My Vision

   

I am so honored and excited to have been elected National Organization for Women Charlotte Chapter President. The Installation and champagne reception were very well attended. The Installation was done by our former Charlotte Mayor, Jennifer Roberts. Below is the speech that I gave at the Installation about my vision and goals for NOW Charlotte: 

Thank you for electing me and this outstanding slate. We are humbled and ready to get to work. Just a little about myself. I am the daughter of a minister and an educator.  Both of my parents were engaged in issues of equity and justice. My dad was a voice during civil rights and my mother was an advocate for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (which recently took a big blow). Both were very vocal about equity for women. Having grown up in this environment, I often tell people that activism for justice is in my DNA.  I was very blessed. I have spent my life in education while all the time advocating for the marginalized students.  I spent my career in high poverty schools.

     I was asked to share some of my vision for NOW.

First of all, let’s clarify feminism. I like the definition given by Bell Hooks in “Feminism is for Everybody.” She defines feminism as “a movement to combat systemic and institutional oppression. I like that definition because it is simple and it implies that all sexist thinking is a problem, whether those who perpetuate it are female or male, adult or child. It is also broad enough to include an understanding of systemic institutionalized sexism. Chimamanda, in “We Should All Be Feminists,” says her definition is that a “feminist is a man or a woman who says “Yes there is a problem with gender as it is now and we must fix it.” Love that! Simple and to the point.  The National Organization for Women is the largest organization of feminist grassroots activist in the US. NOW states as its mission to take action through grassroots activism to promote feminist ideals, lead societal change, eliminate discrimination, and achieve and protect the equal rights of all women and girls in all aspects of social, political and economic life.

     My vision for NOW Charlotte can be summed up in 3 words. The first is intersectionality. The term intersectionality is an academic term coined by Kimberle Crenshaw that has made its way into the mainstream. Though acceptance is increasing, that does not automatically translate into implementation. Intersectionality dictates that different identities, race, class, gender, sexual orientation, ability, etc. cannot be put into separate little boxes because they are all interconnected. We all have multilayered facets of life that challenge us. There is no one size fits all in feminism. All injustice and inequity are intertwined. Intersectionality demands that we discuss how all these identities affect experiences with oppression. Truth telling must happen. People who have been victimized and marginalized and excluded and oppressed must be given a platform to speak and to lead. We must create a listening space because if we haven’t created an opportunity for people who are the victims of bigotry to have a voice, then our solutions will not be very informed. And sometimes, as we listen and become more enlightened, we find we need to change our own behaviors. Audre Lorde said “What woman here is so enamored of her own oppression that she cannot see her own heel print on another woman’s face?”  Intersectional feminism is understanding that when we are told women make an average of 77 cents for a man’s dollar that it is even worse than that. Latino women make 54 cents, Afro American women make 64 cents and Native American women make 59 cents.  My vision for NOW is to take real strategic action to become more intersectional. We must all reach out to our marginalized sisters.  Above all, we must listen, acknowledge and validate their voices and bring their challenges to the forefront.

     The second word is inclusive.  Along the same lines of intersectionality, there are certain identities of which feminism has recently strived to be more inclusive. Inclusivity means intentionally creating safe spaces for people of marginalized identities. It means the blending of different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. It means respectfully and actively listening to people of groups to which we do not belong. We must step back, listen and learn. Inclusion recognizes what we have in common as it makes room for the differences among us. We must be inclusive of all races and of our non-binary and  transgender community. And I hope we will bring more men into the movement. Please note that we are National Organization FOR Women, not OF women. We have and encourage male membership. The best feminist I have ever known was my father. He is why I stand here today. Research shows that most men don’t really understand what the gender issues are today, so we must work toward demystifying the feminist movement  

And have you seen Black Panther? Wakanda refers to the “allyship” as “an empty, neoliberal concept that rarely results in transformational change.”  They say they do not want allies. They want co-conspirators in solidarity. That is exactly what we need. We need co-conspirators in solidarity in our movement. Feminism will better succeed with collective effort.

     Finally, the last word is social media activism. And this one will be a real challenge for me, but I know all these young feminists are going to help us all with social media.  Many people find an online community through twitter and other social media. Friends are made on social media. Some of you are here tonight because we met on fb and became friends. Support and education takes place on social media. Social media has been integral in the Blacks Lives Matter movement. The first Women’s March in 2017 that brought millions of women across the world together in solidarity was organized on social media. The internet allows activists to find community and understanding as well as exchange stories and ideas. Over the last few days, I have communicated with Now chapters in LA, Houston, Pittsburg and Baton Rouge through social media to exchange ideas and find out what their chapters are doing.  Even those of us with limited social media knowledge, can share NOW meetings and events on our own fb pages. We all need to check our NOW fb page regularly for updates and opportunities. Just as we strive for inclusive and intersectional justice, we must continue to change with the times.  Social media is vital to modem feminism. 

    And on a final note, we especially need all our members to show up for events and volunteer to help table an event. This is an important election year and we need everyone engaged and everyone to volunteer to go and help with events.  We will post opportunities on our facebook page and have signups at all our meetings as well as send out emails. There are events during the day that our employed members cannot attend, so our members who are not employed, we really need your help. Once you have done it, you will find how fun and energizing it is to talk to other like minded people.

     I heard a story about a farmer who found an abandoned eagle egg and brought it home for his hen to sit on.  The hen sat on it and the eaglet was born. The eaglet tried to walk and act like the other chickens on the farm. Then one day he looked up and saw an eagle in flight. He thought how wonderful it must be to fly like that and wished that he could soar like the eagle. He never knew that he could.  We may not know what we are capable of as an organization, but I believe we can soar and change the world. We may not feel powerful alone but when we come together we are a mighty voice. There is an old saying that as individuals we are a drop but together we are a mighty ocean. If we work together with the strong conviction that we are in this together and nobody can get there unless everybody gets there, we can make a difference in Charlotte, in Mecklenburg, in North Carolina, in our country and in the world.  Again, Thank you for this wonderful opportunity. Thank you!