Thank

you so much for electing me and this outstanding slate of

officers. I know they are as humbled and honored as I am. We are very
excited and most of all we are 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 another 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 fb 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 likeminded 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!