The Thing for Me About Unschooling

Yesterday morning, while crossing Poydras downtown with my sons, I flashed on this memory from a couple of years ago, a time when a fellow street crosser at that very intersection barreled into me for no apparent reason, and with no apology or remark of any kind. It wasn't the first time that's happened, but it stuck in my mind on that day because I'd been home for just a few days from the Live & Learn Unschooling Conference, where we'd had a wonderful time, and where, frankly, no one was ever quite so rude to me.

Just that morning, though, I'd been reading the online comments of another conference attendee who had some bad experiences, and who described exactly what I had experienced on Poydras as having happened to them at the conference. For this person, the encounter was being held up as an example of those of us invested in unschooling possibly being on the wrong path, being, in fact, on a path to rudeness! Because, you know, it was a younger person (I don't remember now if it was a young child or a teenager or someone in between) who had run right into this person with no apology, no acknowledgment, and so this led them to a place of saying, hey, how are we raising these kids, anyway, are we actually bringing them up to be rude, thoughtless folks in the name of unschooling?

So I read this and then later that very day, pow, a fully grown adult smacks right into me on the street and just keeps going. Rude! Unschooled? Hey, maybe, but you know, I have no idea. This is what I think, though. I think that so often we take encounters - negative, positive, whatever - and we assign characteristics to the people involved based on really, very little. So, if I wanted to, I could take the person who ran into me that day and say, well, there you go, that just proves the rudeness of, say, white people. Or women. Or middle aged people. Or tourists. Or people who walk around downtown New Orleans in the middle of the day for whatever reason.

The thing for me about unschooling, though, is that at the heart of it is a rejection of the small worldview that comes with this kind of instant labeling and boxing in of people, this idea that who you and I are, and who we can be, has already been determined by the categories that we have been put into, by others as well as ourselves, and that we are inherently unable to change, to learn, to grow.

I believe that as long as we are living, there is nothing that can happen to prevent you or I from changing, from learning, from growing. And what I want for all people is for them to know that, about each other and about themselves.

It's no catchphrase, and it would make a lousy bumper-sticker, but it's how I feel.

I'm not much on forgetting

We just got home from seeing Julie & Julia. So good! So fun. I literally laughed out loud for most of the Julia parts, and cried (quietly, don't worry!) during some of the Julie parts. Nash said, That was way better than I expected! All three of us laughed & laughed.

Now I need to bake Liam's cake for tomorrow. I'm using a mix, you can mock me all you want, I know both Julie & Julia would. Gingerbread cake mix, with homemade vanilla buttercream frosting, though, and I'm gonna make deviled eggs, as per the birthday kid's request. It's a tradition of ours to have a belated party for Liam each year when we get home from camp, because his birthday happens while we're away. And four years ago, we were evacuating on the day that his party was to have happened, so, you know, each year that that is not the case, that's a time to celebrate as far as I'm concerned.

The kids are across the street playing with their friends whom they haven't seen in a month, two months for Nash. He was running and jumping to get over there. It reminded/reminds me of how much good we have in our lives here, now.

And how I'm - cheeseball alert - so grateful, for everything that we have, and for my friends, and that very possibly includes you, you know.

I make a conscious choice to avoid overloading myself with Katrina remembrances, to avoid spending a lot of my time revisiting the most sorrowful pieces of that time, but none of that means I've forgotten. It's all in there, there's no danger of my forgetting. What I'm intentional about recollecting is the support I received (cheeseball alert still in full effect) during the toughest parts of 2005, in the way of tangible things and also the sending of good hopes & wishes, from strangers and friends and family members, you know? It was incredible, it was powerful. It sustained me and it still does.

So, today, just thanks. I got to spend most of today laughing with my favorite people in the world. I wish everyone the same.

speaking of photobooths...

it's been a while. I went to California, where it was cold, and then came back home, where it was hot, and then went to Hogwarts, where it was air conditioned, and now I'm back at home, where it is hotter still, and this weekend I'll be checking out the photobooth at this event:

remember, when you put down one mother, you're putting down mothers all over the world



Happy Mother's Day everyone!

Support the Common Ground Health Clinic

The very latest in words & pictures from the front lines of grassroots health care reform.

Support the Common Ground Health Clinic

View more presentations from Coleenm.

mardi gras 2009 was a blur...

February 09 257
Originally uploaded by khollean

and then, just like that, it's Spring already.

MamaPhiles #4 Deadline

Whoa, it's today! Well. We are zinesters, after all. Get it in sometime this week!

Mamaphiles #4 – deadline: 1 March 2009

Mamaphiles is seeking submissions for issue #4, with the theme of "Raising Hell," from mamas and papas who are currently producing their own zines.

Previous themes were “Birth”; “Cutting the Cord”; “Coming Home” and now its time to shake things up! Raising children is hard work and revolution in motion. From rabble-rousing to rampaging toddlers—feel free to interpret the theme wildly.

We are interested in essays, photos, cartoons, or anything else you can come up with!

Because of space limitations, written submissions should be 1500 words or less. Please include a short bio and ordering information for your zine (these will not be part of the word count).

Contributors are asked to edit their own work. Submissions may be spell-checked and reformatted for consistency. Contributors are given the chance to okay any proposed changes before production.

Mamaphiles is a friendly and inclusive project whose goal is self-expression and mutual support. All submissions are accepted. Contributors are invited to join in the collaborative effort, and are asked to assist with marketing and/or production of the zine when possible.

Deadline for submissions: 1 March 2009.

Written submissions: email as a Word attachment to the submission editor, China – china410 @ hotmail.com. Feel free to ask questions.

Visual submissions: email high-resolution images (300-600 dpi) in .jpg, or .tiff to both china410 @ hotmail.com and the lay-out designer, Connie – anarchohippypunk @ riseup.net

For all submissions, please indicate that it's a Mamaphiles submission in the subject line of your email message.

Want to know more about the project? Come on by the Mamaphiles website at http://www.mamaphiles.com. (Or visit the Zine Scene forum at Mamaphonic.com!)

In 2009: Read More Zines

In case you've been cursing your lack of New Year's resolutions, I made one for you. If you're not already reading zines regularly, start now. If you are, expand your horizons with some new works. The two most beloved, thoroughly enjoyed zines in my life right now are The East Village Inky and The Nose Knows. Both are smallish, hand-drawn beauties loaded with humor and depth. I read each one cover to cover as soon as I get it.

I heard about the EVI early on in its ten year history (herstory?), and at first thought, how much writing about life in the East Village is relevant/intriguing for me, living on the edge of Cabbagetown in Atlanta and not likely to visit New York anytime soon? But it was, it was relevant to my life, consistently intriguing and unexpectedly inspiring, nudging me into the realization that my prior perception of zines as a movement powered by teenagers alone (and therefore off limits to newly thirty year old toddler-chasers like myself) was just, well, wrong. The EVI has consistently great recipes & book/zine/music recommendations, besides, and although I relate heavily to the agonies & triumphs of parenting described, there's plenty for the less parental to enjoy, too.

The Nose Knows is a newer find for me, I've only been reading it a year, although it's been around for a few. Published by a prolific foursome, each issue is a somewhat unpredictable brain-dump of words and pictures, relating to whatever is up with each writer, and although it jumped out at me initially because they're New Orleans based, don't let that deter you if you live elsewhere.

The EVI you can get easily via the website, but The Nose Knows takes a little more effort: send an email to nasalknowledge at gmail dot com and inquire. For each of them, if you're feeling splurgey, I enthusiastically recommend all of the back issues you can get your hands on.

I haven't made much noise about it, but Once Upon a Photobooth is also a zine, that I make, so email me if you'd like a copy: coleen at bust dot com. It's true life stories that start with photobooths, and also whatever else I feel like saying.

Finally, here is an update on the Don't Leave Your Friends Behind Project:

(from zinesters/photographers/authors/mothers Victoria Law & China Martens)

Don't Leave Your Friends Behind--work-in-progress zine #2

While amassing submissions for the handbook Don't Leave Your Friends Behind, China and I have made a work-in-progress zine of several contributio ns.

Zine #2 is 31 full-sized pages of stories, experiences and suggestions by both radical parents and their allies on building family-friendly movements, including:

*how theories on early childhood development support our arguments for anti-authoritarian parenting!

*organizing childcare at LadyFest Baltimore!

*providing childcare for children with special needs

*2 stories of parenting in collective households

*a children's crusade in Cambridge

*lessons learned from the mothers & children of the zapatista communities

Send $3 ($5 for two copies--you can give one to the ally in your life!) to:

V. Law
PO Box 20388
Tompkins Square Station
NY, NY 10009

Let's keep spreading childcare goodness to the masses!!
For those of you who missed it, our call for submissions (deadline: Feb 1, 2009) is here: http://www.mamaphonic.com/node/1855

as 2008 winds down...

the time to order your 2009 mama calendar is NOW.
order your copy by sending $12 to
coleen murphy
PO box 741655
new orleans, LA 70174
or paypal to coleen @ bust.com

thanksgiving day 2008

I have a turkey in my oven, ingredients for stuffing all over my table, homemade pies & cranberry sauce in my fridge, and I'm reading this from Rev. Billy:

Reverend Billy's Ten Commandments on Buy Nothing Day 2008

THOU SHALT

1) Forgive people, yourself and everybody else. We all shop too much.

2) Know your Devil. Shoppers are only dancing in the land of ten thousand ads.
Consumerism is the system. Corporations are the agents of the system.

3) Respect the micro-gesture. Magicalize the foreground.
Fore-go the plastic bag and grab that bare banana– Amen!

4) Practice asking for Sweat-free, Fairly-traded products. That's the rude that's cool.

5) Buy less and give more. Giving is forceful, the beginning of fantastic new economies.

6) Buy local and think global. Love Your Neighbor (buy at independent shops) and Love The Earth (walk to, bike to, mass transit to – the things you need.)

7) Citizens can buy or not buy, produce or not produce. We can change
to a sustainable personal economy. Then corporations and governments will change.

8) Envision the history of a product on a shelf. Workers and the earth made that thing. Resisting Consumerism is an act of imagination.

9) Complexify. Don't be so easy to figure out. Consumers tend to regularize.
Shopping at big boxes and chains make us all the same. Viva la difference!

10) Respect the heroes of the resistance. A small band of neighborhood-defenders who staved off a super mall with years of protests? Beautiful.

It's our turn now. Change-a-lujah!

found

a to do list, from a summer at camp, several years back:

*call ranger Tom - left msg.

*call abt. photobooths

*diapers - Martha - double tape - $5

*diapers, wipes - Jeremy - Bread & Circus

*milk, stamps - Jonathon

*drop off film

*candy

I'm thinking that must have been 2001.

ya heard?

Meltdown Strategies: Financial Disaster and Climate Change

October 13, 2008 By Starhawk
Source: www.starhawk.org

While the financial markets have been melting down around us, another
sort of meltdown has been occurring, one even more frightening and
dangerous. Climate change has been progressing, more quickly than
anticipated, fueled even more rapidly by methane bubbles released from
a warming Arctic sea, in just one of the self-reinforcing cycles that
will trigger unstoppable cascades of devastation unless we act now.

None of the presidential debates have addressed the central question of
our time: can we transform our energy, our economy, our food systems
and our culture rapidly enough to forestall complete global meltdown?

The present economic woes are frightening, but the environmental crisis
is truly terrifying. With all the furor about falling markets and
frozen credit, nothing real has changed in the economy. Granted, the
repercussions will be that many of us have less money in our pockets
and fewer opportunities. But we still have the natural resources we had
a month ago. We still have our skills, our knowledge, and our
productive capacity. What we've lost is a towering edifice of icing
with no cake underneath.

But environmental meltdown means we lose the real basis of economy and
survival. We will see more and more devastation like we've seen in the
Gulf Coast. We'll see droughts, floods, lowered food supplies, huge
losses in biodiversity and ecological resilience, rising seas that will
take out major cities around the world, and all the associated problems
of poverty, starvation, refugees and resource wars. Time is not running
out-it's out! What we do now and in the next ten years is absolutely
crucial.

The good news is, we don't have to take the path to disaster. We have
the knowledge and technology we need to make the change. But our
politicians, even the best of them, won't do it unless we make it a top
priority.

To do that, it helps to know what the solutions are. In November, I'll
be presenting at an interfaith conference on climate change called by
the archbishop of Sweden. In preparation, I started writing a Climate
Change Primer, trying to briefly list the most important technologies
and approaches. It kept growing, and eventually became too big to send
out as an email. But go to the link below and you can read it or
download it as a PDF. If you want to better understand the issue and
the spectrum of solutions we need to put into place, it's a good
introduction. If you are a policy maker or an activist who likes to
hound and harass policy makers to do the right thing, it's a good
guide. And if you're thinking about how to invest your own time and
energy and/or such dwindling funds as you might have, it will suggest
fruitful avenues and new approaches. And here's the link:

http://www.earthactivisttraining.org/climate_resources.html

And below are a few short, short, short lists to help get us thinking
about what priorities we should push for:

Things we can do right away in a lousy economy:

--Conserve. Obama almost said the 'C' word in the debate-and you would
think this is something radicals, liberals and conservatives would all
agree on, as it requires no funding or investment and can produce huge
rewards. If we had continued to conserve energy at the rate we did in
the 1970s, we would be energy independent today!

--Pass tax credits for renewables.

--Enact fuel efficiency standards for new cars, trucks, etc. and for
all big users of fossil fuels.

--Require energy efficiency in new construction, and white or
reflective roofs, porous paving, etc.

--Put caps on carbon emissions for big users that will decline over
time to zero by 2050 or sooner. (There's a longer discussion of this in
the Primer.)

--Take up Al Gore's challenge to generate 100 per cent of our energy
from renewables within ten years.

--Sequester carbon by building healthy soil through organic farming,
no-till techniques, and planned rotational grazing. (More on this on
the website.)

--Localize economies and food systems-farmers' markets, CSAs, city
farms and community gardens. Support barter systems and local
currencies.

--End subsidies for nuclear energy, coal and oil.

--Bring the troops home-war has a carbon cost as well as a human cost
and a financial cost. Employ diplomacy, not troops.

--Ratify Kyoto-no, it's not nearly enough but gosh, if we can't even do
that, how are we going to have any global credibility on this issue?

Low Hanging Fruit: (Technologies and solutions that are already up and
running, or nearly so, that have the best Energy Return on Energy
Investment, will meet the least resistance and will give the biggest
bang for the buck in the short run.)

--Onshore and offshore wind-already up and running.

--Photovoltaics-larger scale production to bring down costs, tax
credits, rebates and cost-share programs for new construction and
retrofitting.

--Concentrated Solar Power and solar thermal on both large scale and
home scale.

--Electric cars and plug-in hybrids-in production or on the verge.
Economies of scale-government purchasing agreements, tax credits,
rebates or cost-shares or loan guarantees for purchasers can help
replace our current transport fleet. Mandates for energy efficiency and
requirements for zero-carbon vehicles, as were once in place in
California, can support their production and adoption.

--Biofuels from waste and recycled materials and algae.

--White roofs. (A study from the Lawrence Berkeley labs suggest that
white roofs not only save cooling costs but radiate heat outward and on
a large scale, could have a major impact.)

--Regenerative farming and grazing that build soil organic carbon.

--Forest protection-a moratorium on the logging of old growth. Tree
planting and restoration.

--Localization-building local food economies, sense of place,
encouraging famers' markets, urban agriculture, local small businesses,
walkable neighborhoods,

--Pedestrian zones, bike paths, good interface with bikes and public
transport-safe parking areas, allowing bikes on subways and busses.

Vital Investments: Even in a lousy economy, we absolutely need to do
these things, and they will provide jobs and a vital economic stimulus:

--The national grid needs to be upgraded to be able to handle
distributed sources of energy and Vehicle to Grid technology.

--Infrastructure for renewables needs to be built on the large scale.

--Technical help to developing countries: It's only fair, equitable and
good long-term security to help developing countries skip the 19th and
20th centuries and leap into the 21st with renewable energy sources.
Offer to replace Iran's nuclear plants with solar infrastructure,
China's coal plants with wind.

--Cost share programs and rebates for retrofitting existing homes for
energy efficiency.

--Training programs and green jobs in the inner city.

--Job training for the unemployed in green industries and regenerative
agriculture.

Long term investments: (Things we need to invest in now for the long
term future. If we're going to borrow billions, let's spend them on:)

--Public transportation in and around cities. Making it efficient,
cheap, easy and fun.

--Trains, busses, and other forms of transport to get people out of
their cars.

--Research on all the promising technologies: new batteries and forms
of energy storage, wave and tidal power, hydrogen from renewables-as a
store for energy and as a replacement fuel for air travel. Aquaculture
to produce biofuels. And so many more.(see that website for the full
list!)

--Public infrastructure.

--Retrofitting of existing buildings for energy efficiency.

--Forest and wildland protection in large blocks to allow plants and
animals room to migrate in response to climate change. Habitat
protection and restoration.

--Quality education at every level on the environment.

Really Stupid Ideas We Should Oppose:

-Nuclear Power: It's not quick to build or license safely, it's not
safe-low level radiation is proven to cause cancer and other diseases.
We still don't know how to safely store the wastes. To build a plant we
actually produce huge amounts of carbon emissions as cement is one of
the big carbon hogs. ------Nuclear power plants provide new targets for
terrorists and makes it difficult to prevent proliferation of nuclear
weapons. And-we don't need it!

--Offshore drilling and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge-The U.S. has 3% of the world's oil reserves and uses 25% of the
energy. We can't drill our way into energy independence, and drilling
that compromises the safety of fragile ecosystems can cause irreparable
damage for small, short-term gains. We need to wean ourselves off
fossil fuels, not drill for more. And new oil fields won't come on line
for over a decade and require huge energy investments to develop.

--"Clean" coal: There is no such thing.

--Cutting down rainforests to produce corn or palm oil for biofuels

--Replacing food crops with fuel crops.

--Solving problems with guns and weapons.

Okay, this short list has already gotten long. Again, that link is:

http://www.earthactivisttraining.org/climate_resources.html

And if there's one important message we send, make it this:

The environment is not an afterthought: it's the ground of economy,
security and survival. Environmental protection, environmental justice
and regeneration must be our top priorities, because they are the only
sound foundation for every other endeavor.

Go if you must, stay if you will, hail & farewell.

I'm here, I'm queer

Happy Coming Out Day, everyone!

mama calendar 2009: call for submissions

the 2009 Mama Calendar is getting underway!
people, mothers, fathers, partners, kids, friends & allies,
the mama calendar is what it is because of your words, pictures, dreams, visions, rants, raves, recipes, recipes for revolution.
send me your best stuff, by October 30, to
the mama calendar
coleen murphy
PO box 741655
new orleans, LA
70174
coleen@bust.com
calendars will be available on November 15, 2008, in person at the New Orleans Bookfair and via email & the US mail for $12 a piece,
payable by check, cash, money order or paypal.
advance orders are what make the calendar project possible.
ask about wholesale pricing for orders of ten or more.

the mama calendar is a community building-consciousness raising resource by,
of, about and for progressive, feminist, activist mothers and their families,
friends & allies everywhere. it is a celebration and a call to action, a thing
of beauty to last the year.
edited by coleen murphy, the calendar features photos of mamas, babies,
children, dads, and friends, as well as a guide to mama-made zines, alternative
parenting resources, recipes, recipes for revolution, great dates in radical
mama herstory, and the work of numerous artist/activist/mamas. recent editions have featured ayun halliday, victoria law, laurel dykstra, sonja smith, trula breckenridge and heather cushman-dowdee, among others.

good morning, america

This is Your Nation on White Privilege
By Tim Wise
9/13/08

For those who still can’t grasp the concept of white privilege, or who
are constantly looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it,
perhaps this list will help.

White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol
Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your
family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or
your parents, because “every family has challenges,” even as black and
Latino families with similar “challenges” are regularly typified as
irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.

White privilege is when you can call yourself a “fuckin’ redneck,” like
Bristol Palin’s boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone messes with
you, you'll “kick their fuckin' ass,” and talk about how you like to
“shoot shit” for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American
boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug.

White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six
years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of,
then returned to after making up some coursework at a community
college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to
achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as
unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in in the first
place because of affirmative action.

White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town smaller
than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state with about
the same number of people as the lower fifth of the island of Manhattan,
makes you ready to potentially be president, and people don’t all piss
on themselves with laughter, while being a black U.S. Senator, two-term
state Senator, and constitutional law scholar, means you’re “untested.”

White privilege is being able to say that you support the words “under
God” in the pledge of allegiance because “if it was good enough for the
founding fathers, it’s good enough for me,” and not be immediately
disqualified from holding office--since, after all, the pledge was
written in the late 1800s and the “under God” part wasn’t added until
the 1950s--while believing that reading accused criminals and terrorists
their rights (because, ya know, the Constitution, which you used to
teach at a prestigious law school requires it), is a dangerous and silly
idea only supported by mushy liberals.

White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make people
immediately scared of you.

White privilege is being able to have a husband who was a member of an
extremist political party that wants your state to secede from the
Union, and whose motto was “Alaska first,” and no one questions your
patriotism or that of your family, while if you're black and your spouse
merely fails to come to a 9/11 memorial so she can be home with her kids
on the first day of school, people immediately think she’s being
disrespectful.

White privilege is being able to make fun of community organizers and
the work they do--like, among other things, fight for the right of women
to vote, or for civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or an end to child
labor--and people think you’re being pithy and tough, but if you merely
question the experience of a small town mayor and 18-month governor with
no foreign policy expertise beyond a class she took in college--you’re
somehow being mean, or even sexist.

White privilege is being able to convince white women who don’t even
agree with you on any substantive issue to vote for you and your running
mate anyway, because all of a sudden your presence on the ticket has
inspired confidence in these same white women, and made them give your
party a “second look.”

White privilege is being able to fire people who didn’t support your
political campaigns and not be accused of abusing your power or being a
typical politician who engages in favoritism, while being black and
merely knowing some folks from the old-line political machines in
Chicago means you must be corrupt.

White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years whose
pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize
George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly
Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christian
theological principles into government, and who bring in speakers who
say the conflict in the Middle East is God’s punishment on Jews for
rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you’re just a good
church-going Christian, but if you’re black and friends with a black
pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S. Department of
Defense) that terrorist attacks are often the result of U.S. foreign
policy and who talks about the history of racism and its effect on black
people, you’re an extremist who probably hates America.

White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when asked by a
reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter for asking you such
a “trick question,” while being black and merely refusing to give
one-word answers to the queries of Bill O’Reilly means you’re dodging
the question, or trying to seem overly intellectual and nuanced.

White privilege is being able to claim your experience as a POW has
anything at all to do with your fitness for president, while being black
and experiencing racism is, as Sarah Palin has referred to it a “light”
burden.

And finally, white privilege is the only thing that could possibly allow
someone to become president when he has voted with George W. Bush 90
percent of the time, even as unemployment is skyrocketing, people are
losing their homes, inflation is rising, and the U.S. is increasingly
isolated from world opinion, just because white voters aren’t sure about
that whole “change” thing. Ya know, it’s just too vague and ill-defined,
unlike, say, four more years of the same, which is very concrete and
certain.

White privilege is, in short, the problem.

collaborate with the source of all life

from free will astrology: In Terry Pratchett's book Wyrd Sisters, there's a passage in which he talks about how the sun conspires with the forest to pump millions of gallons of sap hundreds of feet from the ground up into the sky. And it all happens "in one great systolic thump too big and loud to be heard." That's the kind of activity I recommend for you in the coming weeks, Virgo. Collaborate with the source of all life -- the physical sun, if that's your preference, or God or Goddess, if that works better for you -- to pull off a huge movement of lifeblood that brings sustenance from below to above.

So far this summer has been about work, different kinds of work, but all hard, and all here in the city. Tomorrow morning I'm taking the train way up north for a big change of scenery, and a big change of work, and... yeah, I can't wait.

May Day Letter from New Orleans Women's Health Clinic

Dear Supporters of the New Orleans Women's Health Clinic:

Even before Hurricane Katrina, women of color and low income women in New Orleans lacked access to basic health care. Almost three years after the storm, the limited health care resources that existed before the storm for low income and uninsured individuals have yet to be replaced, despite repeated commitments by public officials to create a "better system." In reality, this "better system" includes plans to shift from public services to subsidized private health insurance, leaving over 60 percent of Louisiana 's most vulnerable residents without health insurance or a safety net.

Combined with the loss of needed public resources and the continuation of economic isolation, gender inequality, environmental hazards, limited housing affordability, and racial discrimination, this lack of services and access to safe, affordable preventative care is equal to a public health disaster that directly impacts women of color and low-income women – particularly those who are young, uninsured, immigrant, elders, head of households, HIV/AIDS positive, homeless, sex workers, queer, disabled/differently-abled, incarcerated and formerly incarcerated, and living in public housing – as they face increased barriers to health care.

The need to organize to address this public health crisis in New Orleans is clear, but the specific needs of women and the issues of sexual and reproductive oppression have not been prioritized in the rebuilding of the city. The manifestations of ill-health, lack of preventative care, inadequate medical resources, and the absence of a comprehensive health policy paint an unpromising picture as the voices of low income and uninsured women of color are largely silenced. Despite this harsh reality, the New Orleans Women's Health Clinic (NOWHC), a women of color-led project, has become a CRITICAL resource with vast potential for comprehensive health education and grassroots organizing activities.

The mission of the New Orleans Women's Health Clinic is to equip marginalized and underserved women with the means to control and care for their own bodies, sexuality, and reproduction through a holistic, community-centered well women approach to health care which integrates sexual health and reproductive justice. Through the organizing and health advocacy work of INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence, the New Orleans Women's Health Clinic was conceived to combine health services with a political analysis of the oppression that prevents low income, uninsured, immigrant, disabled/differently-abled, formerly incarcerated, and LBTQ women of color from receiving comprehensive health care.

NOWHC not only provides health care services, but also addresses the social invisibility of low-income women of color that allows their needs to be chronically ignored and unmet. As corporate healthcare programs attempt to fill the gaps in health care existing for low-income women in New Orleans , NOWHC stands out as a clinic that is grassroots in origin and support, and that incorporates an analysis of the root causes of the current health care crisis into the services it provides.

Since the New Orleans Women's Health Clinic opened on this day one year ago, the demand for our services has steadily increased month by month. We currently provide a range of gynecological care and preliminary obstetrical visits including pregnancy testing and counseling; pap smears; pelvic exams; diagnosis and treatment of irregular menstruation, vaginal, urinary tract, and sexually transmitted infections; comprehensive sex education and access to safe and effective contraceptives; and prenatal care and education. The low cost sliding fee scale rates of the Clinic are possible due to the support we've received this year, most of which has come from individuals like you.

Most recently, we established a Women's Healthcare Fund, designed to ensure that uninsured women who cannot afford the cost of care or medications can receive care at NOWHC. In the coming year, NOWHC plans to begin providing midwifery care, expand our services to gender variant people, conduct educational workshops at the Clinic space and in community settings throughout the city, and engage in base building activities to build support and awareness of the Clinic locally and nationally.

At NOWHC, we are working to build the "table," as we continue to assist women access safe, affordable, and quality health services and resources they need to take care of their over health, bodies, sexuality, and reproductive. To continue this, we are asking you to support the New Orleans Women's Health Clinic in the following ways:

*Make a financial contribution to the New Orleans Women's Health Clinic. We rely primarily on donations from individuals such as you to provide sliding scale medical services to local women, and organize to build our long-term capacity. Donations help NOWHC to pay living wage salaries, rent and maintain our space, and cover the cost of laboratory services for uninsured women. A financial contribution of $50 will provide an annual exam for a woman who otherwise could not afford one, through our Women's Health Care Fund. Hosting a benefit house party will raise enough for a supplies order or a piece of medical equipment, as well as spread the word about NOWHC. In addition to financial donations, we are also accepting gift cards from Office Depot, and prepaid medical supply orders through PSS Medical Supplies. Financial contributions should be made out to our fiscal sponsor: Women With A Vision, with NOWHC listed in the memo line of check. Checks and gift cards should be mailed to:

New Orleans Women's Health Clinic
1406 Esplanade Ave.
New Orleans , LA 70116

*Spread the word about the New Orleans Women's Health Clinic. Publicity in local, national, and international press helps NOWHC spread the word about our services, connects us with people engaged in similar work, provides publicity, and generates support. But, it's something we often don't have time to coordinate ourselves. If you have an idea for an article, please contact us at 504.524.8255 or at nowhc_info@yahoo.com for an interview and press points. Alternately, reach people directly by spreading the word about NOWHC to five potential donors. Your direct appeal saves us time and administrative costs!

*Donate needed supplies to the New Orleans Women's Health Clinic. The supplies that NOWHC uses daily really add up. Additionally, there are several pieces of medical equipment that we still need. If you would like to sponsor a supply order, or have supplies or equipment to donate, please contact Cassandra Burrows at nowhc_info@yahoo.com to determine if NOWHC can use them, or to get a list of needed supplies. Please don't send unsolicited material.

The New Orleans Women's Health Clinic warmly thanks our network of donors and volunteers for your continued generous support. You are needed now more than ever. Our ability to provide needed services, maintain autonomy, and participate in grassroots organizing is made possible through the support of individuals and organizations in our community and nationwide.

Sincerely,

Shana M. griffin, Interim Director
Isabel Barrios, Board Member
Rosana Cruz, Board Member
Monique Harden, Board Member
Deon Haywood, Board Member
Mayaba Liebenthal, Board Member
Thea Patterson, Board Member

come see us



this makes me so hungry for the Camellia Grill.

V to the 10th

I'll be spending all of next weekend immersed in V to the 10th events. In case you haven't been hearing about this already, here are all of the details:

Katrina Warriors celebrate V-Day in New Orleans

http://www.myspace.com/vdayuntiltheviolencestops

V-DAY'S 10TH ANNIVERSARY!

Join Us and Change the Story of Women

To celebrate the last ten years of ending violence
against women and girls and welcome the next ten
years, thousands of V-Day benefits are scheduled
throughout the U.S. and the world from Shenzhen, China
to Stockholm, Sweden from Canberra, Australia to
Lagos, Nigeria. To coincide with these events, Eve
Ensler will embark on a nationwide 20-city V To The
Tenth speaking tour.

V-Day's 2008 season will culminate with a mega two-day
anniversary celebration in New Orleans Friday -
Saturday, April 11-12 at the New Orleans Arena and
Louisiana Superdome - V TO THE TENTH.

2008 SPOTLIGHT ON WOMEN OF THE GULF SOUTH - KATRINA
WARRIORS

Each year V-Day increases awareness by focusing on a
specific group of women in the world who are resisting
violence with courage and vision. In 2008, the
spotlight is turned to New Orleans and the Gulf South.
The spotlight will highlight the daily ongoing work of
women in their communities who have steadfastly kept
New Orleans and the Gulf South alive with little to no
resources. These women - "Katrina Warriors" - will be
honored for their strength and resilience in the face
of devastating loss. The spotlight will bring global
attention and funds so that women may be safe and
empowered in a region whose pulse beats like no other.

TO THE TENTH - NEW ORLEANS - APRIL 11-12, 2008

These events will lead up to V TO THE TENTH, the
V-Day event of the decade, on April 11 - 12, 2008 at
the New Orleans Arena and Louisiana Superdome.

On Saturday evening, April 12, V-Day will stage a once
in a lifetime event featuring international
performances of The Vagina Monologues, musical guests,
V-Day activists from across the globe including Kenya,
Afghanistan, Iraq, the Philippines, Democratic
Republic of Congo and Eastern Europe, men standing up
for women and much more.

SALMA HAYEK, OPRAH WINFREY, JANE FONDA,GLENN CLOSE,
JULIA STILES, ALI LARTER, CALPERNIA ADDAMS, ROSARIO
DAWSON, KERRY WASHINGTON, AND MUSICIANS FAITH HILL,
JENNIFER HUDSON AND CHARMAINE NEVILLE have already
signed on.

The evening will open minds and hearts and raise much
needed attention and funds for groups working to end
violence against women and girls around the world, and
in New Orleans and the Gulf South.

TICKETS FROM $25-$1000 ARE ON SALE NOW AT
http://www.vday.org/contents/v10