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September 12, 2005
Women's Renaissance of Justice
I read in the Friday, September 09, 2005 edition of USA Today that Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour addressed about 100 lawmakers at the Capitol in Jackson. He said, "I am committed to going beyond recovering and rebuilding. I am committed to our having a renaissance on the Gulf Coast." He went on to say that much infrastructure is destroyed in south Mississippi-highways, bridges, rail lines and water and sewer systems.
Hmmm...what does renaissance mean? The dictionary says rebirth, new start, resurgence, reawakening; its antonym is decline.
Well, certainly Mississippi is in decline. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2004, Mississippi ranks last among all states in median family income. As of 2004, Mississippi is ranked 2nd among all U.S. states in percent of children under 18 years below poverty level. And around 35% of the population in that state (ages 16 to 64) is unemployed.
The news for Mississippi's women is just as bleak. Based on 30 indicators of women's status, the Institute for Women's Policy Research ranks Mississippi as the worst state for women.
Rebirth...And Justice
But what brings about rebirth? How does a place get a new start? Brand new physical infrastructure isn't the answer. Alone, it isn't sufficient and it isn't even a necessary part of a true resurgence from a decline.
Justice is the answer. Mississippi and other devastated communities along the Gulf Coast will have to focus on justice to get a new start now. That is, they will have to secure greater economic equity between people of color and whites-and greater gender equity between men and women. Barriers to equal opportunity are going to have to come down. They will have to begin to value each and every person in the community.
The human suffering and loss of life wrought by the hurricane and the broken levees in New Orleans painted an unmistakable picture of the horrific effects of unrelenting racial and economic injustice on civil society and on people-women, men and children. Poverty-stricken African Americans and whites were unable to evacuate the city when the waters were about to wash them away. The people most connected to children-women-were often the hardest hit.
Yes, we need a renaissance. But our renaissance must focus on people's lives.
We know that women of color and poor women live every day on the margins of society. And yet, as a nation and as individuals, we have not done what is necessary to build a true democracy of equity and inclusion. We have let stand federal policy that reduces tax revenue, widens the gap between rich and poor, undermines affirmative action and weakens key systems that invest in and serve people. We're not holding our elected officials accountable. The Hurricane Katrina tragedy clearly illustrates this reality.
Reawakening of Outrage
I believe that women across race and class lines- across the country-are experiencing a reawakening of outrage at racial, economic and gender injustice. Everyone I have spoken with in the past week is extremely angry that in the United States of America we could have disinvested so much that preventable human suffering and death were the end results. How could we have ignored our inequities this way? Answering this question is not about pointing fingers but about looking at the bare facts.
But there is a silver lining to this horrible cloud. There's enormous power in that outrage. It's exactly what fuels the passion for change, and it will cause us to take action. This sense of outrage is the key thing we need to cause a resurgence of organizing to win back our human rights.
And it's already starting. Right now, thousands of people are working day and night to assist evacuees in meeting their own and their family's basic needs. And we know that soon they, and we, will start turning to the deeper underlying issues.
Out of Crisis Rises Opportunity
This tragedy is forcing us to go back to the drawing board - and we need everybody's voice and perspective as we do that. We particularly need the voices of people of color, poor people and women because they're the most affected and they have been most clearly shut out. Women are the glue in their communities, and their leadership is essential in reweaving the fabric of community when it is in tatters.
At this moment of crisis, we must get resources quickly to women of color and low-income women who are deeply involved in their communities and strategizing about next steps. They are listening to the people in their communities. They're hearing about women's immediate priorities, their experiences, despair, grief, and their stories. They don't want to be stranded any longer.
Soon they will be out of crisis mode enough to talk about their long-term visions and ideas. We must focus on listening to them-and learn abut their experiences to help show the way.
Out of this crisis rises the opportunity to bring forward new ideas about improving women's lives and advancing women's status in our society. At this critical juncture, we have to make sure that women are fully integrated into every relief, recovery and rebuilding effort. So many policy decisions are being made right now about the social and economic future of the Gulf Coast and the people who live there. We have to watch on a daily basis how these decisions are made. Women must be at the tables set up to chart direction for rebuilding and to allocate the flow of resources. We need a redistribution of both decision-making power and the benefits of development, and not simply economic growth.
Congress has already approved billions of dollars in relief assistance and much more money will flow out of Washington over the next several months. Without vigilance, these funds could easily reinforce inequalities and be captured by existing power structures.
We will lose this opportunity to make change unless women take strong action -- now.
We'll Do What It Takes
In cities with active women's funds, women's leadership is doing just that. We're taking relief efforts forward quickly and raising deeper issues to begin to build the will to change. Take Memphis, for example. Ruby Bright, leader of the Women's Fund of Greater Memphis, and women from organizations the fund has supported, were at the table when the first decisions about relief strategy were made.
Another example: domestic violence shelter and sexual assault. We know that in this devastating time, violence against women is increasing. Yet, throughout the Gulf Coast, domestic violence shelters and rape crisis centers were destroyed by flooding, and the few that remain are now deluged with evacuees. Women's funds and women's organizations are addressing this crucial issue. They are helping women to safety and renewing their work to end violence in all forms.
As always, our sisters in other regions of the world have much to teach us. I was deeply moved last week when the first grants to the Ms. Foundation's Katrina Women's Response Fund arrived from two internationally focused organizations: the Global Fund for Women and the Urgent Action Fund. Conversations with Julie Shaw of the Urgent Action Fund and others have opened my eyes to the strategies used by women activists around the world to respond in times of crisis and conflict in their own communities.
What do they do? They support the reorganizing of key groups and sustain key activists, they raise women's rights issues to the forefront, and they demand involvement in decisions about resource allocation and policy. That's what we must do too!
A Different Future
If we don't start to see through the lenses of gender, race, and class now, the Katrina tragedy will certainly be replicated-either in another natural disaster or elsewhere. If we want to see a different picture in the future, we have to work toward justice now.
We can no longer rely on traditional assumptions of "business as usual". As we have seen, accepting the status quo can be deadly.
Posted by Sara Gould at September 12, 2005 09:03 PM
Gould remarks that, "accepting the status quo can be deadly." Nothing more could be true when it comes to discussing the rights of women and people of color. How many times where these rights bypassed during times of crises? How many times has this country stuck these issues on the shelf? What happened to Rosy the Riveter once the war was over? I think that Goulds feature directly addresses the case and point. Regardless if you believe that this disaster should or should not be viewed through a gender lens, women and girls funds can ultimately contribute in the reconstruction processes as they have the ability to highlight minorities and women perspectives.
Posted by: Diena at September 28, 2005 02:02 PM
As the federal government begins to sign contracts for reconstruction I think it will be our role to ensure that the interests of women and families are represented. It's too easy to go through the old systems, and that's what's already beginning to happen.
Who's asking the key questions regarding these contracts? Are the organizations that support the rights of women and families being consulted? Are women at the table? It's the old systems of inequality that resulted in devastation for so many women and families hit by Katrina.
As the rebuilding gets underway let's ensure that these fundamental inequalities are also addressed. Low income people, including people who've immigrated to the US for work and for the protection of their rights, have never been the source of the economic problems. It's inequitable and unjust systems that create the scarcity of good paying jobs.
Posted by: Emily Katz Kishawi at September 22, 2005 01:51 PM
My apologies to the Palm Harbor company in Casa Grande Az. I found out that it is up to the employers to check the S. S. numbers, and not the federal goverment, which I'm sure they did.
Posted by: Jenny at September 22, 2005 09:01 AM
When I heard Americans won't work I thought they would raise minimum wage. Instead, they let in 30 million illegals. I can't feed my children on $5.50 an hour or I would work. Illegals will work for $2.00 an hour.
Posted by: Jenny at September 20, 2005 09:12 AM
Oh yeah, the Palm Harbor mobile home company in Casa Grande Az. just put on about 50 illegals to build homes for Katrina victums. They could of made a few phone calls and hired Katrina victums from Phoenix. There is no special construction talent needed to build mobile homes. I know, I did it and in two years I was a supervisor and I didn't know which end of the hammer to hold when I started.. Why are they cancelling Medicare benefits when all American money is exported to Mexico? If the money stayed in the U.S. we, the poor, would all have more.
Posted by: Betty at September 20, 2005 09:05 AM
I'd like to say that there has not been an appropriate focus on the struggles of poor African American women and their children in a long time, so I was quite pleased in reading this piece that thought and consideration was given to this group. I grew up during the country's and black community's obsession with the "black male as endangered species" - and we black girls suffered big time, and the black men and boys didn't greatly benefit either! And all the while women like my mother still raised the children. As we rebuild the southern region of this country, it would be loving and meaningful to provide the means for black women to create stronger, healthier lives for themselves and their families.
Posted by: Benita Miller Johnston at September 14, 2005 07:55 PM
Am I alone is being troubled that Hurricane Katrina responses are being gendered by women's funds? I appreciate that most mainstream aid will disproportionately benefit those with the most power, and that women and children's needs may well be overlooked by those groups and governments. But isn't this a crucial time to join forces on behalf of all those at the usual bottom of the heap, in this case, African American and other men with little or no money? Might this not have been a time to call for solidarity rather than identity politics?
Posted by: Alice Cottingham at September 14, 2005 02:51 PM
As lead consultant on U.S. Women WIthout Borders, I learned from the author that, in referring to 51, she included the District of Columbia. Hope this answers your question. You raise a good point that we need to be accurate - thanks for the vigilence!
Posted by: Elizabeth Seja Min at September 14, 2005 08:32 AM
While I was appreciated the content of the article, which was well written, it is hard to take facts seriously when the author states that we have 51 states in our union. What, pray tell is the 51st state, and when was it admitted? If you are counting stats from Puerto Rico, please keep in mind that it is a protectorate of the union, not a state. It is very important in these times to keep every fact straight when stating one's point of view, especially when taking on the Right Wing.
Posted by: Carolyn Mott at September 13, 2005 04:54 AM
