"As an Asian American woman I have learned hard lessons about discrimination against women and people of color. I know that it is important to turn this awareness into action. NOW gives me the opportunity to fight for women's rights and civil rights."

--Inson Kim, chair of NOW's Young Feminist Committee and vice-president of Florida's Dade County NOW.

RACE DISCRIMINATION AFFECTS YOUR LIFE.

• You make an appointment to see a vacant apartment but the manager takes one look at you and says it is no longer available. A week later the sign is still up.
  
• While speaking with friends in your native language, another student hisses "Go back where you came from." His buddies give him high-fives.
  
• Your co-workers use racial slurs as though they are a harmless form of slang. You want to speak up but are afraid of being ostracized.
  
• The police pull you over in a neighborhood where no one looks like you. They're suspicious, they say, because "this car is too nice to be yours."
• Your new braids draw stares and snide comments from other employees. Your boss says to get rid of them or lose your job.
  
• You are dining out and wonder why no one has come to take your order. You don't want to over-react, but then you see the waiter serving people who arrived after you.
  
• Cab drivers refuse to drive to your neighborhood at night- and you can forget about ordering a pizza.
  
• You are a woman, you're not white and you're a lesbian. In our society, that's triple jeopardy and it's not a game.

"With the strong support of NOW, I made history by becoming the first African American woman elected to Congress in a southern, white-majority district."

--U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga., re-elected despite being targeted by the conservative attack on the Voting Rights Act that forced her congressional district to be redrawn.

"With reproductive rights under fire, we cannot forget that women of color are particularly hurt by restricted access to services. The loss of these resources place women's health and lives at risk."

--E. Shirley Baca, a New Mexico political leader who is "Chicana-Mestiza," of Hispanic and Zuni Pueblo ancestry.

WE'RE TAKING ACTION TO STOP RACISM.

NOW brings the power and passion of a nationwide network of grassroots activists to the fight to end racism.

• Our founders included African American leaders such as the late Rev. Pauli Murray, co-author of our Statement of Purpose, and Aileen Hernandez, our second president.
• NOW has championed every civil rights bill since our founding in 1966 and led the expansion of a critical sex discrimination bill to include race, age and disability.
• In 1992, our activists were key organizers for Carol Moseley-Braun, the first African American woman elected to the U.S. Senate, and for many other women of color.
• A diverse crowd of many thousands united at NOW's 1996 Fight the Right March to speak out against racism and immigrant bashing and to defend affirmative action.
• In protests, testimony and the media, our activists challenged the underlying racism and the outright scapegoating of poor women in the debate over welfare.
• NOW takes action to advance racial diversity on our national board and staff and in our state and chapter leadership.
• We need your voice, too.

"The negative stereotypes in our popular culture make it difficult for anyone to raise children who are not racist, who are proud of their heritage. Media stories on people of color focus on violence, crime, terrorism, drug abuse or poverty. We must counter these destructive images."

--Marti Farha Ammar, founding member of Association of Mediterranean Women and National NOW Board Member.

"My city has been barraged with church burnings and bombings of abortion clinics and a lesbian nightclub. NOW understands that this violence is a terrorist tactic of the radical right. By organizing and speaking out, we can put a stop to these human rights violations."

--Loretta Ross, executive director of the Center for Human Rights Education in Atlanta and NOW activist.

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD . . .

. . . in the fight to achieve equality for all women. Join with us to protect the gains that have been made and to continue advancing equal opportunities. This is a crucial time for our country.

As right wing forces are mounting massive campaigns to destroy affirmative action, political opportunists are using racism to further their agenda. We cannot retreat.

We are working to ensure that more people of color are in public office. We are exposing corporations that tolerate discrimination and encouraging all businesses to institute proactive policies. We are addressing the subtle racism that we face everyday and making an effort to change the hearts and minds of those around us. Feminist women and men of all races unite through NOW. As friends and allies we stand together against every form of discrimination.

Your participation in the National Organization for Women can help bring about a time when our differences will no longer be used to divide us, but will serve as a source of celebration and strength.

Become a dues-paying member, check out your local chapter and learn more about how we organize political and grassroots support for the rights of all women.

• Join using a secure form
• Print out an application
• Request membership information

"We learn to look down on people who grow our food, make our clothes, build our roads. We blame immigrants for our economic problems, while they work under dangerous conditions for substandard wages. NOW recognizes that racism, sexism and classism all work together -- and we must all work together to make change."

--Dolores Huerta, co-founder and secretary treasurer of the United Farm Workers.

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