"As we head into the new century...Who will be the faces and voices
of our women's movement...Will we see and hear the diversity that is truly
our community? Women of color, lesbians and bisexual women of color?"
Mandy
Carter,
national field director, National
Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Forum
"Don't you let no one tell you that workfare is working... Workfare
is nothing but a tool to bring all of us down,"
Marian
Kramer,
founder and co-chair, National Welfare Rights Union
"Traditionally there was no need for the women's movement because
we were the decision makers in the tribes. Our opinions were listened to
and well respected...A Kickapoo prophet once said, 'A women rules with
good judgment. Her word is law,'"
Lisa Tiger,
Native American AIDS activist
"We have a responsibility to change health policies like [English-only
data collection] so that the nation's health programs can be more effective
in serving the diversity of the people,"
Mary Chung,
founder and president, National
Asian Women's Health Organization
"I have never seen so many women exchanging addresses and phone
numbers...so many women making connections, sharing information, asking
for support and offering it and working together in ways that I hope we
will all bring back to our communities,"
Kim Gandy,
executive vice president, NOW
"Racism goes to the place in your heart where tears are made and
when it comes from a white sister, I can't even describe to you how much
it hurts. What we have the responsibility to do, clearly, is to clean that
stuff up in this movement of ours,"
Dr.
Johnnetta Cole,
presidential distinguished professor of anthropology, women's studies
and African American studies, Emory University
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"I want more of us to run for office...We need more of our experience
at the table...When policies are made that effect all of us, we all need
to be there, we need that power. I know some of you are thinking you have
to be qualified. Take a look at the current incumbents... I hereby pronounce
all of you qualified,"
Patricia Ireland,
president, NOW
"We're the only country where we promote only one language. We're
on the Mexican border of Latin America and we speak only English! Actually,
we should be making Spanish a requirement for everybody,"
Dolores
Huerta,
co-founder and secretary treasurer, United
Farm Workers
"We can move forward as a community of people–of humans–who want
to have a world where we have peace and justice, where we have communication,
where we don't have to use violence to maintain dominance,"
Karen Johnson,
vice president membership, NOW
"The problem with [the Universal Declaration of Human Rights] is
that there's been an almost active conspiracy to keep this information
out of your hands—'cause you can't fight for rights you don't know you
have,"
Loretta
Ross,
founder and executive director, Center for Human Rights Education
"The truth is that the destiny of the union movement and the destiny
of women of color are as one. When unions do well, we do well...Women of
color who are in unions are more likely to have health insurance... retirement
security...child care and parental leave guarantees,"
Linda
Chavez-Thompson,
executive vice president, AFL-CIO
"My dream for our movement and for this Summit is that when any
woman reaches out to touch feminism, she doesn't hesitate —even for a second
— about whether the color of feminism looks like her,"
Elizabeth Toledo,
vice president action, NOW
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