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Welcome New Members!
Holly Bernstein
Ashley Jaworski
Jane Kraus
Ann Watts
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Up Next
WVR March Program-From Classrooms to Communities: Driving Environmental Equity with Show-Me Green Schools
Thurs., Mar. 14, 7 p.m.
Racial Justice Committee
Fri., Mar. 15, 1 p.m.
Criminal Legal System Reform Task Force
Weds., March 20, noon
Advocacy Committee
Mon., Mar. 25, 1 p.m.
Campaign for Common Sense Gun Solutions Committee
Tues., Mar. 26, 1:30 p.m.
Racial Justice Film Series: The Right to Read
Fri., March 29, 7 p.m.
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The Importance of Women’s History
“To be without history is to be trapped in a present where oppressive social relations appear natural and inevitable.” Gerda Lerner, historian
This month’s Women’s History celebration provides an opportunity to consider the intersection between women’s rights and social justice. Until Gerda Lerner and her colleagues established the discipline of women’s history in the 1960s, women had been systematically excluded from American history. White women’s historical struggle for equal rights had been largely ignored and the stories of Black women, Indigenous women and women of color (BIPOC) who often fought the most vigorously for social justice, were erased. We were left with a version of history where the systemic oppression of women remained unchallenged.
Lerner argued that women’s oppression would not end unless other forms of oppression, especially racial injustice, were also eliminated. In her 1972 book, Black Women In White America, she recorded the first primary accounts by Black women of their own experience. This book was a political act, an act of social justice, because it enabled the previously silenced voices of Black women to be heard and honored. For Lerner, this history like all others could be a vehicle to both understand and to overcome injustice.
Women presently face tremendous threats to our rights and freedoms. Many of these threats have historical origins. Control of women’s reproduction has been an ongoing struggle. Backlash against perceived progress by BIPOC groups has been seen over and over in American history. Violence against women persists at horrific levels. Attempts are being made to erase the voices of women, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ individuals from the educational curriculum. Of the 737 history makers taught about in schools across the nation, only 24% are women.
Women’s history reminds us that when we recognize the historical roots of these problems we can understand that ours is not a unique struggle and that change is possible.
As Lerner states, “Women's history is women's right—an essential, indispensable heritage from which we can draw pride, comfort, courage, and long-range vision.”
~ Liz Sondhaus
Sources:
- Matthew Rothschild, “Gerda Lerner, Founder of Women’s History,” The Progress Magazine, January 4, 2013.
- Where Women Made History, National Trust for Historic Preservation.
- Linda Gordon, Linda K. Kerber and Alice Kessler-Harris, “Gerda Lerner (1920–2013). Pioneering Historian and Feminist”, Clio, 38 | 2013.
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Women’s Voices is a member-driven organization and we rely on volunteers and donations to achieve our mission. We will be sharing opportunities to support and serve the organization each month in this column.
Serve: If you are seeking ways to become involved with Women’s Voices, the top left column of this newsletter highlights upcoming coming programs and committee meetings. If you click on any of the committee meeting links it will take you to our Join a WV Committee webpage with email contacts for each of our committee chairs. You can also see what our upcoming meetings are on the Upcoming Programs and Activities webpage.
Support: Becoming a member or maintaining your membership is an important way to support Women’s Voices. Click on the Become a Member! link here, or at the top of this newsletter to join today.
For more information about either one of these opportunities, please contact Bryna Williams, executive director, at [email protected].
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From Classrooms to Communities: Driving Environmental Equity with Show-Me Green Schools | |
Thursday, March 14, 7 p.m.
In-person program at The Center of Clayton
50 Gay Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63105
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; program begins at 7 p.m.
Read more and register here.
Join us for a presentation from Show-Me Green Schools co-managers, Deborah Rogers Curtis and Lesli Moylan, to learn how we can engage local school districts to become green schools. Show-Me Green Schools is a suite of three free programs co-managed by Missouri Gateway Green Building Council and Missouri Environmental Education Association (MEEA) that provides structure, resources and recognition to support every Missouri PreK-12 school in becoming a green school. Show-Me Green Schools programming supports all Missouri schools in identifying and advancing practices throughout their campuses, educational programming, and school culture that reduce environmental impact, improve health and wellness, and provide place-based education.
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Host a House Party to Collect Signatures for the Reproductive Rights Initiative Petition | |
Help End the Abortion Ban in MO!
The coalition working to get the reproductive rights constitutional amendment on the ballot must collect 172,000 valid signatures by May 5, 2024. Your help is needed to ensure Missourians get to vote on ending our cruel abortion ban. Help us do our part!
Support the Effort by Hosting a House Party!
Do you want to help end Missouri’s abortion ban? Can you commit to hosting a house party and inviting your friends and family to sign the initiative petition? Women’s Voices will connect you with a trained volunteer to provide petitions and collect signatures at your home. All you need to do is host and provide refreshments.
Provide your information here and we’ll contact you to arrange a signing event!
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Jefferson City, Here We Come! | |
Thirteen members of the Criminal Legal System Reform (CLSR) Task Force are taking a day out of their busy schedules to visit with state legislators this week about support for Clean Slate legislation. Several bipartisan bills have been introduced in the House and in the Senate that, if enacted, would have a profound impact on Missouri.
Previous articles in this newsletter have described the lifelong consequences due to the stigma of a criminal record, no matter how minor or how old. Today, more than 500,000 Missourians are eligible to have their nonviolent felonies and misdemeanors expunged under state law, but only 1% are successful each year in navigating the current petition process due to expense, time, and complexity. Enactment of a Clean Slate Act would require automating the process, making it fair to all regardless of resources.
Women’s Voices is a partner in the Missouri Clean Slate Campaign, organized by Empower Missouri. Our CLSR Task Force researched Clean Slate initiatives in other states and concluded that a Clean Slate Act for Missouri would improve employment and housing options for individuals and families, make communities safer by reducing recidivism, and expand the economy by opening the workforce to people eager and able to work.
Here is how YOU can help (in less than 10 minutes):
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Call, email or write your elected representatives to let them know you support Clean Slate legislation. Knowledge of details not required. Not sure who your representatives are? Search here.
- You may use bill numbers, if you wish:
- HB 2108, sponsored by Rep. Phil Christofanelli (R)
- HB 2555, sponsored by Rep. Justin Hicks (R)
- SB 763, sponsored by Sen. Brian Williams (D)
- SB 1161, sponsored by Sen. Curtis Trent (R) (identical to SB 763)
Imagine if St. Louis area legislators hear those two words – Clean Slate – from hundreds of Women’s Voices members! Let’s use our voices!
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Racial Justice Film Series: The Right to Read | | |
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Friday, March 29, 7 p.m.
Eliot Chapel
100 S. Taylor Ave
Kirkwood, MO, 63122
Read more here.
Women’s Voices Raised for Social Justice and Eliot Unitarian Chapel present The Right to Read, directed by Jenny Mackenzie. This powerful film tackles this fundamental social justice issue and seeks to answer the question: Why are children not learning to read once they get to school and what can we do to address this profound social problem? This film shows how, by using proven science-based, data-driven approaches, we can solve the problem of low literacy rates together.
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Personal Reflections of a White Woman
by Anne Litwin
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Women’s Voices was honored to host Gwen Moore of the Missouri Historical Society last month for a presentation on the racial wealth gap. I was pleased to invite her on behalf of our organization, and I learned a great deal about the topic. Even more important, perhaps, was what I learned about myself.
Much of the interesting information from the presentation is shared in the program summary.
So, what are some of the things I learned about myself?
Even though I have been doing anti-racism awareness training and DEI consulting for more than 30 years, on Feb. 8 I forgot some of the most basic things that I teach others about ways that White people can, and must, be respectful and sensitive about our White privilege when in relationships with Black people. I know that, in general, Black people would like for White people to take responsibility for our own learning about race and racism. They don’t want us to expect them to give us answers that we should know or could figure out ourselves about how to fix problems of racism, like the wealth gap. After all, this gap has been caused by White people and we are the only ones with the power to fix it.
But I forgot what I know. After Gwen Moore’s excellent presentation, I asked her, as did several members of the audience, what actions we might take to end the racial wealth gap. As the facilitator of the session, I continued to press her about this question. It was not until after the presentation, when I received some feedback from a friend in the audience, that I realized what I had done. I did know better. Now I know how quickly this knowledge can be forgotten.
Women’s Voices is a predominantly White organization, and we are all here to learn together. I urge you to join me in striving to be more mindful in the future about asking our members and/or speakers of color how to solve problems that are rooted in structural racism in our country. We created these problems. We must learn how to solve them.
I have apologized to Gwen Moore, but I wanted to let you all know about my mistake. Going forward, we can learn together as a community.
I am always happy to talk about this topic. If you would like to discuss, please contact me at: [email protected].
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Origins of the Racial Wealth Gap: Follow the Money | | |
February Lunch & Learn Recaps | | |
Lunch & Learns: Arts at the Forefront of Social Justice | Renée Brummell Franklin, chief diversity officer of the Saint Louis Art Museum, Nicole Ambos Freber, managing director of advancement at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and Emily Kohring, executive director of Bread and Roses Missouri, joined us to talk about their organizations’ efforts to incorporate DEI in all their undertakings, and how this purposeful course has fundamentally changed their organizations and impacted communities around them.
Read more and link to the program recording here. | |  |
Lunch & Learn: Pretrial Detention and the Criminalization of Poverty | |
Insha Rahman, vice president for advocacy and partnerships at Vera Institute of Justice, joined us to share stories from her work on ending mass incarceration and the criminalization of poverty across the country. She offered lessons for countering the “tough-on-crime" rhetoric and reactionary backlash that stands in the way of advancing policies that deliver safety and justice for all.
Read more and link to the program recording here.
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Campaign for Common Sense Gun Solutions 2023 activities | |
Looking back on our gun safety efforts in 2023 we can be proud!
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Lock It for Love (LIFL) volunteers and partners distributed over 5,800 locks
- Twenty-three LIFL volunteers attended 36 community events where they distributed 856 locks
- Thirteen LIFL volunteers served as partner liaisons, delivering gun locks to partner organizations
- Partner agencies distributed 4,982 locks at community locations, including libraries, food pantries and other locations
Of course, there is still work to do in the efforts to improve gun safety. LIFL currently has a need for additional volunteers for gun lock distribution and education at community events. If you would like to join that group of volunteers please submit your information here.
We also are looking for people to serve as partner liaisons. Those volunteers communicate with our LIFL partners and deliver gun locks to those partners. The vast majority of our gun locks are distributed in this manner. If you are interested in doing this, or have additional questions regarding serving as a liaison, please contact Karen Cloyd at [email protected].
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Several Women’s Voices members will be recognized at NCJWSTL’s Celebrating Women event, which honors those in their community who make a difference with the work they do to affect change and follow the organization’s mission.
Congratulations to these Women’s Voices members, who are among this year’s honorees!
Honorable Jill Schupp, Hannah G. Soloman Award Honoree
Susan Glassman, Volunteer Service Award Honoree
Karen Francis and Pat Shores of the AAUW Ballwin Chapter, Community Partnership Award Honorees
We appreciate your service to the community!
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Women's Voices Members Respond to Injustice! | | |
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Dee Ban, in her letter to the Webster-Kirkwood Times, thanks a columnist for her remarks about wanting to raise her children to be creative. Ban remarked that she uses music as a way to express her social justice passions.
Ellen Wentz, in her letter to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, writes that politicians have no role in private health care decisions. Ellen's letter was also published in the Columbia Missourian.
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Have something to submit for Loud & Clear?
Loud & Clear is the official monthly e-newsletter of Women's Voices Raised for Social Justice and is usually distributed on the first Monday or Tuesday of the month. The general deadline for article submission is the Wednesday prior to publication. Click here to contact editor Laura Rose.
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Even if you can’t come to meetings or become personally involved, your membership is important…and greatly appreciated.
Benefits of Membership
When you join Women’s Voices you:
- Make our voice stronger when we advocate with elected officials.
- Provide support to the organization by adding your name to our advocacy efforts.
- Provide ideas and suggestions to help determine how to define our positions and choose our causes.
- Participate in advocacy activities in any way that you want or is possible for you.
- Take pride in your affiliation with a strong, progressive group of women working for social justice.
- Help cover our administrative and outreach costs through your dues.
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Annual Dues:
$60 (Regular Membership)
$100 (Silver Level)
$150 (Gold Level)
$20 (Student Membership)
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New members join here
Renewing members renew here or
Send a check (payable to Women's Voices) to:
Women's Voices
698 W. Lockwood Ave.
Saint Louis, MO 63119
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