the authority of the federal government. How easy is it to dismantle federal structures when you just decide they don’t exist?

Enter the Hammonds. In 2010, Harney County ranchers Dwight and Steve Hammond were indicted for setting fire to federal lands. The Hammonds were indicted under the Federal Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, which carries a mandatory minimum of five years. The judge, however, found that cruel and unusual punishment – so Dwight Hammond was only sentenced to three months and Steve Hammond one year.

But in an unprecedented step, the U.S. Attorney appealed the sentence, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found that the Hammonds did have to serve the remainder of the five year mandatory minimum, instantly prompting cries of federal overreach and legal malpractice. Dwight and Steve Hammond have not fought this decision and surrendered themselves to serve out these sentences.

The Hammonds are part of the story but they are not the only story . . .

We are rural America

Strong Families carries the values that all people, everywhere, should have the rights, recognition, and resources they need to thrive…wherever you live. There are amazing Strong Families partners that have been organizing in rural communities for years. We know that rural families, low-income families, and families of color are deeply affected by public policy – state and federal. But at the same time, they’re too frequently left out of the conversation. (This is particularly true of indigenous and Native folks, including the Paiute Tribe, who are the rightful owners of the wildlife refuge land in question. The absurdity of the militia claiming “sovereign citizenship” when so few outside Native communities understand Tribal Sovereignty is another area for exploration.)

We also know from our work in three rural New Mexico counties, in Oregon, and in Montana that when we elevate the work of local organizations, listen to rural communities’ needs, and invest in the leadership of rural people, transformative change is possible.

The Right’s response

That’s not the tactic the Right adopted in Harney County. On January 2^nd, hundreds marched on Harney County to address the Hammonds’ incarceration. This was no spontaneous uprising – militiamen have organized similar movements for the past twenty years, most recently at the Sugar Pine Mine in Josephine County, OR, in April (much, much more as highlighted in a recent segment from Rachel Maddow and Spencer Sunshine’s piece on Oregon’s militia movement).

They position themselves as the alternative to government in an era where public education, emergency response, law enforcement, and healthcare have been cut.

As they speak to the realities of day to day suffering facing rural communities, anti-government activists are bringing people into their movement – a movement that dogmatically (and at times violently) defends the rights of straight, white, cis men over all others. They’re painting a vision of what life can be like when the federal government finally gets out of the way – a life they say is better for us. They just neglect to mention who us is.

Their tactics are hurtful but speak to the real issues that rural Oregonians need addressed. And so even after they’ve slashed opponents’ tires, tailed the sheriff and his parents around town, and threatened federal employees with kidnapping, some in Harney County may wonder who has their backs, the militia or the government.

The challenge to progressives

As progressives, we’re used to doing a lot with limited resources, though we are often in cities, where we have many supporters in a small geographic area. But ignoring the rural margins comes at a cost – and we’re seeing that in Harney County. Our organizing must speak to and benefit all of us, not just those who live within our organizing “hubs.”

There are organizations doing incredible (if underappreciated) work organizing rural communities – I implore you to support the work of Rural Organizing Project, Tewa Women United, Montana Women Vote, and organizations in your state that are paying attention to the lives of rural families. But for those of us in organizations not supporting the leadership of rural people, we need to start making those connections. Rural communities are looking for solutions to the crisis of dwindling funding and crumbling infrastructure.

We are a country bound together by rural and urban issues. The organized Right sees this – and we can too. Just as we do in larger cities, progressive organizations can play a powerful role in demystifying the levers of power and helping communities agitate for change. But that starts with identifying that we don’t do enough work supporting our rural neighbors…and making a commitment to do better.

Rural land rights struggles go straight to the heart of who we are as a community demanding dignity for all families. And regardless of where we live, we can show solidarity by amplifying the voices of the majority of Harney County residents, who are calling foul on the occupation and asking the militia to leave. We can stand with the Burns Paiute Tribe to reclaim the refuge land, their ancestral home.

We can share updates from Rural Organizing Project’s Facebook page, which has been doing a stellar job documenting the crisis in Harney County. They’re planning a Day of Action across Oregon this Saturday, January 30^th and have plenty of creative ways to participate, regardless of where you live.

We can read and disseminate resources like the Organizing Action Kit ROP recently published with Showing Up for Racial Justice. The kit has background information, tips on how having transformative conversations, and more.

And we can research the organizations and individuals doing grassroots organizing and empowerment work in rural parts of our own states – and ask how we can help them.

Because if we aren’t organizing these communities, we shouldn’t be surprised when the militant Right swoops in to fill that void.

Western States Center supports movement building community organizing across the West and is a member of Strong Families. You can read more about the militia takeover in Harney County at Western States Center’s blog.

Today is Trans Day of Resilience. Here's why it matters:

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 19:33:00 +0000

Growing up, I couldn’t tell you the definition of “transgender.” I just knew I was a girl, even though I didn’t know what that meant.

It was painful for me. I remember not having any answers and not knowing where to get answers from. But mostly, I remember dreaming – dreaming of being free, dreaming of being alive, dreaming of living without any restrictions.

Dreaming was the one thing I had complete control over as a child, and I’ve been able to see a little bit of my dreams come true through the work I do with GetEQUAL,#BlackLivesMatter, and The Movement for Black Lives.

But to create the world I dreamed of as a little girl – a world where Black trans folks are alive, thriving, and full of joy – it’s going to take a lot more than just me. Because little boys like Tamir Rice are gunned down by police on the playground, just for being black. Because my trans sisters like Zella Ziona and Kiesha Jenkins are murdered for living their truths.

Over 300,000 people have seen eight revolutionary visions for a better world for trans women and femmes of color. Are you one of them? Check out the Trans Day of Resilience art project – then SHARE it with your community >>

It’s not enough to just commemorate folks today, during the Trans Day of Remembrance and Resilience, or Tamir, Zella, and Kiesha’s lives on the anniversary of their deaths. It’s about what we do the other 364 days of the year - the opportunities we create for trans folks like me to have resources to support our lives and our work, the ways we critique and dismantle systems of oppression and power.

It’s a commitment we must make daily – not once a year. And that’s the beauty of the Trans Day of Resilience art project – you can come back to it as often as you need to reflect, remember, and reinvigorate yourself.

Take another look at the Trans Day of Resilience art project…then make a commitment to yourself, and to our communities. What will you do to stand in solidarity with trans women and femmes of color this year?

In solidarity,

Elle Hearns, GetEQUAL and #BlackLivesMatter

What I want young trans girls to know

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 17 Nov 2015 17:45:00 +0000

My name is Riley and I work for Young Women United, a Strong Families partner. As a trans woman of color, I’m incredibly proud to be a part of an organization that’s building a world where all of us – including trans women and femmes of color – have access to the information and resources they need to make real decisions about their own bodies and their lives.

But it’s hard to think about the future when I hear news reports that women like me are being murdered. And it’s hard to teach the trans women I mentor about self-worth and self-love when the only time we see our lives reflected in the media is when another trans woman is murdered.

It’s time to acknowledge, affirm, and uplift the identities and talents trans women and femmes of color. That’s why Strong Families partnered with eight trans and gender non-conforming artists and eight organizations centering trans justice to create The Trans Day of Resilience Art Project. Today, we’re excited to unveil eight powerful images highlighting the stories and experiences of trans and gender non-conforming people of color.

Take a look for yourself – and then please SHARE. The more widely these images are shared, the more people they will reach with their powerful messages of strength and resiliency:

Hozho Baa'na'sha'doo is a Diné (Navajo) concept meaning 'walk in beauty and balance.'

YWU and the New Mexico Trans Women of Colour Coalition partnered with the talented Adelina Cruz to create an image that captures the power, strength, and beauty of trans women and femmes of color.

The collaboration was inspiring – and so is the image itself. It shares the struggles trans folks have faced in the past – as well as the work we’re doing now to unite, organize, and fight for a better future.

Check out Adelina’s piece, and the other seven images, at TDOR.co – and then SHARE widely on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

I hope that years from now, long after I’m gone, young trans girls can see themselves in this piece of art and say, “My trans ancestors fought so I could live freely.” Thank you for fighting alongside me.

In solidarity,

Riley Golightly Summer Youth Leader, Young Women United & co-founder, New Mexico Trans Women of Colour Coalition

Artists and Activists Re-Imagine "Trans Day of Remembrance"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 17 Nov 2015 17:02:00 +0000

Eight transgender artists and organizations release original art highlighting trans resilience, power and leadership

November 16, 2015 — Today the Strong Families movement launched the Trans Day of Resilience campaign, an art and activism project that supports trans women and femmes of color in their lives and leadership. It is an extension and re-imagining of Transgender Day of Remembrance, the annual event memorializing people (mostly trans women of color) killed by anti-trans violence. Trans Day of Resilience goes beyond remembrance, and uplifts the resilience and power of trans and gender non-conforming communities of color.

Forward Together, which houses Strong Families, and visual artist Micah Bazant joined together to create this project. It paired eight trans and gender non-conforming artists with eight organizations across the country doing trans justice work. Although trans and gender non-conforming people of color face disproportionate rates of violence and poverty, they are also thriving and leading movements for social justice. The shareable art created for Trans Day of Resilience tells those stories of trans power, vision and leadership.

“Too often we’re only fighting the things we don’t want, like violence and poverty. Its just as important to imagine and build the world we do want,” explains Micah Bazant, founding artist. “I partnered with Forward Together because we are committed to modeling the change we want to see. For example, by hiring trans and gender non-conforming artists and leaders, especially from communities of color, to lift up their visions for a different world.”

“A lot of people don’t have the language or capacity to understand a trans woman if they haven’t met or spoken to one,” said Wriply Bennet, an artist who created art for Black Lives Matter through this campaign. “This project provides a platform to introduce people to trans women and trans life. It’s important for trans women to be able to mediate that conversation, mediation through art is a beautiful way to transmit our lives.”

This year’s “Trans Day of Resilience” project is an expansion of the collaboration between Micah Bazant and the Audre Lorde Project in 2014. They received overwhelming feedback about last year’s collaborative Trans Day of Remembrance artwork that lifted up trans women of color so Micah wanted to build the project to include more organizations and artists. There was also a conscious shift toward “resilience” as opposed to only “remembrance” to also highlight the important trans justice organizing work that is happening in communities of color around the country.

Elle Hearns from Black Lives Matter and GetEQUAL notes, “It’s not enough to just commemorate folks on Trans Day of Remembrance. It’s important to uplift all of the trans folks who are determining the ways that they want to be seen in the world as their true selves. The call to action is to affirm us every day by creating opportunities for trans people to have resources, especially in a world that has denied us opportunities at every corner.”

Trans Day of Resilience also encourages people to not only share this powerful art, but to take action and support with local and national trans justice groups. Visit the “Get Involved” page to learn more about Trans Day of Remembrance and Resilience actions and how to participate online and offline.

Participating organizations and artists:

Audre Lorde Project of New York City is matched with artist Micah Bazant.

BreakOUT! of New Orleans is matched with artist B. Parker

Trans Women of Colour Coalition of Albuquerque, New Mexico is matched with artist Adelina Cruz.

Transgender Law Center, a national organization, is matched with artist Mojuicy.

Buried Seedz of Denver, Colorado is matched with artist Bishakh Som.

SPARK Reproductive Justice NOW of Atlanta is matched with artist Ebin Lee.

TransLatin@ Coalition, a national organization, is matched with artist Rommy Torrico.

Black Lives Matter, a national organization, is matched with artist Wriply Bennet.

Forward Together builds relationships across lines of race, gender, and sexuality to connect marginalized people and catalyze social change. Our work influences culture and policy to ensure that every person, family and community has the power and resources they need to reach their full potential. For more info visit: www.ForwardTogether.org and www.StrongFamiliesMovement.org.

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The FCC Took A Stand for Families with Incarcerated Loved Ones

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 26 Oct 2015 22:35:00 +0000

Last week the FCC voted to lower the costs of phone calls from incarcerated people to their loved ones outside. This will make a profound difference for families who have incarcerated loved ones and have been driven into debt to stay in touch.

This ruling is the type of reform our report “Who Pays? The True Cost of Mass Incarceration” found is critical to reducing recidivism. Studies assert that when incarcerated people maintain regular contact with their families, they are more successful when they return home. Hundreds of families told us of the impossible decisions they had to make between accepting that phone call or putting food on the table.

This FCC ruling is a win for strengthening families especially in the communities of color and low-income communities most deeply affected. Their impact of this vote will help keep families out of poverty so that their incarcerated loved ones re-entering society can have more stable foundations. Keeping families connected with their incarcerated loved ones is key to reversing the impact of mass incarceration on our communities. - Alicia Walters, Movement Building Director of Forward Together and co-author of “Who Pays?”

"I applaud the FCC for taking this momentous step towards reducing the costs that families have to pay in order to connect with their families. Sometimes visiting is not an option and the next best thing is hearing the voice of a loved one. I know from personal experience how vital it is to hear that voice of support, encouragement and hope from a family member. Because of today’s FCC decision many families across the country will be able to change, overcome and heal together." -Devin D. Coleman, a formerly incarcerated organizer with Florida New Majority.

Here is an infographic that details how families are affected by these phone costs. Forward Together, the Ella Baker Center, Research Action Design and 20 other organizations from around the country worked together to create “Who Pays? The True Cost of Mass Incarceration,” which outlines the exorbitant financial, emotional and physical costs placed on families with incarcerated loved ones.

California Teens: Our Schools Need Sex Education

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 15 Sep 2015 13:56:00 +0000

by Manie Grewal, Policy and Organizing Manager, Forward Together

When I moved to California about a year ago and started working on sex ed justice at Forward Together, I was floored that the state did not mandate comprehensive sex ed. As a Midwesterner, I saw California as the mecca of progressive policy but I learned quickly every state has its challenges. Through my work with young people in advocating for AB 329, The California Healthy Youth Act, it's clear sex education is a huge missed opportunity.

Carrying around a potato baby wasn't just weird -- it
taught me nothing about parenthood or healthy sexuality.

We all have a classroom sex ed story, whether it be the awkward teacher, giggles from your peers, or watching a live birth video. As a 7th grader I had a potato baby that I named Gertrude and “cared for” to simulate parenthood - an ineffective activity to understand what it means to be a parent. In high school, I recall my sex ed going beyond the abstinence-only instruction, but still leaving me with lots of questions about my body and what sexual activity meant for me. Growing up in an Indian home, there was no space to talk about sex due to cultural barriers and I felt judged by my healthcare providers. I vividly remember asking a doctor about certain sexual activity, and I was judged for asking the question. This only made me feel shameful and ignorant, shutting down any opportunity for an educational conversation. Due to poor sex ed, I made reactive sexual health decisions as a young adult, and these experiences really feed my passion for sex ed justice.

Chip in $5 to support our work in 2016 and beyond >>

Potato babies and shame is no way to teach our young people. AB 329 is one piece of a long battle for sex ed justice for all Californian youth - a critical starting place for districts and schools. It mandates that California public schools teach comprehensive sex ed and specifies that there must be instruction on healthy relationships, on top of including information on sexuality and gender. And it’s clear that young people are hungry for this information. Romy, one of the young activists I’ve worked with shared her experience in the classroom when it came to healthy relationships:

Rape and consent were never mentioned in my class. When alcohol was brought up during a discussion on sex, it was said that you shouldn’t have sex while under the influence and that it was your responsibility to know that. More importantly, it was your responsibility to not be coerced into having sex while drunk. That was it. This is a dangerous topic to skim over and not dive into. Peer pressure and sexual harassment are a common problem in the teenage world that ironically does not get addressed by the adults that are supposed to be leading us through that exact world. AB 329 promises to provide a focus on healthy attitudes, healthy behaviors, and healthy relationships. This will make it so that this subject can no longer be skipped over with a feeling of taboo, but taught so that students learn it is not your responsibility to not be raped or harassed, for them to realize it is never the victim’s fault, and to know that communication is an important part to a happy, healthy sexual experience.

Another inspiring youth I’ve worked with who self-identifies as queer and trans named Cal shared how they felt invisibilized in the classroom:

Being transgender also made sex ed more difficult. The very language used to discuss sex and genitals can be very isolating. When the class had to talk about “female” [female sex assigned at birth] anatomy and “female” [female sex assigned at birth] puberty, I was extremely uncomfortable because while the information provided applied to my genitalia and physical body, it did not match my gender identity. When the room split up into boys and girls I stuck out like a sore thumb, unsure of where to go since neither category reflected who I was. Nobody really understood that. I wanted and needed education that was relevant to my gender, my body, and my sexual orientation and I had to fight to receive it, and even then didn’t get all the information I needed.

AB 329 is on Governor Brown’s desk right now. As seen by these youth stories, the classroom today has even more gaps in its sexual reproductive health education than it did 20 years ago, when I had to carry around Gertrude. Today’s school climate is different with wide access to social media and a myriad of ways for harassment. Schools are a critical place for youth to receive accurate health education, especially for low-income communities of color who experience inequitable access to health care, health disparities, systemic discrimination and poverty.

Chip in $5 to support our work in 2016 and beyond >>

With the help of passionate young people Forward Together was successfully able to persuade the Oakland school district to offer better sex ed for 9th graders. But all Californian youth, no matter where they live, should receive comprehensive sex ed. So this week, Romy and Cal are coming with me to Sacramento to urge Governor Brown to sign AB 329.

Please help us urge Governor Brown to pass AB 329 to ensure all Californian youth receive comprehensive, accurate, and inclusive sex ed to make their own decisions about their lives, bodies, gender, and sexuality.

Call for Trans and Gender Non-Conforming Visual Artists!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 21 Aug 2015 23:55:00 +0000

Deadline: 11:59pm, Friday, September 11 2015.

We are looking for trans and gender non-conforming visual artists to collaborate with groups doing trans justice work, and create art for Trans Day of Remembrance (TDOR) 2015.

Participating artists will:

Be paired with grassroots trans justice organizations to create art for TDOR 2015 and to support the ongoing work of the organization

Be paid $575 for their work

Receive support and mentorship to create, share, print, and distribute their work.

HOW TO APPLY

Please submit the following to art@forwardtogether.org by midnight, Friday Sept 11:

between 3 to 6 images of your work as JPEG image attachments. Art may be in any media including drawings, painting, collage, photography, stencil, etc. Please list the title, date, and medium of each piece.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your art and why you would like to participate in this project. (One page or less)

This project is only seeking applications from artists who identify as trans and gender non-conforming. Trans and gender non-conforming people of color are especially encouraged to apply, and we welcome submissions from new artists, as well as those with more experience. Feel free to email art@forwardtogether.org with questions.

Chip in $5 to support our work in 2016 and beyond >>

Background Information

We are in a state of emergency of violence against trans women of color, especially Black trans women. Trans Day of Remembrance (TDOR) is a day when many cisgender people take note of violence against trans people. But as Janet Mock wrote, “We can’t only celebrate trans women of color in memoriam. We must begin uplifting trans women of color, speaking their names and praises, in their lives.”

We believe that those most negatively impacted by oppression hold the knowledge and experience necessary to dismantle those systems. Trans women and trans femmes of color live and resist at the center of many interlocking systems of oppression, including white supremacy, misogyny, transphobia, and homophobia. By supporting the leadership of trans women and femmes of color, we strengthen our movement for the liberation of anyone impacted by white supremacy, misogyny, transphobia, and homophobia – in other words, everyone.

Through powerful art and social media, this project aims to shift the focus of TDOR from trans “visibility” towards action for trans justice.

This project is organized by Strong Families – a national network of organizations fighting for the rights, resources, and recognition so that all families can thrive. Emerging from the reproductive justice movement, it is the largest network of its kind working at the intersection of race, gender, and sexuality with over 150 partner organizations.

Mamas Day 2015: Lifting Up Young Mamas

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 01 May 2015 18:12:00 +0000

On this 5th anniversary of Strong Families’ annual Mamas Day Campaign, we are reflecting on this innovative campaign’s origins—young mamas asserting their worth and that they are deserving of respect and support as all mamas are. Over the past few weeks, Echoing Ida writers Gloria Malone, Yamani Hernandez, and Elizabeth Dawes Gay brilliantly articulate the importance of recognizing young mamas and valuing them by pulling them from the margins to the center of our concept of motherhood. Our culture recognizes motherhood in very few of its forms, but Malone and Hernandez make it clear: teen mothers are mothers still, and they deserve our respect.

For Seleni, Malone exposes the gulf between the needs and realities of pregnant and parenting teens. Her own pregnancy at 15 introduced Malone to the shame and isolation young mothers face.

More than ever in my life, I needed emotional support. What I got was the complete opposite. Everyone seemed focused on making me feel that I had singlehandedly ruined not only my life but also the impending life of my unborn child. Society seems to think that pregnant and parenting teens must be punished and used for political prevention campaigns instead of being supported and treated as the full human beings we are. I felt alone, disrespected, and depressed with no understanding that my mental health was important. I didn’t think I had any issues that needed to be addressed. That could not have been further from the truth.

Share love with a young mama today by sending a beautiful one-of-a-kind e-card!

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For Ebony, Hernandez shifts the conversation around teen pregnancy from individuals to systems. She unreservedly calls out schools for pushing out young mothers despite their Title IX protections and points out the impossible position in which most students find themselves.

The societal messages about sex and pregnancy are at best confusing and at worst unjust. Youth are completely inundated with sexualized images to sell nearly every product. However, the prevailing message about sex is “Just don’t do it.” With only 22 states with mandated Sex Education, we send the message that youth are not worth teaching about anatomy, contraception, reproduction, gender identity, healthy relationships and more. However when young people become pregnant whether by accident, abuse or intention, we fall short of acknowledging the ways that we are systematically failing them and refuse to treat them as equal human beings.
More than half the school districts in the country are unwilling to teach youth about contraception to prevent pregnancy or about pregnancy options. When youth become pregnant, despite Title IX recommendations, we fail to support their pregnancies, and if they choose to not carry a pregnancy to term, we place barriers to accessing abortion in 38 out of 50 states. If anyone is “guilty,” it’s the adults who are tasked with caring and stewarding the development of youth into adulthood. Until we have systemically and societally done our part to adequately address the reproductive health-care needs of youth, we have no right to judge them or push them out of school for their choices or circumstances.

Young people agree: their reproductive health needs should be addressed. For RH Reality Check, Echoing Ida writer Elizabeth Dawes Gay unpacks a new survey that shows millennials are starved for accurate, comprehensive sex education.

Seventy-five percent of millennials surveyed support comprehensive sex education in public schools. They want accurate information about their bodies, about sex and relationships, and about how to protect their health. That’s a big deal because one in four of those surveyed were not taught any sex education, and, among those who were, four in ten said their sex ed classes were not helpful to them in making sex and relationship decisions.

Additionally, “According to the report, millennials want access to contraception even more than they want comprehensive sex education taught in public schools.”

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But while we struggle to put these comprehensive sex education policies in place and educate students on their Title IX rights, how do we shift our culture to one that supports parenting teens? Art has the power to move people, which is one reason we started Mamas Day. In addition, a recent article by Malone for SheKnows, she interviews Jendella, a photographer dedicated to humanizing young mothers by capturing their stories.

These young mothers were going to school, taking care of their children, working and carrying on with life like most parents do, however, one thing that was different was the amount of shame and stigma they faced solely because they had their children in their teenage years. Jendella felt a need to share the stories of her friends to counter the negative and stereotypical views of young parenthood and thus Young Motherhood was born. Young Motherhood is a social documentary project that addresses the myths, harmful stereotypes and unhelpful, yet common, misconceptions that surround young mothers and their children in the UK.

Whether it’s creating powerful art or using our words to recognize young mamas, with artists and writers like Jendella, Malone, Gay, and Hernandez sharing stories and spreading awareness, our culture can shift away from the stigma, and our policies will follow. We can’t keep them waiting any longer—young mothers, in all their courage and resilience, deserve our support, not our shame.

Calling Mamas Day Artists!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 19:25:00 +0000

Four out of five people living in the US do not live behind the “picket fence” with a mom at home and a dad at work. While that life has never been the reality for most of us, the default for “family” is often this narrow ideal.

Strong Families is proud to push back on that idea with one of our most popular campaigns: Mamas Day. As an alternative to the white-washed Hallmark version of Mother’s Day, Mamas Day highlights thereality that mothers come in all ages, ethnicities and sexual orientations. Since 2011, Forward Together has worked with more than 20 artists to create original, customizable e-cards that celebrate thediversity of mamas across the United States and reflect the real lives of our families.

As we prepare for our 5th annual Mamas Day this year, we are looking for artists to create new work thatcelebrates all mamas. Do you create amazing art that should be part of Mamas Day? We want to hear from you!

We believe all families matter, and are working with artists to provide powerful visuals that include queer, immigrant, single parent and young families, as well as cards that celebrate caregivers and cardsthat represent families across race and ethnicity. These cards help thousands of us find the image that speak to how our families look and feel. Mamas and Papas Day artists work in every media possible – they hand draw, screen print, usecomputers, water colors, and stencils to create their work.

Do you know someone who you thinkshould submit art? We want to know! We are able to pay $500 each to the artists that get selected to design a card. Submissions are due by January 23, 2015. If you can’t participate this year, please share the link with the creatives in your life, and help us make this a memorable, visual, and beautiful year.We look forward to your submissions!

Media Advisory: Hold Albuquerque Police Accountable

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 17:12:00 +0000

MEDIA ADVISORY

Families of Albuquerque Police Shootings to Deliver 45,000 Signatures Demanding

Attorney General Eric Holder Hold Officers Responsible

Over 45,000 people from around the country are calling for a federal investigation of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) officers who have shot and killed 27 people since 2010. Ken Ellis, whose son was murdered by APD officers, started a petition with Strong Families New Mexico demanding accountability from the officers involved. Family members of those shot and killed by Albuquerque police along with community leaders will personally deliver the signatures to New Mexico U.S. Attorney General Damon Martinez, and designate Dept.of Justice Representatives. The petition, hosted on Change.org, calls for current Attorney General Eric Holder to bring in federal prosecutors and bring justice to the families who have lost their loved ones.

WHAT: Press conference and delivery of over 45,000 signatures to US Attorney General Damon Martinez, and DOJ representatives demanding a federal investigation of Albuquerque police who shot and killed 27 people since 2010.

WHO: Strong Families New Mexico, Attorneys, Ken Ellis (the petitioner and father of a young man shot by APD), and several families of those shot and killed by Albuquerque police.

WHEN: Wednesday, December 10, 2014 at 2:30pm

WHERE: Civic Plaza, One Civic Plaza NW, Albq., NM 87102

WHY: To demand accountability and a federal investigation of police officers using “excessive and fatal force” to kill Albuquerque residents. No one should be held above the law, lets see some indictments that show families our justice system follows a process that is just.

For more information, contact Adriann Barboa at Strong Families NM 505-379-1962

Forward Together at 25: #BuildingPower Nationwide

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 17 Sep 2014 20:26:00 +0000

During our 25th anniversary celebration, we focused on the importance of building power so all families can thrive. We know that Forward Together would not be sustainable without the work and support of colleagues from around the country to push for the policy changes and culture shift we need to see. Our Strong Families Initiative, a network of over 120 organizations and thousands of individuals, has bound together to tackle the lack of affordable childcare and afterschool programs, immigration policy, marriage equality, voting access, police accountability and many issues that will make our communities stronger and safer.

A few of our Strong Families friends shared their reflections with us on our 25th anniversary, what Forward Together has contributed to their important work and how we can continue building strong families for the next 25 years and beyond.

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Edith Sargon, Principal, Movement Building; Wellstone:

How did you start collaborating with Forward Together?

I knew Forward Together when it was Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice (ACRJ). I was working at a youth led reproductive rights organization and they were leading the conversation on the importance for intersectionality and the Reproductive Justice framework. I read their white paper, which I still use when I work with individuals and organizations who are working all of this out, and made sure our students and youth got access to it, made curricula from it and led discussions from that incredible tool. I continued to work with them as they transitioned from ACRJ to Forward Together. In that transition I saw them become this amazing unifying force in the reproductive rights/reproductive health/reproductive justice movements. They were bringing so many of us together, helping organizations and leaders see the potential for power we have when we work together, painting a real vision for what collaboration and collective power looks like, all while making it so doable and realistic and not asking anyone to be something they aren’t. I haven’t really seen that model of collaboration before. I haven’t seen that ability to bring so many different kinds of groups together and yield the best possible work from everyone. Where everyone has their time and place and can bring their unique strengths. It was inspiring. I didn’t want to walk away from that when I left my job, and that’s how I became a board member. Forward Stance was a big part of that work and that collaboration. It was and still is so powerful.

How has this collaboration impacted you personally and professionally?

Eveline and Moira are incredible leaders and I feel like I learn from them every time I’m around them. They model really thoughtful, strategic, nimble and intentional leadership. I think that’s part of what draws so many organizations to want to work with them. Working with Forward Together has given me a vision of what reproductive justice in motion looks like. It has also given me hope that we aren’t just a movement that calls people out and names all that’s wrong in the world, but that stands for things that will make real differences in people’s lives.

What is your vision of how we can build power together for next 25 years?

This is a big question! My vision is that we will move from defense and play offense. That communities of color and poor people will be leading on this offensive game and that they will be prioritized. And that looks like winning local, state and national fights – elections, ballot measures, and legislation.

Zach Norris, Executive Director, The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights:

How did you start collaborating with Forward Together?

The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights is proud to be a leader in Forward Together's Strong Families Network. We have partnered with Forward Together on Towards a Caring Economy, a national participatory research project to capture and uplift the voices and experiences of families most impacted by incarceration and our nation's punishment economy. We are working together with organizations and families across the country to develop public safety solutions that invest in communities so that we can thrive. This partnership has brought together groups that work on gender justice, economic justice, racial justice and criminal justice reform to build up a family led movement against mass incarceration. We look forward to continuing to strengthen our relationship and collaboration with Forward Together.

How has this collaboration impacted you personally and professionally?

I couldn't think of a better organization to partner with. Alicia and Eveline bring a high level of energy and expertise to our work and are a joy to work with. We have enjoyed the opportunity to work together to reframe what makes a strong family through media education and campaign work connected to Mama's Day and Papa's Day. Our work together in conjunction with Justice for Families has helped shift the perception of families of incarcerated youth from pariahs to partners i.e. toward families being recognized as central partners in the success in their of children and loved ones. Personally, I always look forward to sending out the beautiful Mama's and Papa's day cards each year. Professionally, I love being able refer other organizations who work with families to Forward Together/Strong Families and know that they will find a powerful and supportive staff and network there.

What is your vision of how we can build power together for next 25 years?

We can be powerful together over the next 25 years by continuing to support each other as we build our movement for strong families and communities!

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Aimee Thorne-Thomsen, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, Advocates for Youth

How did you start collaborating with Forward Together?

I first met Eveline as part of the Women’s Health Leadership Network organized by the Center for American Progress. I had heard of and known of Eveline for years but never been in space with her. Being in that network together allowed us to learn more about each other and each other’s work (I was at Pro-Choice Pubic Education Project at the time) and build a strong friendship over the years. That beginning gave us the grounding to begin collaborating together first through EMERJ and then through Strong Families.

How has this collaboration impacted you personally and professionally?

Oh wow! Where do I begin? Professionally, everything changed for me when Forward Together (then ACRJ) released “A New Vision” in 2005. I was at a reproductive health, rights and justice conference at Smith College at the time the paper was released. The paper caused such a stir, that the conference ran out of copies! Every day another FedEx box arrived and within minutes, all the copies were snatched up. I hold on to that moment because I witnessed how the thought leadership of Forward Together could change the movement seemingly overnight. The power of that analysis holds true to this day. When I introduce activists to Reproductive Justice, I always go back to that paper as a cornerstone of the movement, not because FT originated the framework or even the movement itself (which they would never claim they did), but because they captured the work of women of color and Indigenous women in fighting reproductive oppression in a more holistic way.

Now, I had to read “A New Vision” 5 or 6 times to really understand the differences between reproductive health, rights and justice, and the importance of the relationship between the three sectors. But that analysis and the relationships I developed with Forward Together staff (at the time) including, Eveline, Dana, Aparna and Maria, changed my work and life forever. The articulation of Reproductive Justice resonated so deeply with me that it shifted the way I did the work, the direction of the organization I ran at the time, and how I identify my activism. Forward Together used that particular movement moment to bring people together to strategize how best to build power and movement for our communities (EMERJ). And it was the years spent building trust, strength and power that laid the foundation for what is now Strong Families.

What is your vision of how we can build power together for next 25 years?

We cannot build power in isolation from each other. We have to continue to build relationships across individuals, communities, issues and movements and use those relationships to learn from each other and explore new ideas for building power. To move forward, we also have to center young people in our movement work and lift up their voices, ideas and leadership. Achieving reproductive justice will take all of our skills, dedication and talents, and it’s critical that we continue to develop future generations of movement leaders. by continuing to support each other as we build our movement for strong families and communities!

Forward Together at 25: The Power of Reproductive Justice

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 16:30:00 +0000

The following post is part of our 25th anniversary blog series, and is written by Eveline Shen, Executive Director of Forward Together.

When I first came to Forward Together, then Asians and Pacific Islanders for Reproductive Health, I stepped into our 600 square foot office in Oakland's Chinatown brimming with excitement. I came to help develop a comprehensive framework to understand and address problems impacting the reproductive lives of Asian women and girls. I also came because I knew that I could bring my whole self—Asian, queer, progressive.

Most organizations back then did not look through an intersectional lens; we were among the handful in the country looking at how gender, race, sexuality, and class controlled the lives of women of color. Our communities wanted more than just the right to abortion—we wanted the well-being of women and girls and through their own empowerment to make healthy decisions about our bodies, sexuality and reproduction. We sought reproductive justice in all areas of our lives.

Through this prism, we linked up with other struggles for social justice, like when our youth joined the environmental justice fight to shut down a medical waste incinerator in East Oakland to inform their mothers, aunts and sisters how these toxins impacted their reproductive health.

As more and more saw the power of reproductive justice, we felt the need to distinguish it from reproductive rights and health, which we did through a collaborative process with leading reproductive justice activists. Today, when you google “reproductive justice,” you’ll find on Wikipedia the definition we created in our 2005 report, A New Vision for Advancing Our Movement for Reproductive Health, Reproductive Rights, and Reproductive Justice.

You know we’ve made progress when you can read a recent article by Dani McClain in The Nation on how the murder of Mike Brown is a reproductive justice issue. It’s a sign of how reproductive justice has grown in terms of its acceptance in the social justice community.

Over the last 15 years in my tenure at Forward Together, I have seen the chasm of inequality grow for millions of low-income women of color, youth, LGBT folks, and their families who face greater challenges to accessing reproductive health care, living wages, and safe communities free from sexual violence and police brutality.

But in the face of these grave challenges, I am inspired by the growing number of organizations and national initiatives uniting across sectors and issues to build power and make change together.

At Forward Together, we have found that transformation happens when we can see beyond our own silos and unite under a shared vision for our families. Through our Strong Families Initiative, we have seen the power of LGBT, youth, reproductive, environmental, and racial justice groups coming together to move proactive policies on the local, state and national levels. By empowering families that have been pushed to the margins to come together and organize together, we are changing the terrain of how decision makers think, feel and act in support of families.

This fall, our Strong Families network is leading civic engagement work like you have never seen before. By supporting our allies on the ground, we are helping them bring historically marginalized communities—low-income, people of color, and rural—to come out and vote for a progressive platform that impacts multiple issues affecting our families. From ensuring the right of immigrants to have driver’s licenses to increasing access for reproductive health to removing barriers to voting, we’re helping our communities see how these policies don't solely impact us individually but our entire families. And once the election is over, our community partners aren’t left with just clipboards and pens but leadership and infrastructure so they continue to build power in the long run.

Who knows what that will mean for how social justice is meted out in years to come, but we’re in the game now. And as the country shifts demographically, our communities will be better poised to advocate for a progressive platform so that all our families can thrive.

Eveline Shen is the Executive Director of Forward Together. Since Eveline's leadership began in 1999, Forward Together has become widely recognized for its innovative role in the Reproductive Justice Movement—working with grassroots communities; providing thought leadership; developing effective tools and resources for evaluation, training, and documentation; and organizing for long-term systemic change. Eveline serves on the board of the Movement Strategy Center and is a member of the Bay Area Social Justice Funders Network advisory committee. She has also served as Principal Investigator for two National Institutes of Health grants that explore the intersection between environmental justice and reproductive justice. Women's eNews named Eveline one of their 21 Leaders for the 21st Century. She was a 2009 Gerbode Fellow and holds a Masters in Public Health from UC Berkeley in Community Health Education.

Forward Together at 25: Black-Asian Collaboration and Interracial Solidarity

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 12 Sep 2014 15:35:00 +0000

This post is part of our 25th Anniversary blog series and is written by Echoing Ida's Cynthia R. Greenlee.

When I first joined the black women's writing collective Echoing Ida, I wondered why an organization such as Forward Together (which started as Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice) would start a program to amplify black women's voices in media. Much to my chagrin, though I often write about intersectionality, my questions about black-Asian collaboration showed the limits of my ideas about interracial solidarity.

I didn’t spend a lot of time wrestling with this question but I started to make mental notes about convergences between black and Asian communities. I knew that, in the last decades of slavery in the United States, some Americans thought that immigrant Asian workers would be the best replacements for the enslaved once the "peculiar institution" ended. I knew that Asian-Americans and African-Americans alike fought segregated schools despite their different vantage points in a race-obsessed nation. The 1927 U.S. Supreme Court case, Gong Lum v. Rice, which upheld a Mississippi court's decision that a young girl of Chinese descent could not attend a white school, was important for reinforcing the segregation that so harmed African-Americans. Throughout the twentieth century, blacks and Asians faced restrictive covenants that determined where they lived and their very mobility. And I knew that Asian-American activists like Richard Aoki, Grace Lee Boggs and Yuri Kochiyama bridged gaps between our communities, though their stories have often been drowned out among stories that foreground black-Asian conflict.

Knowing all these things, I somehow still thought of Asian-American and African-American freedom organizing as entirely discrete movements. But working with Forward Together — and observing the countless Twitter debates about #antiblackness and the ways in which communities of color often haven't helped each other — I made a point of discussing black-Asian convergences and differences in the classroom with my students.

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In a seminar called “Race, History and Television,” my students watched early film and television that used blackface and relied on hateful stereotypes of black Americans. My students — mostly black and Latino students whose parents emigrated from Cuba, Eritrea, Jamaica, and Barbados — were shocked at the unvarnished racism of “The Birth of a Nation,” “Amos and Andy,” and even those playful Little Rascals. But they weren’t surprised; they understood how central anti-black racism and rhetoric are to the American story, though some believed such blatant on-screen white supremacy was a relic from past ages.

But what they found much harder to understand was that media racism is a many-headed hydra — and a beast that is alive and well. Soon after we discussed blackface minstrelry, the CBS sitcom “How I Met Your Mother” drew fierce criticism for outfitting characters in “yellowface” (including Fu Manchu moustaches) as well as portraying Asians as martial arts masters, enigmatic sensei and geisha. I asked Asian-American Twitter activist, Suey Park, to Skype into class to talk about why she led the critique of CBS, and the students peppered her with questions about the lines between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation, humor and mockery, and growing up Asian-American where there were few people on TV who looked like you.

I turned the class back to this question: Did they see any similarity between controversies over blackface in the early twentieth century and this latest fracas over yellowface? There were a few moments of silence before students began to cautiously discuss how black and Asian Americans are both “others” sidelined in beauty norms and media representations, albeit different kind of “others.” As my students talked out their thoughts, I thought back to what had once seemed incongruous: Forward Together’s broad and inclusive mission of reproductive justice. Finally, my students filed out and I heard one say to another pupil: “I had never thought about black people and Asians at the same time. Imma have to think on that.”

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Although Forward Together started working primarily in Asian communities 25 years ago, I'm thankful it's expanding to cover more issues at the intersection of race, gender and sexuality. I'm especially glad to be part of the Echoing Ida project, which has given many of us writers, thinkers and activists a larger platform to tell our stories. Please help us continue cultivating our voices and connecting our communities for stronger families.

Cynthia R. Greenlee is a historian and writer. Follow her on Twitter @CynthiaGreenlee.

Forward Together at 25: We are Echoing Ida!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 21:11:00 +0000

This post is part of our 25th anniversary blog series, "Forward Together at 25."

Echoing Ida exists to support and amplify the voices of Black women – encouraging them to tell their stories and propose solutions to the issues they see in their communities. With 15 Idas and plans to expand over the next year, we are developing generations of thought leaders and skilled communicators for the social justice movement.

Each “Ida” has a unique voice and story. Every Ida is engaged in work to transform our communities. It was this time two years ago that this project began as a pilot program of Forward Together. Now during our 25th anniversary and with over 100 pieces under our belt, we thought it would be a good time to reflect on some of our Ida favorites. We hope our namesake, Ida B. Wells-Barnett would be proud. We hope you are, too.

Alex Moffett Bateau: Chronic Pain, and the Denial of Care for Black Women, RH Reality Check, March 2014.

“Women of color should not have to prove the legitimacy of their illnesses in order to get treatment. Perhaps this can only happen with the dismantling of racism, but for the sake of my sisters in chronic pain, I hope it doesn’t take that long.”

Alicia M. Walters: Policing African American Motherhood from Every Angle, RH Reality Check, January 2013.

“…there is a systemic movement hell bent on our incarceration, the separation of our families, and ultimately, our loss of humanity. Whether the right is attempting to culturally shame and legally prevent our access to abortion or target us for incarceration, above all, they seek to police Black bodies and criminalize Black motherhood thereby limiting our power of self-determination and autonomy.”

Amber J. Phillips: Love Thy Self Fiercely: How Self-Love Makes for Better Health Care, RH Reality Check, March 2014.

“Being my mother’s daughter, even down to carrying her diva gene, I’ve had to actively fight my own fear of proactively making doctor appointments. This is an issue that is so common in Black communities and yet is being ignored as the health care and Affordable Care Act (ACA) enrollment conversations continue to take place in the media. In all the frenzy to get people to enroll, the president paints a rosy picture for some while ignoring that this health-care discussion is particularly important to historically marginalized multicultural communities, specifically Black women, whose health goes far beyond whether we have insurance coverage.”

Annika Leonard: I Am Annika, I Am All, Strong Families Blog, October 2012.

“I am a child witness to domestic, sexual and community violence.
I am a survivor of sexual assault.
I am but if you love her how could you hurt her?
I am a man of God, but I’ll beat the sh*t out of your mom Monday through Saturday when no one’s looking.
I am forgive but don’t forget, yeah he touches little kids but he’s safe to be in the church unattended.”

Bianca Campbell: The Resilience of Black Breastfeeding, The Root, May 2014.

“Formula was, and continues to be, pitched as empowering for women—a promise that they could return to work sooner. It is a promise that my mother and millions of parents believed in. It provided a way for parents to continue supporting their families without having to worry about loss of pay…[but] what is pitched as empowerment can actually restrict the choices of families.”

Cynthia Greenlee: What Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta Can Teach Us About Repro Rights, EBONY.com, August 2013.

“…regardless of how you feel about the show's creator Mona Scott-Young, she has done one thing right. With abortion storylines involving self-proclaimed “Puerto Rican princess” Joseline and underground rapper Rasheeda, the show is the rare television show tackling this divisive social and political issue.”

Elizabeth Dawes Gay: Do We Love Black Mothers Enough?, Huffington Post, May 2014.

“Maybe it's that trope of the strong Black woman that makes people believe we don't need special care or attention when we are pregnant. People -- including Black women -- expect that we should and will handle whatever comes our way, keep it all together, and take care of everything ourselves -- pregnant or not. This Superwoman Syndrome is detrimental and potentially deadly.”

Gloria Malone: Teen Moms Win Too: Why I'm Glad I Had My Daughter at 15, Vitamin W, March 2014.

“I like to think that being a teenage mother has made me more human to myself and my daughter. While society is focused on the negative outcomes of teenage parenting, I am certain that if hadn’t been a teenage parent, I would not be the person that I am proud of and love being today. I have accomplished my goals in life and continue to strive to improve because I was a teen mom, not in spite of it.”

Jasmine Burnett: The Media’s Role in Attaining Justice for Black and Missing Persons, RH Reality Check, August 2014.

“[The] lack of regard for the safety of Black people and the protection of our rights is symptomatic of the established order of white supremacy in this country, which must be dismantled. Dismantling white supremacy is a tall order, and one way to start is through equity in media exposure as an entry point for re-education.”

“When the media neglects to cover these stories, it is omitting the fact that people care about missing Black women, and permitting the conditions for this toxic environment of invisibility and violent actions with no recourse to thrive.”

Jazmine Walker: What Happened to the ‘Affordable’ Part of the Affordable Care Act? RH Reality Check, July 2014.

“While I am happy to play my part in making affordable health insurance accessible for all Americans, young people like me also need some support. And through a combination of political grandstanding, lack of foresight, and poor implementation, federal and state governments have failed to hold up their ends of the deal to make health care available and affordable for all Americans.”

Malika Redmond: Improving Health Equity in Georgia, The Atlanta Voice, February 2014.

“Today, while our leaders find ways to pass the buck on Georgians’ health, we the people are gathering for a day of action to demand that they accept federal funding to increase health coverage for the low-income uninsured. We believe that how much one does or does not earn for their work should have no impact on whether they are able to see a doctor or get the care they need.”

Renee Bracey Sherman: How to Listen When a Loved One Says ‘I Had an Abortion’, EBONY.com, January 2014.

“We all face challenges in our lives. We all have that secret that we’re afraid our family and friends will judge us for, and we crave connection and acceptance. You’ll never know how many of the one in three women who’ve had abortions are in your family or circle of friends unless you open the space for conversation and show that you can Stop, Drop, and Listen.”

Samantha Daley: Lessons From the Kitchen, Strong Families Blog, April 2014.

“What strikes me now about this unique and yet universal way I was raised is how far American culture has strayed from it. Obsessed with parenting perfectly and trying to do it all on our own, modern mamas must remember what our foremothers knew—that mothering happens in community and is far too much for one woman alone to bear. All these women taught me the importance of breaking bread, and how powerful of a tool that can be for learning and growth, laughter, and helping to move forward.”

Shanelle Matthews: When Sexual Harassment is on the Menu, EBONY.com, June 2014.

“Because the restaurant industry is the largest employer of people of color, and women make up half of the people working in this business, we are disproportionately subjected to this type of workplace harassment. At the same time, the restaurant industry is the largest low wage employer with millions of women dependent on tips to survive. Therefore in many cases earning a living requires us to have to put up with predatory behavior.”

Taja Lindley: Exam Rooms and Bedrooms: Navigating Queer Sexual Health, RH Reality Check, March 2014.

“Indeed, people are having all kinds of sex, regardless of how they identify their orientation; we need a health-care system that is prepared to address everyone’s questions, issues, and concerns about sex, sexuality, and sexual and reproductive health. Unfortunately, sex education and sexual health services remain within a hetero-normative context. This must change.”

Guest Posts:

Leajay Harper: Life’s Unexpected Journeys, Strong Families Blog, January 2013.

“Following my termination, I was faced with explaining to my girls that it was going to be hard for us for a while, but we had each other and we would stay strong. We packed up a suitcase with our clothes and boxed everything else to take to our storage unit. We said goodbye to a place that we called our home for so long and the memories we created together as a family.”

L. Michelle Odom and Naimah Johnson: When Zero Tolerance Makes Zero Sense, Strong Families Blog, June 2013.

“So many young Black girls identify with the images in mainstream media and have little promise to rest on for their future, because society has presented to them with a world where success, fame and media attention comes from criminalized activity, rather than educationally, spiritually sound practice, which can uplift them and their communities.”

Thoughts on Ferguson

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 08 Sep 2014 13:00:00 +0000

On August 9th, 2014, unarmed teenager Michael Brown was shot to death by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. In the weeks after his death, protests ensued and a national dialogue began about police brutality, the over policing of communities of color, the militarization of our police forces, and the right to parent your child in a safe environment, free from violence. In response, Echoing Ida writers spoke out to elevate the voices of Black women and the impact of the killings on our communities.

In a ThinkProgress article, Jasmine Burnett and Gloria Malone shared their thoughts about how the killing of Michael Brown is a reproductive justice and feminist issue.

“We look at the right to have a child, to not have a child, and to parent your child in a safe and sustainable community free from violence,” Jasmine Burnett, a black feminist activist, told ThinkProgress. “If you aren’t safe in your community because you’re racially profiled by the police, and you can’t walk from your home to a clinic or to a hospital to access the services you need, then that’s not really a full articulation of reproductive justice.”

“Reproductive justice is about the whole person — their mental, physical, and economic well being. And when you live in an area that is over policed and dealing with police brutality, that absolutely affects your mental health,” Gloria Malone, a Latina activist who organizes around issues facing young mothers, added. “The killings of these children leave a huge emotional scar.”

Jasmine reminds us that talking about the issue is never enough, we must demand action and changes in society's behavior.

“People are talking about it — that’s great,” Burnett added. “But it means nothing if your interactions with people of color, and your politics around people of color, don’t change. It will take society really building the power of people of color, because all I see is us being tortured and violated in our communities.”

In a piece for RH Reality Check, Riots and Research: What a 1968 Report on Urban Unrest Has to Do With Ferguson, Dr. Cynthia Greenlee ties the 1968 Kerner Commission Report to today's protests.

The report didn’t mince words about how police actions inflamed tense situations. Many of the report’s recommendations concerned changing the police-community dynamics in the nation’s cities—establishing more and better channels for community grievances about police misconduct, the recruitment and promotion of more Black officers, increased patrols to increase resident security, and even a junior “Community Service Officer” corps to attract Black males 17 to 21 years old to police work.

But the report’s authors knew that an expanded police presence on the streets could mean more surveillance, more violence, and less trust.

Cynthia points out that when it comes to inequality and community policing, much hasn't changed since 1968.

Change a few words here and there, and we could re-issue the Kerner Report today; inequality is a fixture of American life, and history doesn’t repeat itself gently or always arc toward justice. Sometimes, history boomerangs with a vengeance.

For her RH Reality Check piece, The Violence Happening in Ferguson Is More Than Physical, Dr. Alexandra Moffett Bateau, examines the impact of the Ferguson protests, police responses to the protest, and police brutality on communities - and show us that there are many ways it impacts the body.

We may miss the violence of the police officer who said something to a young woman that completely destroyed her spirit prior to hitting her in the face. We may miss the destruction of a young man’s spiritual altar in his home prior to being beaten brutally in the street after he reacted. We may miss that a woman’s children were suddenly taken from her home a week before she was raped by a social worker.

While these examples are somewhat extreme, I am using them to get at a central point: Physical, emotional, spiritual, and even bureaucratic harm can all enact different modes of violence, both on the community and the individual.

The violence our communities, like Ferguson, experience all across the country, at the hands of the state, have a deep impact. An impact not only felt by our bodies, but also our future generations and history. The Echoing Ida writers have demonstrated the complexity of reproductive justice and why we continue to fight.

Forward Together at 25: #BuildingPower with Forward Stance in New Mexico

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 05 Sep 2014 17:56:00 +0000

The following post is by Denicia Cadena, Communications and Cultural Strategy Director at Young Women United in New Mexico, and is part of our 25th anniversary blog series.

From my first introduction to Forward Stance, I was hooked. Forward Together explains that the technology of Forward Stance as a “powerful way to learn and gain new insight through physical movement and by reconnecting our bodies with our minds.”

The staff of Young Women United

My name is Denicia Cadena and I am proud to be the Communications and Cultural Strategy Director of Young Women United. At Young Women United, we lead community organizing and policy initiatives by and for young women of color in New Mexico. We work so that all people have access to the education, information and resources needed to make real decisions about their own bodies and lives. By integrating the practice of Forward Stance into what we do as individuals, as Young Women United, and as leaders in our shared movement for reproductive justice, YWU is better grounded and positioned to make positive changes our families need.

As I had the opportunity to further learn and practice Forward Stance I began to share the concept with young women through our teenage organizing circle. As we walked through the elements of a forward stance, including holding a big awareness, being relaxed while ready to move, and deep breathing down to our core, we did more than talk, we got moving. Our young leaders love Forward Stance because it helps them to be more confident in their everyday lives. They always have a great time playing ninja---a competitive but fun-natured game that allows them to show off Forward Stance skill! We also started incorporating Forward Stance activities into all of YWU’s campaign areas and programmatic spaces. Forward Stance has been especially useful in our Sister Sharing Circles-facilitated conversations on pregnancy, birth, and parenting. During Sister Sharing Circles focusing on breathing exercises gives our mamas and other organizers a way to feel connected to the practice and a way to feel safe and centered while sharing personal and sometimes difficult experiences.

At YWU, Forward Stance has been an important way that we explore, expand and as needed, take up space. Moving our organization to downtown ABQ last year we painted, put up artwork and began to practice Forward Stance throughout our new office. Using exercises in which we generated rhythm and movement we continued growing YWU and our structure with a new energy that matched our location. When Forward Together Policy Director Kalpana joined us for Forward Stance she asked in disbelief, “THIS is where you practice Forward Stance?!” as we often practice Forward Stance on the sidewalk, amid the morning crowd headed for coffee, rumbling buses, and our ABQ city scape. We are proud to use Forward Stance as a way to build up our presence in our downtown surroundings.

As Forward Together celebrates their 25th anniversary I am thankful to be part of the Forward Stance practice that has created a common language across movements reclaiming organizing with mind, body, and spirit. We live a world where Black boys and men are being murdered by state sanctioned police forces, where women and children are being deported after fleeing extreme violence, and where trans* women of color are being murdered and incarcerated for defending their lives. The time to collectively organize for justice has never been more apparent. At its core, Forward Stance is a way to practice how we work together, weaving diverse leadership and movements for justice. Though we may have different rhythms, energy, and stances, when we come together to practice Forward Stance we have increased capacity to move and advance collective power. I’m ready to move with Forward Together for another 25 years!

Denicia Cadena is a queer chicana born and raised in Mesilla, New Mexico. Denicia is the Communications and Cultural Strategy Director of Young Women United (YWU), an organizing and policy project by and for young women of color in New Mexico. She leads YWU’s communications strategies so that our efforts reflect the lived experiences of our communities. Rooted in cultural organizing, Denicia develops media and messaging alongside YWU’s members, leaders and activists to move community based policy change and culture shift. Denicia has deep experience working on issues of reproductive justice, racial justice, and queer justice. A proud sister, aunt,daughter, and friend–Denicia couldn’t imagine herself without all the strong women that have shaped her. As a welder and sculptor, Denicia knows that some ways of knowing and understanding can only be expressed through art. Denicia holds a BA in History with a concentration in Diaspora Studies from Amherst College.

Forward Together at 25: New Mexico Youth Lead The Way For Net Neutrality

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 03 Sep 2014 18:32:00 +0000

The following post is by Alanna Offield, Campaign Coordinator at the Media Literacy Project in New Mexico, and is part of our 25th anniversary blog series.

Every movement or organization has “their person”: the person they want to move to support their cause and community. For the media justice movement that person is the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), a commission of five appointed people that regulate our communications. And here I was this past June organizing an event for Media Literacy Project (MLP) and hosting the chairman at a time when he had recently proposed rules that would destroy the Internet (Let John Oliver break it down for you).

FCC Chair Tom Wheeler with youth organizers

This was the first public event Chairman Wheeler would speak at since he proposed an Internet “fast lane” that would give priority to companies that could pay more for their content to be more visible. All eyes were on us to push him to reject the proposed rules and enact real net neutrality with no paid priority service. We also needed to get real with him about what he will do to get more New Mexican families connected to reliable and affordable Internet and phone service. As campaign coordinator at MLP, I was the lead in organizing this event. No pressure.

We had intentionally focused the event on youth voices as the FCC has no formal youth engagement. Every day people were crawling out of the woodwork to give me some ageist lines about how involving youth was a nice idea but do I really believe youth can understand media policy issues? As a young person myself it was hard to hear this. If people didn’t think youth could pull off an event like this, what about me?

Throughout the month of June MLP had been working flat out with limited volunteer support. We were expecting almost 300 people, and we needed more helping hands. I can’t even count the amount of times I had cried with the stress of wanting to do something that would make my community feel and be heard. With only a few volunteers on board I had become convinced that I was doing it all wrong. One night it was 7:30 p.m. and I was still at my desk running through the program for the 100th time and refreshing the volunteer signup sheet over and over hoping more people would help us. I was just about to pack up and go home when I heard my email notification. All of the staff of Strong Families New Mexico had signed up to volunteer with the added note “available to help anywhere I can.” I sat at my desk and cried. Just this one small act made a huge difference in my attitude and from that moment on I knew it would be okay.

This act is just a small example of how Strong Families New Mexico supports not only MLP but all the other organizations they work with. They understand how important it is for us to support each other in this work. They saw that we were trying to provide a space for dialogue between New Mexican youth, their families, and the FCC. They got on board with us and helped to plan and promote the event. They were there the night of the event helping to prep young people who wanted to give testimony to the chairman and tell their story. During the event, an older man rushed up to the microphone and took time away from the young people who had worked so hard to put the event together. This man didn’t ask a unique question, but felt that because a young person had addressed his issue, it hadn’t really been asked yet. Most of the youth were able to speak that night and before I knew it the event was over.

I was getting the post-event organizer blues playing mind games about what I should have done differently. I walked outside the event venue and the Strong Families New Mexico team was there telling me how great the event was and even if everything didn’t go to plan they could see that the community was engaged. It was exactly what I needed to hear after weeks of hard work.

Strong Families always has the Media Literacy Project’s back and makes the connections between media justice and thriving families in our community. That night and so many other times I saw how we really are stronger together. The staff of Strong Families New Mexico has supported me in some of the biggest projects I have ever taken on professionally. They take time to ask us how we can be supported and provide constructive feedback so we can come out strong. They truly understand that our issues are connected and that media justice is something we need for all of our families.

Alanna Offield is a community organizer and activist from Northern New Mexico. She has worked on a range of issue-based campaigns dealing with human rights, racial justice, gender justice, and environmental justice. Since her early teenage years she has been active in various social justice and human rights organizations including serving as the New Mexico Student Activist Coordinator for Amnesty International and as Program Coordinator for the Railyard Park Stewards of Santa Fe. As a queer chicana and single mother, Alanna feels drawn to social justice work as a way to protect the rights of her community and to make sure their voices are heard. She works within a solidarity framework and believes that the power to create lasting change comes from the grassroots. Alanna is a student at the University of New Mexico focusing her studies on the intersections of race, class, and gender in American society through an American studies degree with a minor in Chicano/ Chicana studies. She is on a new journey as a parent to her daughter, Hickory, and is dedicated to creating a more equitable world for her to grow up in.

Forward Together at 25: #NoTeenShame for Young Moms

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 16:31:00 +0000

The following blog is from Natasha Vianna, co-founder of #NoTeenShame, to commemorate Forward Together's 25th anniversary.

When I gave birth to my daughter at 17, I finally met the person who would drastically change my life. With trembling hands, I held her close to my skin and cried in a way I never cried before. There was this moment of overwhelming emotion, having felt a different kind of love I never knew before, but I felt a deeper darkness lurking within me. I was young and afraid that what everyone told me would come true – that the baby lying on my chest would ruin my life. Months after my daughter’s birth, those harmful words were constantly being repeated in my mind and I questioned whether I would ever be capable of being a good mother.

Pushing back against negativity and judgment is difficult when you don’t recognize it as a problem, but only see it as your reality. Until there were people who stood up with young moms, I didn’t even realize there was something to stand up for or that my destiny didn’t have to be pre-determined. The pain and discomfort I often felt eventually pushed me to start asking questions and wonder why I was not seen as a valuable woman in our society – but I didn’t want to stand alone. So when I discovered that Forward Together and the Strong Families Coalition members recognized the need to include young mothers and fathers within their intersectional movement, it helped reinforce that feeling that, yes, I am valuable. Having a powerful and inclusive group of people who dedicated themselves to loving a stranger in the struggle, like me, I had the fuel I needed to keep going and start speaking out.

I wasn’t just raising a child, I needed to overcome intentionally difficult obstacles, disprove stereotypes, and watch my every step or risk losing my child to the system because I was Latina, because I was 17, and because society labeled me as a bad parent before my child was even born. Every time I would stand up tall and feel like I was getting close to accomplishing something great, there was always a system ready to shut me down. In 2006, I was told that my baby would interfere with my motivation to finish high school and go to college, but the only people interfering with my education were people with power who focused too much on regurgitating statistics on my likelihood of graduating instead of getting out of my way.

Why are we pushed to the side, strategically isolated from support systems, asked uncomfortable questions about our lives, and pressured to make decisions that align with societal expectations or risk the possibility of losing our children? When there are overwhelmingly negative messages in the media, narrowly framed data, and biased images of teen parents influencing everyone around me, it felt impossible to try to accomplish anything. Why would anyone listen to me when there’s contradicting data from an academic organization? I learned quickly that by ignoring some of our individual voices, it’s easy for many to render us invisible or exceptionalize our success, but together our voices build power. And that is why Forward Together’s work is so meaningful and important to me and my community.

One of the most valuable things I learned through my partnership with Forward Together is how a healthy relationship with an organization should feel. While there are so many predatory nonprofit organizations who simply seek to exploit the lives of marginalized communities for their own funding and public relation needs, there are few organizations that work to build a better world for us, our families, and families everywhere through patience, respect and meaningful engagement. They work hard to listen, learn, and help us move forward together.

Natasha Vianna is a Boston-based Latina activist, public speaker, and a co-founder of #NoTeenShame. As a former teen mom, Natasha works with activists and organizations across the country to launch and support strategic messaging campaigns that dissect the realities of teen pregnancy while eliminating the unnecessary stigmatization of young families. Recently, she took the stage to share a TEDx talk on the culture of shaming young mothers for their reproductive choices. Follow her on Twitter: @NatashaVianna.

Forward Together at 25: Forward Together Youth Take It To The Streets

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 00:48:00 +0000

In honor of our 25th anniversary, let's take a look back and honor the Forward Together youth organizers and leaders who helped to transform communities and make them safer for all families.

Incinerator flyer and protest picture from 2001:

A flier and photo from a campaign that our youth were part of, to shut down one of the last remaining medical waste incinerators in the country, located in East Oakland. Our youth brought a youth voice and gender lens to the campaign, revealing the particularly harmful impacts of Dioxin (a reproductive toxin) which is one of the chemicals that was spewing out of the incinerator. We won that fight and the incinerator was shut down.

Collective Voices (2009):
Collective Voices is a print newsletter by SisterSong that highlights work in the RJ movement. This article was written by Diana Ip (former FT staff) about our work to support Asian parents to talk to their kids about sex and sexuality. It highlights the toolkit we created for this purpose, called “Transforming API Community: Tools for Sexuality Education.”

Urban View & HOPE Freedom Tour Flyer (2001): In 2001, members of the HOPE Organizers-In-Training program spent 4 months surveying welfare recipients, interviewing Oakland students about sexual harassment, and protesting the medical waste incinerator in their neighborhood. These Asian youth organizers then took their research to the streets with a Reproductive Freedom tour of their community.

Forward Together at 25: The Power of Collaboration and Community

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 19 Aug 2014 16:52:00 +0000

As we commemorate Forward Together's 25th anniversary, we are celebrating the work of our various programs and partnerships. The post below was authored by Maia Weiss of Health Initiatives for Youth.

I work for an organization called Health Initiatives For Youth (HIFY), and I’ve been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to collaborate with Forward Together. I first met Forward Together Youth Program leaders Deanna Gao and mai doan at a Queer/Trans Network meeting, a place where a variety of organizations regularly meet with the goal of improving the services we can provide to LGBTQ youth in Alameda County. Recognizing that both of our organizations strive to provide community, safe spaces, leadership opportunities and health education to young queer folks in Oakland, we decided to see how HIFY and Forward Together could support one another.

As this partnership has grown, I have been so impressed by the youth in Forward Together’s afterschool leadership program, and deeply moved by the community and culture that the adult leaders have helped to shape. My first visit to Forward Together headquarters in Downtown Oakland was to facilitate a workshop for the youth on Allyship and the LGBTQ Community. Entering their space felt a little like going to my grandmother’s house. I was asked to take off my shoes and to help myself to snacks. Youth were hanging out, cooking food and doing homework. The environment felt so warm and inviting, I understood why young people would gravitate to this space. As we began our workshop, youth were eager to participate and ask questions. I heard them challenge each other respectfully and affirm diverse points of view; I could tell this was a space where youth engagement was celebrated and the young people felt empowered to make their voices heard. This is both a testament to the incredible youth in program and to their passionate and dedicated adult leaders.

Forward Together and HIFY partnered to throw a mixer for young people interested in connecting over their shared passion for LGBTQ activism and allyship. We held the event at HIFY’s drop-in space for queer youth in West Oakland, and invited BAY Peace, another Oakland youth organization, to lead us in a movement workshop exploring gender identity. It was so exciting to see youth leading both youth and adults in a series of movement and improvisation exercises which stretched many people’s comfort zones. Simultaneously laughing and perspiring and having intimate, difficult conversations about gender, I felt a powerful sense of community in that room that evening. I am so grateful for the work that Forward Together is doing to empower these communities today, and eager to see the new generation of change makers that emerges as a result of Forward Together’s support.

Maia Weiss is a Lead Trainer at Health Initiatives For Youth. At HIFY, she facilitates groups for LGBTQ street-involved youth and leads trainings on a variety of social justice and health education topics. Find out more about HIFY’s work and our queer youth drop-in space at www.hify.org

Forward Together at 25: What is "Forward Stance" Anyway?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 21:23:00 +0000

So what exactly is this "Forward Stance" thing that you hear us talk about? The Forward Stance Leadership model is a mind-body approach that cultivates fierce individuals, effective organizations, and powerful movements that strengthen our families and communities. It is an empowering way to learn and gain new insight through physical movement and by reconnecting our bodies with our minds. It is the secret to our longevity as we celebrate 25 years of #buildingpower so all families can thrive.

It makes more sense when you see it, and even more sense when you do it. The video above is the best way to highlight how we are #buildingpower through Forward Stance leadership.

Forward Stance Leadership means:

• Stepping into leadership: embracing our personal power and strengths to provide vision, energy and expertise in service to social change.

• Non-violent communication: assuming that disagreement is an opportunity for growth transformation and finding ways to build common ground or agree to disagree while moving forward together.

• Building leadership opportunities for others: there are actually no bounds in terms of the amount of leadership our movement can contain.

It is not something we do, rather it is something we are and embody through daily practice. It is the strategic basis from which we move.

Will you join us in building power to create a better world for our families?

Forward Together at 25: #buildingpower so all families can thrive

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 20:52:00 +0000

As we commemorate our 25th anniversary, Forward Together's Executive Director, Eveline Shen, reflects on where we were, where we are, and where we are headed.

Twenty five years ago, our founders recognized that while all women need rights and resources to insure their reproductive health, too many women of color and low-income have needs that are not recognized by the established leaders of the reproductive rights movement.

Our founders – a group of passionate Asian women – knew that in order for Asian women and other women of color to have the agency and access we all need to make decisions about our sexuality and reproductive lives, our voices need to be heard. In particular, they knew that in our communities, it was young, low-income Asian women who were facing some of the biggest challenges when it comes to having the agency and access to make decisions about their reproductive lives and sexuality.

So they did something that seems so common sense, but at the time was in fact revolutionary: They talked to young Asian women about what they need in order to thrive. They started where they were, in Oakland. And they asked them: what challenges are keeping you from living the life that you want to live? And they listened. And they learned. And they partnered with young Asian women and together began advocating for themselves and their needs: Comprehensive sex education. Access to culturally relevant health care. A healthy environment for their families. Safety from the harassment that keeps them from reaching their educational goals.

None of these issues were being addressed by the mainstream reproductive rights movement at the time, but all are essential to helping women and girls of color to access the power and resources we need to make our own decisions about our bodies, our families and our lives. Through the leadership of our young Asian women, we won concrete policy changes that have improved their lives and their communities.

Our early successes generated more opportunities to lead, so we began advocating at the state level, and partnering with other groups across the country to bring the needs of women of color to the center of the conversation about reproductive health.

Together, we formed a movement of people who sought reproductive justice, a calling that goes beyond the legal right to choose, and also recognizes that real, meaningful change that challenges the power structures that oppress our communities must be led by the people most affected by the issues we are seeking to change. For us, this meant always centering the leadership of women and girls of color.

The term “Reproductive Justice” was getting so popular that the women of color who were doing this work were being sidelined again in its uptake. Seeing a need to establish women of color and their voices as the core of the emerging field, we generated a definition and framework of Reproductive Justice. Published in 2005, A New Vision is still the most widely used text on the issue.

Our paper defining and recognizing the Reproductive Justice Movement put us on the map with funders, organizations and decision-makers nationwide. Our phones were literally ringing off the hooks from people across the country who saw the power and potential of this framework to be a game changer. The attention was sometimes overwhelming for our small staff, but we also knew it was a huge opportunity to harness the excitement and build momentum.

We began to grow. Through the use of Forward Stance – a mind-body approach that allows us to learn and gain insight through the use of breath, voice and physical movement – we developed an innovative leadership model that allowed us to evolve tremendously. We grew from a local organization working with Asian women and girls into leading a national network that bridges diverse communities toward a common purpose. The Forward Stance Leadership model allowed us to stay grounded and focused throughout the evolution, and has been the secret to our success and longevity.

In recent years, Forward Together has worked with more than 200 organizations across the country to build a strong and vibrant Reproductive Justice Movement. Through values-based collaborations, we shared resources, built strategic alliances and began taking collective action. From this work, the Strong Families initiative was born. Through Strong Families, we are working together to change culture and policy to reflect the realities of our families so that all of us can thrive.

Our campaigns emerge from the real concerns of real people who are standing up for ourselves and our families. We continue to recognize, call out and eventually overcome the roadblocks that pop up in the intersections where our race, class, gender and sexuality are used to keep us from the future we want for all of us.

And through it all, we continue to train Asian youth in Oakland to advocate for themselves, their families and their futures.

We listen. We learn. We lead. And we move forward, together.