Creating a Space to Restore Forward
Survivors Allowing Land to Facilitate Healing
100 Days of A Feminist Agenda
Healing From Centuries of Oppression: Our Work Is Not Yet Done
A Partnership between BWB and NOW (National Organization for Women)
May 6, 2021
Addressing the Femicide: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
Moderated by Dr. Christina Castro, co-founder Three Sisters Collective and Kristin Herring, President of Austin NOW
“The abuse of women is well known in history and tells you a lot about what is happening on our earth.” - LaDonna Brave Bull Allard, Standing Rock Sioux.
The legacy of violence against Indigenous women and children began with the colonial conquest of Europeans coming to the “New World” over 500 years ago, and it still persists today. In North America, the scores of missing and murdered Indigenous and First Nations women and girls —known as MMIWG, an acronym created by Indigenous journalist Sheila North Wilson in 2012—don’t get the mainstream attention they deserve.
In the U.S., homicide is the third-leading cause of death among Native women ages 10 to 24, according to the Urban Indian Health Institute, and Native women are victims of murder more than ten times the national average, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Extractive industries like mining, logging, and fossil fuels are some of the largest perpetuating factors of violence, trafficking, and murder against Indigenous women. And in neighboring countries, factories and drug cartels have made towns like Ciudad Juárez epicenters of violence against Mexican indigenous women.
Nationwide, the voices of Indigenous people have united to raise awareness of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. And though awareness of the crisis is growing, data on the realities of this violence is scarce. On April 1, 2021, newly appointed Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced the formation of a new Missing & Murdered Unit (MMU) within the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services (BIA-OJS) to provide leadership and direction for cross-departmental and interagency work involving missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives.
Join us as we talk with Indigenous activists, leaders and journalists about the crisis and explore the ways in which we can activate to support efforts to end the femicides.
Upcoming and final conversation:
May 6 - Addressing the Femicide: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women - register here
PAST CONVERSATIONS
Amplifying LGBTQIA+ Activism and Uplifting the Pursuit for Equality and Fundamental Rights
Moderated by: Paris Hatcher, Director and Founder Black Feminist Future & Bear Atwood, Vice President, National Organization for Women (NOW)
Guest Speakers:
-
Congresswoman Sharice Davids
-
Charlotte Clymer, Director of Communications & Strategy at Catholics for Choice
-
Ericka Dixon, Training Programs Manager with the New York City Anti-Violence Project
-
Rodrigo Velasquez, legislative aide in the Virginia House of Delegates
Gender Equality As the Law of the Land:
The Work to Pass the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)
Moderated by: Tyffani Dent, Board member Black Women's Blueprint & Kathleen Murphy (Michigan NOW)
Guest Speakers:
-
Representative Carolyn Maloney (DNY12), Congressional leader of the effort to pass the Equal Rights Amendment
-
Belan Yeshigeta, Executive Director, Generation Ratify
-
Carol Jenkins, President and CEO of the ERA Coalition/Fund for Women’s Equality
-
Delegate Hala Ayala, Virginia House of Delegates
The Unspoken Impact of Police Brutality against BIWOC, TGNC & Latinx Communities
Moderated by: Sevonna Brown, Co-Executive Director Black Women's Blueprint & Triana Arnold James, Georgia NOW State President and National NOW Board member
Guest Speakers:
-
M. Adams, Co-Executive Director of Freedom Inc.
-
Stephanie Morales, Esq., Commonwealth’s Attorney in Portsmouth, VA, founder of the Ctrl+Alt+Del Program, youth mentor as part of the Future Leaders Initiative
-
Neal A. Lester, Ph.D., Foundation Professor of English and Founding Director of Project Humanities at Arizona State University
We Are Not Percentages of a Dollar:
Solutions for Equal Pay Every Day
Moderated by: Pamelya Herndon, CEO of the KWH Law Center for Social Justice and Change
Guest Speakers:
-
Lilly Ledbetter, Civil Rights Activist, inspiration for the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009
-
Esther Lee, President and CEO of Refraction, former Secretary of Commerce and Trade for the Commonwealth of Virginia
-
Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez, Civil Rights Leader, former 2020 U.S. Senate candidate.
A Holistic Approach to Equitable Reproductive Healthcare
Moderated by: Sevonna Brown, Co-Executive Director Black Women's Blueprint & Annette Bethel (NOW)
Guest Speakers:
-
Marcela Howell, President and Founder, In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda
-
Dr. Corrine Sanchez, Executive Director, Tewa Women United
-
Jessica Garcia Lujan, Indigenous Women's Health & Reproductive Justice Program Manager, Tewa Women United
323 Days of COVID:
The Lasting Impact on Women
Moderated by: Farah Tanis, Founder & Co-Executive Director Black Women's Blueprint & Christian Nunes, President of National Organization for Women (NOW)
Guest Speakers:
-
Fatima Goss Graves, President and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center
-
Lisa J. Pino, attorney, public service executive, and former Obama appointee and national security official, serving as a Biden-Harris USDA Agency Review Team Transition member.