Women of Color and Allies Summit

Sessions in Detail

• Friday
• 9:45 - 11:15 am: Workshop Sessions I
• 1:30 - 3:00 pm: Workshop Sessions II
• Saturday
• 9 - 10:30 am: Workshop Sessions III
• 10:45 am- 12:15 pm: Workshop Sessions IV
• 3:45 - 5:45 pm Regional Caucuses
• Sunday
• 9:00 - 10:30 am: Workshop Sessions V

Friday, February 20
9:45 am - 11:15 am: Session I

Workshops

Women, Trade and the Global Market
Kimberly Miyoshi, Ritu Sharma, Marceline White
Room: Roanoke
Examine the impact and implication of global trade policies for women of color in the U.S. and abroad. Discuss the practices of U.S. corporations in other countries. This workshop will illuminate implications, raise questions and discuss possible avenues to organize and create change.

Are We All God's Children? Being Out in the Church
Mandy Carter
Room: Rappahannock
Come see the award-winning video, All God's Children, that deals with being black lesbians, gays and bisexuals in the black church. Video will be followed by discussion about how we can use this video as an effective organizing tool in faith-based communities to counter the radical right's newest tactic — racial reconciliation which specifically targets community church outreach.

Hate Crimes
Pamela Coukos
Room: Jamestown
The 1998 Hate Crimes Bill proposes to expand federal protection for crimes motivated by gender, sexual orientation and disability. Hear about existing hate crimes response and learn how to get active on the new legislation.

Skills Building Sessions

Fundraising for the Movement
Kim Gandy, Margeau Gilbert, Angela McArdell, Patricia E. Pasqual
Room: James
Discuss fundraising strategies for grassroots activism. Hear from experts and share creative ideas.

Gun Violence Prevention: A Comprehensive Approach
Natalie Durham
Room: Potomac
Gun violence is an urgent issue facing women of color in their communities and touches all our lives in devastating ways, teen suicide among them. This workshop will help participants to develop community outreach strategies and effective legislation on state and local gun control policy.

1:30pm - 3:00pm: Session II

Workshops

The Role of Legal Defense Funds in Addressing Women of Color Issues
Elizabeth OuYang, Cathy Powell, Elsa Rios, Yolanda Wu
Room: Roanoke
This workshop will focus on the potential for grassroots organizing between the feminist legal community and the feminist grassroots community.

Images of Women in the Media Terry Dickerson
Room: Rappahannock
We are constantly bombarded with images of women in the media, yet there is a large deficiency of women in positions to create or control those images. Learn how to understand the messages these images are sending and how women of color can organize to affect change in how the media portrays women.

HIV/AIDS and Women of Color
Stephanie Miller-Benson, Janice Pemberton, Judith K. Williams
Room: Williamsburg
Join a discussion about HIV/AIDS and women of color. Learn about current challenges and strategies for grassroots activism.

Sex Discrimination and Sexual Harassment In the Fields
Women Strawberry Workers from United Farm Workers of America
Room: Mt. Vernon
Thousands of women strawberry workers currently endure sex discrimination and sexual harrassment. Learn how women are fighting back by organizing with the United Farm Workers Union. Find out how supporters can help women strawberry workers win equality and respect in the workplace

The Images That Trap Us: Resisting Internalized Self Hate
Dr. Marsha J. Darling
Room: James
Examine the stereotypes and myths that have been constructed to oppress, demean and belittle women of color in the United States. There will be an opportunity to discuss how women do and do not resist internalizing oppressive images and how it effects their lives.

Skills Building Sessions

Grassroots Organizing
Mandy Carter, Marian O'Connor Franklin, Susannah Northart
Room: Potomac
This session will provide the tools to get grassroots organizing off the ground. Learn strategies and techniques to use at the local level. Hear firsthand experiences of grassroots organizers from across the country.

Saturday, February 21
9:00 am - 10:30 am: Session III

Workshops

Looking Back, Looking Forward: A Feminist Vision
Loretta Ross, Patricia Ireland, Marian Kramer
Room: Potomac
This workshop will be in a roundtable format. Panelists will discuss the historical role of race and class in the feminist movement, and will give participants their vision for the future of our movement.

Women: Challenges and Triumphs
Rene Berry Huffman, Donna Walton
Room: Roanoke
Become involved in a dialogue about African American women with disabilities in particular, and women with disabilities in general. Learn how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) impacts the civil rights of women with disabilities and how others can be aware and sensitive to women who are confronted with both visible and invisible disabilities. Workplace discrimination will also be addressed.

Breaking the Silence: Talking About Domestic Violence
Jackie Nelson, Judith Thompson
Room: Monticello
Presenters will share their personal stories of domestic violence including physical, mental and emotional abuse. Discuss the realities of domestic violence and what work is going on to end violence.

Poverty and Homelessness as Seen Through the Eyes of the People Themselves
Ruth Young
Room: Williamsburg
This workshop will try to dispel the myths and untruths surrounding the issue of homelessness and poverty in this country and the impact of the new welfare reform. The emphasis will be on the importance of grassroots organizing and the role that feminists play in bringing about change.

Race, Class and Gender on Campus
Shoba Sivaprasad and the Women of Color Caucus at Georgetown University Law Center, Andrea Williams
Room: Jamestown
Explore the dynamics of race, class and gender on college campuses. Hear women of color from a local law school share their experiences. Join a discussion about the direction of feminist activism in academia.

Does Feminism Transcend Ethnicity/Cultural Identity?
Marti Farha Ammar, Patrice Curtis, Hala Maksoud, Jackie Steingold
Room: James
Explore whether feminist identity should supersede ethnic and/or racial identity. This workshop will address the dynamics of race, ethnicity, culture and gender bias. Presenters will also discuss coalition building.

Skills Building Sessions

Media Strategies
Helen Grieco, Afton Hirohima, Belle Taylor McGhee, Vivian Todini
Room: Mt. Vernon
Discuss strategies for gaining media attention for grassroots issues.

White Allies Eliminating Racism
Barbara DiTullio, Beth Edmonds, Marian O'Connor Franklin, Kathy Miller
Room: Rappahannock
An experiential workshop designed to allow white allies to look at the effects of racism in our daily lives. Leaders will facilitate discussion on how to become better allies personally and how to continue working against institutionalized racism.

10:45 am - 12:15 pm: Session IV

Workshops

Affirmative Action
Evelyn Ellington, Bernadette Gross, Elizabeth Toledo
Room: Roanoke
The attack on affirmative action has seriously impacted women in education, employment and business. Hear about current political trends and discuss strategies for defending affirmative action.

Lesbians of Color Organizing for Equality
Wanda Alston, Martha Figueroa
Room: Rappahannock
From same sex marriage to hate crimes, lesbian issues are a priority of the feminist movement. With a focus on community organizing and government relations, this workshop will provide activists with the skills to confront attacks on equal rights in our schools, our communities and in Congress.

Issues Confronting Native American Women
Suzan Shown Hario
Room: Williamsburg
A discussion of contemporary issues confronting Native American women. Develop an understanding of the special issues exclusive to Native American women and what it means to be a Native American woman in America today both on and off tribal land.

Women's Human Rights in Afghanistan
Karen Johnson, Christine Onyango, Zieba Shorish-Shamley, Jyotsna Sreenivasan, Sima Wali Room: Potomac
With the takeover of most of Afghanistan by the Taliban armed militia, women have been forbidden to go to work, go to school or leave their homes without a close male relative, among other abuses. Learn about the international campaign in support of human rights in Afghanistan.

Women's Health
Dr. Michele Bloch, Mary Chung, Francess E. Page, Sharon Sutton
Room: James
Presenters will lead a discussion on health issues and policies, medical research and treatment impacting women of color.

Skills Building Sessions

Developing Women of Color Leadership in the Mainstream Reproductive Rights Movement
Toni Bond, Shawn Towey
Room: Mt. Vernon
This workshop will provide a historical perspective/overview of reproductive injustices perpetuated against women of color. There will also be a discussion of the reasons why women of color may be hesitant to participate in the mainstream feminist and reproductive rights movement. Possibilities for successful grassroots organizing will also be presented focusing on integrating the concerns of women of color into the mainstream movement.

Underground Railroad to the Polls Carolyn Moncrief, Betty Young
Room: Monticello
One of the most effective tools for change is the vote. Learn to develop a successful grassroots Get Out the Vote Campaign (GOTV) that will get candidates elected who will support progressive agendas and involve a diverse part of your community.

Movement Building for the Future: Organizing Students to Increase the Effectiveness and Range of Organization Agendas
Jennifer Lyle
Room: Jamestown
This workshop will enable participants to devise strategies to maximize their power and influence through the use of schools and universities. Learn to establish creative structural frameworks that will help schools, universities, students, faculty and administration lend support to organizations and their projects.

3:45 pm - 5:45 pm

Regional Caucuses

Sunday, February 22

9:00 am - 10:30 am: Session V

Workshops

Bilingual Education & English Only Movements
Adriana Ruelas
Room: Mt. Vernon
Discuss the politics of language and how it impacts issues of racism, classism and sexism. Panelists will discuss current ballot initiatives and legislative strategies.

Access to Reproductive Health
Afton Hirohama
Room: Rappahannock
Hear about the economic, social and legal barriers women face when seeking abortion and other reproductive health care services. Discuss the political attacks on women and strategies for fighting back.

Legal Services
Shari Dunn
Room: Monticello
This workshop will provide an overview of the Legal Services system, focusing on the issues facing low income women of color. This workshop will show how the attack on Legal Services was also an attack on women of color, and it will provide strategies for counter strikes against these attacks.

Race, Class, Culture and Conflict
Wanda Alston, Geraldine Miller, Ruth Young
Room: Roanoke
Problems that prevent or complicate alliances between grassroots women and professional women are the lack of equality of respect in their working relationships and the communication problems that result from different styles, backgrounds and positions in life. It becomes clear that each contributes to the difficulties. Many feel or think they know it all and often don't listen to others. This process helps us to understand each other better, which helps to bridge the gap between us as women. Battered Immigrant Women Daisy Anad, Prema Vora Room: Jamestown This workshop will focus on advocacy and organizing work with battered immigrant women. Presenters will discuss legislative and legal strategies on behalf of immigrant women.

I Don't Divide Myself: The Intersection Between Gender and Race
Diane Dillon-Ridgley
Room: Potomac
Obtain a deeper understanding of how the issues of gender and race support rather than compete with each other as we work for justice.

Skills Building Sessions

Improving Race Relations Through Reading
Cathie Holcombe, Denise Moore
Room: Williamsburg
Learn how a women's reading group in Greensboro, NC, is improving race relations and experience a typical meeting to get ideas for starting one in your area.

How to Promote Diversity Within Your Organization or Chapter
Rebecca Bermudez, Barbara DiTullio, Cindy Guerra, Kathy Wilson
Room: James
Share ideas about affirmative action and other diversity building strategies.