A Little Narrative

A Little Narrative..
by Julia Maresca (President of Mid-Suffolk NOW)

Oct. 11th, Washington DC. Not wanting to miss a bit of the action, I arrived early at the March For Equality meet point, McPherson Square. 10AM and the park easily accommodated the few early birds; the atmosphere, still benign. Volunteers were already in place handing out signs dominated by themes such as "We Won't Wait", "Stop the Harm" and "Equality Across America" (the namesake of the march). I waited for the familiar NOW rounds as I had communicated with some West Coast NOW organizers to meet them at 11:30 at the corner of 15th St. and "Eye" St. There I paced: watching, enjoying creative signs, hoping. I'm not sure what time it started but from the south maybe a half an hour later, marching up 15th St. towards the park, a continuous organized band of college aged activists flowed. These activists were pumped up and already chanting calls to the growing crowds that built at the edge of the park to greet them. This line of power continued to flow for some time. As they crossed the road and marched right on up and in, the light changed several times and they kept coming. More sub-groups, more chants, each with one or two clear leaders, made themselves heard. The masses grew at the south corners of the park effectively blocking and closing "Eye" St. south of the park - traffic had to reverse out. Still on the corner, I cheered them on and encouraged them into the road and into the park. Within an hour the never ending flowing line seemed to morph and seemed to pour in from all sides of the park. Finally I happened upon NOW on the corner just as promised. The DC NOW president came equip with a three wheeled bike, and lead us to the rest of the group. Once in position in the March line up on 16th St., by standing on the bike, I could see the the crowds that had filled the road several blocks north of the start -a far as my eyes could see. The March tone turned personal as neighbors in the March turned out to be fast friends, thousands walked and talked, chanted and sang. At certain points the three wheeled bike had to be lifted over barricades - but we did it! and with the help of many new friends. The march went as planned, but having seen the Mall full for marches such as the "March For Women's Lives" in 2004, the attendance of this march seemed, less than. Less than it should have been for such important causes. To me the true power was the 'unplanned' closing of that one block by activists being loud and proud. Marching on the Capitol lawn felt too civil, to "done" already and left me longing for more. We as marchers did not inconvenience DC. The weekend was a Holiday weekend and downtown DC - empty. We chanted to Obama to repeal DOMA and Don't Ask, Don't Tell. But where were his ears ? Was congress even in town? But even more important, where was the town, the DC town that boasts a federal workforce tied to politics like no other city. Where are the people? The public? And protesters? Only one truck with hate pasted on it's sides drove around in circles, but even they eventually left, probably in boredom. Now I do not want to belittle the accomplishment of HRC and many other groups who worked so hard to get Obama to say that he was "with us in our fight" - an amazing feat! but.... Marches should mean friction, Marches should mean unity, Marches should mean power in numbers. Our voices need to be more determined and continual like those kids marching up 15th. Our ideals and demands clear and unyielding. Our hopes, centered in love. With that they WILL hear and things WILL change. The message several hours later at the end of the rally was to go home and really start the fight, really work for change. I agree when I say, every little American town has an "Eye" St.
- JEMaresca

October mid-suffolk NOW meeting!

The next meeting will be on Saturday, October 31st (yes, Halloween) @ the usual time of 10am.
The location will be at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Stony Brook 380 Nicolls Road (between routes 25A & 347)

Michelle Cavelere MSW will be presenting information related to the issues of mediation

NOW-NY Launches New Young Feminist Task Force!

Calling all Young Feminists -

Join NOW-NYS's Young Feminist Task Force.
Read NOW-NYS Young Feminists Task Force Blog.

http://youngfeministtaskforce.blogspot.com/

NOW - New York State commissioned a Young Feminist Task Force to help bring young women and men into feminist activism. The Young Feminist Task Force encourages social acceptance that leads to political change through activism.

Young women everywhere face harassment and discrimination everyday. For these reasons and many others like them, your involvement in the feminist movement is crucial. Join other like-minded young feminists today! Contact NOW - New York State for more information. Info@nownys.org

Do these situations sound familiar to you?

You're tired of taking the long route to class to avoid the staircase landing where guys hang out and make lewd comments. You notice your own posture in the showcase reflection -- you're creeping around as though you're trying to hide.

You stopped seeing the guy who raped you on a date, but you haven't forgotten what he did. His friends smile suggestively at you. You're growing so upset that you can't sleep and can barely eat. Maybe you're even thinking of dropping out of school.

As a young woman of color you are irritated at the way shopkeepers seem to shadow you more than your white friends. When you take out your credit cards at the checkout counter, you're the only one the clerk asks for a picture i.d.

When you discover you're pregnant, your boyfriend bolts. You can't tell your parents, so you have to face a judge to get the legal go-ahead your state requires for an abortion. You've never felt so alone.

Your women's soccer team is still wearing the uniforms from the '70s, and the grass on your field is overgrown. Meanwhile the lines on the football field are repainted weekly and each player has his own personalized helmet.

A friend of yours has just tested positive for HIV. Clearly, some of your friends need concrete suggestions for prevention. But your school's sex education course never even mentions condoms.

Join our Young Feminist Task Force and see how you can work with other high school and college students and other young women who are interested in promoting and gaining women's economic, social and political equality. Contact NOW - New York State for more information.

For more information email: youngfeminists@gmail.com

*****

Donate to NOW New York State. Your generosity helps us do the work that is so vital to winning equality for all women.

https://www.nownys.com/donate.html

9/26 Meeting with guest speaker

Pat Eddington has confirmed that she will speak at the next Mid-Suffolk NOW meeting, on September 26th. Pat will speak about the hate crimes legislation that she supports as well as her campaign for town clerk.

Hope to see everyone there!

YFTF

Calling all Young Feminists from around the state!

Please join the newly formed taskforce in NOW – NYS, the Young Feminist Task Force (YFTF).

Formation of YFTF:

• Marcia Pappas, the president of NOW – NYS, and the NOW – NYS board, are serious about including the young feminist voice at the NOW – NYS level, and recently approved the proposal of the new taskforce.
• The proposal (please find below) was accepted, with Jerin Alam and Ben Siegel appointed as the co-chairs.

Diversity within the YFTF:

• Both Jerin and Ben believe in diversity. Jerin is an immigrant and woman of color. Ben is a male feminist.
• They believe, in order to have a truly inclusive young feminist voice, the YFTF must include members from across the state - not just New York City - where they reside.
• They want to include a diversity of opinions and backgrounds. As a result, they want to include young feminists (under 30) of all races, ethnicities, religions, class backgrounds and gender identities, including men, women, transgender, etc.
• Their vision is to have a viral feminist campaign that involves all age groups – from kindergarten to college.
• Both Jerin and Ben are excited about the possibilities of this brand new taskforce. They welcome your ideas to make it into what we all want it to be. In fact, they are strongly against this being a two-person show.

Responsibilities:

1. An hourly conference call per month.

2. A monthly task all YFTF members must participate in. It can be as simple as making a phone call/signing a petition and forwarding the information to others.

3. A monthly written update (a paragraph) on current feminist tasks/projects/ideas.

4. Engage sexist/chauvinistic attitudes whenever they present themselves. This could be fodder for discussion/blogging/the monthly report.

5. Anything else YOU want to do.

Contact:

If you are a young feminist who wants to enact change all around New York State, and have the dedication and passion, please contact them at YoungFeminists@gmail.com

In Solidarity,

Jerin Alam and Ben Siegel

Co-Chairs

NOW – NYS Young Feminist Task Force
New York State (NYS) Chapter

National Organization for Women (NOW)
Email: YoungFeminists@gmail.com

Blog: YoungFeministTaskForce.blogspot.com

The National Organization for Women is the nation’s largest organization working to advance women’s rights and improve women’s lives.
www.now.org

Spotlight on National NOW Pres. Terry O'Neill

continuation of blog -- Terry O'Neill, President of National NOW interview

What will your top priorities for NOW be in your administration?
NOW is the grassroots arm of the women's movement. NOW is the organization that taps into the energy and the outrage of women in communities all across the country, mobilizing women and transforming our society. My administration will aggressively ramp up NOW's grassroots activism all around the country. We will roll out a series of national action campaigns, initially focusing on single-payer health care, equal marriage, and constitutional equality for women. The national action campaigns go beyond legislative advocacy and into multi-tactical organizing. Our grassroots activists will, of course, engage with Congress on the current health-care reform debate, and I am well aware that the pundits have written off single-payer health care. But we will advocate for it at the community level, because the fact is that it's the best plan for women. NOW must be out there, in the streets and in the communities advocating for what women need. That's how we change the world -- without compromise, without apology. It just might take a little longer than we'd like.
NOW is also multi-tactical in another way. Different women in different communities experience oppression in different ways. Our national action campaigns will respond to that reality. We will create materials, information, and messages that respond to the actual, lived experience of different women in different communities -- lesbians, women of color, women with disabilities, immigrant women, women in poverty, and women of all ages. We will also engage our ad-hoc committees (like the Combating Racism Committee, the Young Feminist Task Force, the Disability Rights Committee, and so forth) in the design and implementation of all our action campaigns so there is broad-based grassroots involvement from the beginning. In other words, through our national action campaigns NOW will be the organization of "radical hospitality."

What are our opportunities and obstacles ahead?
With friends in the White House and in Congress for the first time in a long time, we have an opportunity to gain back the ground that we lost during the Bush administration and to push our agenda forward to make real progress for all women. In order to make steady progress, though, we need resources! We need more members, and we need more activists. It's no secret that the organization is financially strapped and that chapters all around the country are worried about their membership numbers. I will mount an aggressive membership recruitment campaign which, coupled with our grassroots action campaigns, will restore NOW's financial health and allow us to build membership and momentum to move beyond the rollback of women's rights (the feminist recession, if you will) of the Bush years.

What advice do you have for women today who feel they don't have time to dedicate to being an activist?
I know that women lead very busy lives and often are responsible for the "second shift" of managing family needs after a long day at work. The beauty of NOW is that you can be involved at your own pace. I am grateful to the leaders who run for local NOW offices and help strengthen our grass roots. I am equally grateful for the NOW members who can attend a rally, make a poster, call their local representative, write a letter, or post a flier in a coffee shop. NOW organized a Love Your body Day campaign last year with ideas for actions that would take 3- seconds, 30minutes, 3 hours, and so on. I like this because I believe that any amount of time given to the movement is valuable. I hope that all members acknowledge the contribution they bring to the organization, even if they can only make one call, write one check, or post one flier. One is better than none!

vfa.us

Hello, this is my first blog on here and I'm just posting a link to the website for the non-profit organization, Veteran Feminists of America. 

http://www.vfa.us/ 

So, as for now, that's all I have to post, but I'll have more later.