Audre Lorde's wisdom soothes the heart and calms the soul as we mourn the unjust murder of Dr. George Tiller of Witchita, KS, the doctor who gave his life honoring a woman's reproductive freedom.
As conscious women of color who fiercely believe in the same, we must continue to voice, protect, demand, and fight for a woman's right to choose, and for those who work to provide that choice, that they are able to do so without the threat of violence or intimidation.
As Toni Bond Leonard, president of Black Women for Reproductive Justice, says "this is the work for each of us who believe in women being able to be self-determining about their lives, their bodies, and the communities that we call home."
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
"the debt to a Mother can never be repaid"
-geeta iyengar
the tale
this story has been told numerous times. it's a famaliar one in boston and other cities across the country, the contrast between two communities whose geographic borders are defined by race and class disparities. this past sunday, i participated in the mother's day walk for peace, organized by the louis d. brown institute in dorchester. this annual event is led by mothers who have lost their sons and daughters to gun violence, held as fundraiser for the institute and its programs.
of milestones
yesterday, after the 3.6 mile walk around the streets where makeshift memorials are commonplace, as are the people who wear buttons bearing the face of someone -- all black or latino, mostly male and young who have died -- one mother enthusiastically announced that about $28,000 was raised during the afternoon's walk. there had been an $10,000 donation just minutes before. and that's not counting the money from pledges that walkers would eventually send in.
is restorative
the mother rallied everyone to celebrate by shouting that "peace is possible!" we clapped. we jumped for joy. but, as the mother said, many of us -- especially herself -- are still working on forgiveness. this was the event's central restorative theme: forgiveness. otherwise, the violence will just escalate. it's about harm reduction. i've heard this from the families of the city's most recent murder victims. please, they say, do not retaliate. and to the shooter: we hold no grudges. turn yourself in. we forgive. we forgive.
at border crossings
i sat on the lawn of townsfield park in dorchester after the walk, after the speeches, to watch the people disperse, to listen to organizers encourage everyone -- mothers first -- to take home donated flower arrangements. the community was bustling with traffic; across the street, there was strip mall of cheap stores. the basketball court was full of youth. i took a flower pot, gently put it in my backpack, got on my bike, and navigated my way around city buses back to jamaica plain. it was a beautiful, sunny day. breezy.
with a distinct beat
after meeting a friend for brunch in brookline, we sat at the nearby park. it was different world, the park was pastoral like. quiet neighborhoods, tree-line streets. nice, big houses. the brookline police drove by three times. amid the sounds of birds, there were two people drumming, and the sound of the drumming was almost like a chant, a drone. my friend who lives in brookline said that it is unusual to hear the sounds of hand drums in a brookline neighborhood park. i reckoned they were sounding the drum of mother's heart, beating across the borders.
the tale
this story has been told numerous times. it's a famaliar one in boston and other cities across the country, the contrast between two communities whose geographic borders are defined by race and class disparities. this past sunday, i participated in the mother's day walk for peace, organized by the louis d. brown institute in dorchester. this annual event is led by mothers who have lost their sons and daughters to gun violence, held as fundraiser for the institute and its programs.
of milestones
yesterday, after the 3.6 mile walk around the streets where makeshift memorials are commonplace, as are the people who wear buttons bearing the face of someone -- all black or latino, mostly male and young who have died -- one mother enthusiastically announced that about $28,000 was raised during the afternoon's walk. there had been an $10,000 donation just minutes before. and that's not counting the money from pledges that walkers would eventually send in.
is restorative
the mother rallied everyone to celebrate by shouting that "peace is possible!" we clapped. we jumped for joy. but, as the mother said, many of us -- especially herself -- are still working on forgiveness. this was the event's central restorative theme: forgiveness. otherwise, the violence will just escalate. it's about harm reduction. i've heard this from the families of the city's most recent murder victims. please, they say, do not retaliate. and to the shooter: we hold no grudges. turn yourself in. we forgive. we forgive.
at border crossings
i sat on the lawn of townsfield park in dorchester after the walk, after the speeches, to watch the people disperse, to listen to organizers encourage everyone -- mothers first -- to take home donated flower arrangements. the community was bustling with traffic; across the street, there was strip mall of cheap stores. the basketball court was full of youth. i took a flower pot, gently put it in my backpack, got on my bike, and navigated my way around city buses back to jamaica plain. it was a beautiful, sunny day. breezy.
with a distinct beat
after meeting a friend for brunch in brookline, we sat at the nearby park. it was different world, the park was pastoral like. quiet neighborhoods, tree-line streets. nice, big houses. the brookline police drove by three times. amid the sounds of birds, there were two people drumming, and the sound of the drumming was almost like a chant, a drone. my friend who lives in brookline said that it is unusual to hear the sounds of hand drums in a brookline neighborhood park. i reckoned they were sounding the drum of mother's heart, beating across the borders.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
People of color care about the environment. We always have. This is our history.
Over the weekend, I attended the Environmental Action 2009 held at the Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston. It was hosted by a group of New England environmental groups. The organizers promoted this regional gathering as a the "largest conference for citizen activists protecting public health and the environment."
I was warned ahead of time that it would be more of a "mainstream, traditional audience", but nevertheless a good opportunity to understand more about science, a subject I admit has always frightened me. Well, I embraced it, and did learn some new things, but was still struck, despite the warning, that out of 100 or more attendees, I only counted about 7 of us who were people of color.Fewer Boston-based organizations participated than I expected and there were no organizations from communities surrounding Wentworth present at all.
This did not go unnoticed by my friend and comrade, a woman of color and a workshop presenter. Several of us in the workshop shook our heads in agreement. On the heels of this observation, one woman asked about Van Jones and wondered whether how or if his "green jobs campaign" will inspire communities of color to "get involved" with the environmental movement. I raised my hand and had this to contribute for an answer:
People of color have been addressing environmental issues for a long time. This work has not necessarily been with environmental organizations per se, or in groups with the name "environment" in them. This is one reason the work of communities of color has not been on the mainstream movement's radar.
The transformative power of EJ is that it defines environmentalism broadly: not just the physical environmental, but the social, spiritual, political, etc. This recognizes the social inequality that is the source of much environmental degradation in communities of color, indeed, in the world.
Van Jones is doing what good organizers do: make important linkages between issues, ideas, and create opportunities using those connections to bring change. The concern for jobs and jobs creation, social justice, poverty alleviation and ensuring healthier, more sustainable lives for people are issues that communities of color have long advocated.
The opportunity for mainstream, predominantly white environmental organizations to build relationships and learn from communities of color vis-a-vis the EJ movement is to recognize the work that has been done (i.e. learn some history!), and then expand its definition of environmentalism to include everyone.
I was warned ahead of time that it would be more of a "mainstream, traditional audience", but nevertheless a good opportunity to understand more about science, a subject I admit has always frightened me. Well, I embraced it, and did learn some new things, but was still struck, despite the warning, that out of 100 or more attendees, I only counted about 7 of us who were people of color.Fewer Boston-based organizations participated than I expected and there were no organizations from communities surrounding Wentworth present at all.
This did not go unnoticed by my friend and comrade, a woman of color and a workshop presenter. Several of us in the workshop shook our heads in agreement. On the heels of this observation, one woman asked about Van Jones and wondered whether how or if his "green jobs campaign" will inspire communities of color to "get involved" with the environmental movement. I raised my hand and had this to contribute for an answer:
People of color have been addressing environmental issues for a long time. This work has not necessarily been with environmental organizations per se, or in groups with the name "environment" in them. This is one reason the work of communities of color has not been on the mainstream movement's radar.
The transformative power of EJ is that it defines environmentalism broadly: not just the physical environmental, but the social, spiritual, political, etc. This recognizes the social inequality that is the source of much environmental degradation in communities of color, indeed, in the world.
Van Jones is doing what good organizers do: make important linkages between issues, ideas, and create opportunities using those connections to bring change. The concern for jobs and jobs creation, social justice, poverty alleviation and ensuring healthier, more sustainable lives for people are issues that communities of color have long advocated.
The opportunity for mainstream, predominantly white environmental organizations to build relationships and learn from communities of color vis-a-vis the EJ movement is to recognize the work that has been done (i.e. learn some history!), and then expand its definition of environmentalism to include everyone.
Monday, March 09, 2009
She gave us a place in the revolution
In honor of International Women's Day and Women's History Month, I'm grateful and inspired by this posting on Ida B. Wells, whose activism I strive to channel in my own work.
I also joined the mailing list of Some of Us Are Brave Radio, which is produced by BlackFemLens.org.
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