Inspired by Assata Shakur’s words, “A woman’s place is in the struggle,” the New York City branches of the ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), Party for Socialism and Liberation, and Women Organized to Resist and Defend collaborated on March 14 to hold a “Women Rise Up: It Is Our Duty to Fight for Our Freedom” conference in Harlem at the Leroy Neiman Art Center. People came from all over the city and even out of state to celebrate women’s history and discuss women’s central role in movement building.
The program consisted of three main sections: an opening plenary and two panels that recognized the need for exalting women’s leadership and linked women’s oppression to all forms of oppression rooted in the divisive system of capitalism.
The opening plenary, titled “Sexism, Patriarchy and Capitalism: The Roots of Our Oppression,” included presenters Linda Oalican, Claudia De La Cruz, Karina Garcia and Asheea Smith. The second panel, “Organizing against Police Terror on Women and LGBTQ communities,” included IV Staklo, Rukia Lumumba, Nancy Mansour and Hertencia Petersen. The last panel of the afternoon, “Women’s Leadership and the Need for Organization,” included Maria L. Chickedantz, Riya Ortiz, Rachel Field and myself.
All the speakers brought forth powerful points. Linda Oalican, representing Damayan Migrant Workers Association, clarified the impact of global capitalism on women and connected it to reasons women migrate from the Philippines to the United States. Claudia De La Cruz delved into the representations of women in the corporate media as well as how motherhood has impacted her organizing. Through a series of stories of women in the Rio Grande Valley, Karina Garcia helped us all to see that there is a serious attack on women’s reproductive rights and women’s right to choose what to do with their bodies Finally, Asheea Smith spoke to us about the oppressive conditions of women in the United States and contrasted that with the experience of women in Cuba, where revolution is an ongoing reality.
Transitioning to a focus on police brutality, the panelists spoke of their experiences with the police, whether shedding light on the invisible encounters of trans people with the state, as outlined by Staklo or raising consciousness of the continued fight for justice for Akai Gurley spearheaded by Gurley’s aunt, Hertencia Petersen. Petersen, also known as Aunt T, spoke of her introduction into the movement for justice and police accountability as a result of her nephew’s murder. Rukia Lumumba of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement connected police brutality and the mass incarceration of our youth while Nancy Mansour connected the struggle in Palestine against the Israeli police with the struggle against police brutality here.
The closing panel sought to highlight the importance for revolutionary organization and collective action. Student organizer Rachel Field focused on the prominence and necessity for women’s self-defense organizations while Maria L. Chickedantz, a lawyer who works to recover stolen wages from workers, explained the power of collective action in recovering the stolen wages of underpaid workers. Riya Ortiz from Damayan spoke of her experiences organizing both in the Philippines and in the United States as a queer immigrant organizer. As a panelist, I focused on my experience becoming a leader within accountable organizations as a deliberate learning and empowerment process.
Additionally, there was cultural hour where artists Sitcom Brown, Naa Akua, Paula Ramirez and Vanessa L. Frias used poetry and Hip Hop to showcase women’s empowerment.
At the end of the conference, Garcia led an empowerment circle where every participant, speaker and organizer joined hands and one by one made a promise to themselves that they would further the movement.
Full of commitment and energy, conference leaders then led a speak-out and march across the street from where our trans*sister Islan Nettles was murdered in August 2013. Community members joined the speak-out and showed solidarity with the women and LGBTQ community members who continue fighting for justice. The speakers closed with the following chant from Assata Shakur: “It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.”
