Welcome, Welcome

To the Fifth Edition of the Radical Women of Color Carnival!

picture by favianna

The theme of this month's carnival is activism. Our lives, neighborhoods, homelands, country of residency and world affect who we are in the great, ugly, beautiful and destructive. We create from there. Surviving and not dying internally and physically in hopelessness is the utmost genuine way to activism in today's time. The different forms and tools for change are dissected, demonstrated and criticized in the following bloggers' entries.

---------Movement is Within--------------

On this note let's begin with Skyscraper challenging the notion of "mainstream activisms" and why single individuals like her are a social movement in and of herself and she asks why can’t she be an anarchical, sovereign, self-minded, radical *social mover*? This is in the face of coming of age 60's and 70's era set way of what activism was and should be in the midst of common misconceptions that generation Xers and Yers are complacent. And she asks the right questions:

what about those who resist the whatever oppression they're subjected to, by simply being alive. by not giving up, by not killing themselves, by not selling out. by continuing to bear the cross of discrimination, subjugation, hate, intolerance, violence as a queer, person of color, woman, single mother, disabled individual, a member of any kind of a non-mainstream, non-socially-normative group, and by still standing for what they fundamentally are, and still finding reasons that make this life worth living??? those who continue to be proud of their identity, to have and raise children (in this seemingly hopeless world), continue to work, to build, to even dare to carry on against all odds, and thus to defy the destiny itself?

Check out her beautiful poem at the end as well. Word mujer.

------------The Nation State Entangling Activism---------

Radical Women of Color Think Tank documents the Women Sector repression from the Other Campaign in Texcoco and San Salvador Atenco in Mexico and their experiences with recent police brutality endorsed by government institutions, demonstrating how power-over (thanks vegan for coining the term) instead of power-with nationstate governing doesn't serve in the interest of democracy and autonomous communities and calling for

The immediate stop of the violence that the State has practiced against women in Mexico and systematically covered up, that which is translated as tumultuary rapes, femicide throughout the height and length of the country, feminization of poverty, incarceration, disappearances, and murders of social fighters and human rights activists.

Women of color and low income women are familiar with these realities too well at home and Brownfemipower examines the State's role, specifically Native women's experiences with sexual violence-and state endorsed programs and she critiques equality-only feminism by centering radical women of color responses by powerful women of color like

Angela Davis, Andrea Smith, Beth Richie, Nadine Naber, Haunani Kay Trask, Margo Okasawa-Rey and organizations like Incite! Women of Color Against Violence, SistaIISista, Native Women's Health Organzation... are organizing around grassroots base building that centers interventions and survival strategies that address state violence and interpersonal violence simultaneously...organizations like SistaIISista that has taken the time to realize that their strategy of direct confrontation of the police didn't work because they only had twenty people showing up for the confrontation...recognized that their communities weren't getting healthier because they were protesting the police. So they created the Freedom School--which taught young girls of color how to dance...how to feel more positive about themselves, how to become more empowered as a woman, how to think critically of the state of the world--and how they could organize with other young women in the school to change things.... creating a childcare co-op, in which women of the community control and run their own co-op while also creating a space for liberation talk.

---------------Our Activisms--------------

Hermana Resist in Seedlings offers a beautiful poem putting on spotlight the troubling egos/systems that activist communities create when they don't shift with people's realities.

it used to be I would see you
at all the local places
and
we would talk about the things we would do
and our paths would cross
we would have furious emails
of revolutionary manifestos
and chance meetings when our
schedules collided
and I'd feel energized.
what happened to the spirit
we both knew, the dreams we shared?

You're eons above me
There's no room in your circle
for friends who aren't good enough
there is no room for simple friends
and if there is, I am not one of them.

Speaking of the shifting varying lifestyles and choices of women's lives Irrational Point offers a critique of current "pro-family"policies and offers a genuine pro-family manifesto not by undermining other individuals' desire and choice not to parent or sanctimonious motherhood lip service, but by truly respecting many women's fact of becoming mothers who are penalized by the costs of child care, stigmatized due to what age, class and non-normative family unit in, in addition to lack of health care.

Being genuinely pro-family means supporting real material options for women, real opportunities for women's financial independence, real support for parents, real support for kids, real options for women who don't want to get pregnant in the first place, real respect for women's choices and self-determination, and real respect for parenthood

Our unique histories and individual stories and struggles uniquely shape the way we reclaim or replenish activism and Roni shares with us that she is in the process of finding her place as a Latina in the community, discovering and reclaiming her Latina heritage despite lack of Spanish skills. She writes how

You really do miss something when you ignore your background. Whether it is food or knowledge of certain holidays, you do miss it. This must be what fuels some people to spend lots of energy and money on tracing their family back generation upon generation. What is the story that we're missing?

Yours truly fights to take back activism by learning to say that powerful word, No, in her life's activism by these real life questions

can you walk your neighborhood (precinct--to have registered regular voting constituents vote for this particular candidate) from 4-7 a.m. to distribute flyers since it is the primary election...I must say No. If someone asks me, which they did, call this 22 person list to answer these 10 questions...I must say No. If someone tells me they want me to do specific work around EC availability or some very specific reproductive health issue and recruit...No

Pomegranate Queen documents her top ten reasons why she has issues with the word activist and states how self-identification as activist can be problematic and an example are

6) Too many male activists wanting to fuck the revolution (if you catch my drift);

5) Too many white activists with bad politics (and hair);

4) Too many Che wannabes;

3) Too many white activists fighting for the rights of poor, people of color instead of building with communities of color who are already fighting that damn fight themselves;

These are the people who you may not have heard of or even noticed. And what about the "everyday people" who's existence and presence is resistance in essence?

Shannon also examines her feelings of not being much of an activist. And how the nuts and bolts of politicking frankly are unappealing to many and certain kind of activism is not wide enough the different personalities and interests/callings to accept our complex selves

You have to go to the meeting in a bar which you can't figure out how to get to on the bus, or talk to a bunch of people you don't know- all while assignments pile up, your room gets more disgusting, and often times you don't have the energy to type a coherent sentence let alone talk to the dumb.

Sokari documents how in some areas in Africa being a lesbian and an activist isn't even an option if one desires and is compelled to work around LGTB rights. She poses the questions and also offers answers

How do you engage in activism in an environment where you are an illegal person. How do you engage in activism in an environment when the community you live in is hostile and dangerous.

To survive is to resist, to resist is to act and to act is activism. Secondly activists have to look to other struggles such as human rights, poverty, gender violence, sexual health or reproductive rights. All of these are very apart of the LGBT community so it is right and proper that activists define their struggle within the context of these. Thirdly activists need to take their struggle to the wider world through cyber-activism. The use of tools such as discussion lists, forums, blogs, wikis, podcasts and videocasts can be effective tools as they can be used to organise across borders and regions, for community and capacity building, building alliances and support from activists in countries in the West where LGBT’s are not illegal people.

--------Differing Tools for Activism------

Speaking of cyber activism, taking up blogging almost a year ago DeviousDiva started blogging on Greece's issues with xenophobia and racism. Her blog has generated heated discussions on the entrenched state of racism and its affects on individuals. Tragically, the one year annivessary post documents the current tragedy of young Alex's murder detailing the complex way racism works in Greek society

this is not a simple case of a boy being bullied to death because he was from another country. There were other "foreigners" involved. There are layers of racism at play here. Albanian children are constantly targeted for abuse and insults. So are many children who are perceived as different. From different backgrounds.

Jasiri takes us by videoblogging to the Triad to listen to definitions of what a beautiful black woman is. Our communities are captured and shared with this tool of activism and she is anxious to dive into the world of videoblogging for art and expression.

Blackacademic is an ac(ademic)tivist, she writes about how she challenges the system in her chosen path as an activist in the ivory tower and

every paper that i write and every conference that i attend, my work represents my self-definition--my power to define my own politics, my beliefs, my sexual identity, as well as demonstrate that black women are capabale of intellectually reflecting our own experiences--the ability to express onself is one of the most powerful expressions of freedom and activism. indeed, my work is geared towards uplifting the race as well as uplifting myself.

Blackacademic also reponds to blatant blogosphere attacks on women of color bloggers lately and she spells it out that we women of color bloggers are brilliant too since in light of controversial writing about the Lacrosse Duke Rape Case and on gender not trumping race posts, she among many women of color bloggers dissect these issues with a price to pay being personal attacks on their intelligence, writing and rationality. But of course, like always nobody can hold them down

we do write things that upset those who only understand the naive principles of women=good, men=bad, gender>race, race>gender, and so on. as we tread on the ideological blogging terrain that positions us as inferior bloggers, your attacks only allow us to further strengthen our resistance and cultivate a consciousness, that is critical of exclusion and discrimination. by merely naming these oppressions, we provoke a conscious need to remedy such ills in the hopes of transforming society.

Like Tigera states, gentrification is the new manifest destiny since gentrification masked as revitalizing our communities sweeps close to all major US cities, and NYC's own AngryBrownButch talks, letter writes and blogs a lot on gentrification lately and how it doesn't benefit poor and non-white individuals and has the last word with P. Brady

As for “enjoying the multicultural vibrancy of Manhattan”...are you blind? Don’t you realize that the kind of gentrification that you seem to think is no big deal is slowly squeezing the “multicultural vibrancy” that you so celebrate out of NYC? I can see this city becoming more and more monocultural, thanks to people with attitudes like yours. But I guess that doesn’t really matter for you, since that multiculturalism is just a source of spice and entertainment for you and not a real and necessary part of your own life and culture like it is for the Latinos you’re supplanting. Where will you go for your ethnic kicks when you can’t get it in el Barrio any more? Whose neighborhood will you invade next?

-----------Resistance-----------

Ktrion shares the experiences of her beloved L*s malignancy breast cancer, as a queer woman of color navigating the normative medical/health establishment and existence with a life threatening diesease. This invaluable gift at our fingertips documenting la humanidad, the pain, and hope all transcending through the writings on their very own cancer diaries. Thank you for your candid and fierce writings and much love to you and your lovely L*.

The appointment with the oncologist is both helpful and baffling. She’s very sympathetic. Once again she advises lumpectomy and L* explains that would not be her preference. It’s a painful conversation. We’re starting to get a sense that the trend in medical treatment is away from mastectomy and toward lumpectomy, preserving the breast which is so essential to woman’s identity. So L* is going against the current. In fact we realize that the whole reason for this appointment is that the first surgeon is nervous with L*’s stated choice and wants to make sure that a woman doctor thinks she’s making a rational choice.

---This edition's featured organization is Action for Southern Africa-in the Dignity. Period! Campaign--

THE FACTS

Being a woman in Zimbabwe is like going to war with a gun minus bullets. Sanitary towels are now threatening the Zimbabwean woman's livelihood. In Zimbabwe women are unable to afford the small quality and quantity of sanitary products that are available currently in the market.

• Population in Zimbabwe is 13,000,000 and 60% are women.
• Current average minimum wage for a woman in Zimbabwe is £12.50 per month. This excludes the farm workers, domestic workers and women in the informal economy - their wages are far lower. That is £3.00 a month.
• ¾ of the women are working in the farm, informal and domestic sectors of the economy.
• Currently the cost of a box of 10 tampons is £3.00. Consumption is on average three boxes a month.
• Currently the cheapest packet of 10 sanitary pads is 50p. Consumption is on average two packets.



• The shortages have been caused by the relocation of manufacturers from Zimbabwe to South Africa due to the current investment crisis.
• These products now have to be purchased in South Africa and due to the lack of foreign currency the limited products that are purchased are very expensive.



• This lack of available sanitary products has led to an increase in vaginal infections.
• With the shortage of drugs in hospitals treatments are either unaffordable or unavailable.
• This has led to incidents of domestic violence and the fear is that these incidents will increase, due to lack of spouse/partner knowledge about the difference between STI/STD's and vaginal infections.
• These infections provide an optimal biological environment for the spreading of STI's and particularly HIV/AIDS.
  

With the current shortages of water and the above situation the women in Zimbabwe are heading for a bruising struggle.

If you would like to help you can by donating money here.

This is it~! Thank you everyone who submitted to my calls and e-mails! Next month's carnival will be held at Radical WoC Think Tank, stay tuned!