Last week NMW.O attended PolicyLink’s 2018 Equity Summit in Chicago along with partners from Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women, New Mexico Social Justice and Equity Institute, University of New Mexico, Hoy Recovery Program, Chainbreaker Collective, and many others. NMW.O was also part of the Convergence Partnership funder convening which met the day before the Summit to train on how to better advance health and racial equity work in philanthropy.
During the Summit, we learned about national gender justice efforts led by and for women and girls of color, efforts to build an intersectional movement for immigration reform, and work to build community healing to address substance abuse. In many of these sessions, the voices, wisdom, and expertise of New Mexico was present. We are honored to be part of both the local and national movement for social and gender justice. We’ll leave you with some beautiful and poignant ideas shared at the Summit:
- “We need to fight for the changes we deserve that will have real impacts on our lives, not just for the concessions that those in power are willing to give us.” – Charlene Carruthers, Founding National Director, Black Youth Project 100
- “#MeToo is profound in that we’re saying it out loud now. But we know that when women step into power, there is a backlash and violence increases. There is also risk in saying #MeToo.”
- “We need leadership that makes people uncomfortable: community-centric rather than egocentric leaders.” – Derrick Johnson, President and CEO, NAACP
- “In your work and policymaking, are you upholding the treaties? They will say, but that was just so long ago, well, so was the United States Constitution and second amendment.” – Tara Houska, National Campaigns Director, Honor the Earth
- “I will not put any part of my identity aside to make people comfortable.” –Linda Sarsour, Executive Director, MPower Change
- “Poverty is not unfortunate like a car accident, it is purposeful and unjust.”
- “For black and brown immigrants, being documented doesn’t mean safety. What does citizenship really mean and who is seen as fully human?” –Aly Wane, Organizer at Syracuse Peace Council, undocumented and unafraid
- “We were ‘we the people’ before the ‘we.'” –Lori Pourier, President, First Peoples Fund
- “Changing the narrative means we have to change the narrators.” -Alison Johnson, member of the Housing Justice League in Atlanta
L-R: Dina Newman, Fatima van Hattum, Ambrose Baros, Dr. Lisa Cacari Stone, and Renee Villarreal
L-R: Fatima van Hattum, Favianna Rodriguez, Renee Villarreal
Angela Glover Blackwell, CEO of PolicyLink, interviewing Edna Chavez, a Chicana youth activist from L.A., who spoke at the March For Our Lives in Washington, D.C.