National NOW Times >> Summer 2006  >> Article

Philadelphia NOW Holds Riveting Women of Color & Allies Summit

By Zenaida Mendez, Director of Racial Diversity Programs

Conference planners and speakers at the Philadelphia Women of Color and Allies Summit, March 17-18, 2006.

As planned at the national NOW Women of Color and Allies Summit in Arlington, Virginia in April 2005, organizing women of color and allies summits in different regions is a major step toward NOW's goal to strengthen connections and alliances with women of color.

With the invigorating theme "Empowerment: an Inward and Outward Journey for Women of Color," Philadelphia NOW held an action-packed Women of Color and Allies Summit on March 17-18, 2006, at Philadelphia Community College.

Over three hundred women strong, the summit brought together educators, students, leadership development professionals, business executives, grassroots women and local activists. There were over 25 workshops with topics varying from domestic violence and consumer protection to reproductive justice and economic issues, among many others. The summit addressed emerging challenges facing women of color by providing the tools and information necessary for achieving empowerment.

Cindy Bass of Philadelphia NOW was chair of the WOCA committee and one of the principal organizers of the summit. Ms. Bass, an experienced advocate for social justice, reminded us in her opening remarks that our future is in our hands: "No one else is going to do it for us." The women of diverse race, background and ethnicity who participated in the planning of Philadelphia WOCA "are making a difference for themselves, their families, their communities, this country and the world," said Ms. Bass.

The participants were part of a memorable luncheon with keynote speaker poet, author and activist Sonia Sanchez. Ms. Sanchez' dynamic way of expressing herself had the audience at the edge of their seats, ready to stand and applaud, all throughout her presentation. Young and older adults alike were laughing, crying and full of hope by the end of her magnificent message.

Opening ceremonies featured Latifa Lyles, National NOW membership vice president, and Silvia Henriquez, executive director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Rights. Lyles opened the summit with a message of hope and encouragement for our members and allies to continue to move forward by becoming more involved, saying: "It is better to do one small action than no action at all."

"Every time we make a call, send an email, write a letter, sign a petition, or talk to our friends and relatives about an issue we care about we are making a difference," said Lyles. Henriquez reminded us that in spite of all the negative statistics out there about our communities of color, "We have a lot to celebrate: The fact that we are redefining our needs and we are working one day at the time to bring parity and equality for all women in this country."

Zenaida Mendez closed the summit on Saturday afternoon by reminding us that we are more powerful than we give ourselves credit for: "Empowerment means building bridges among us as women, among us as women of color."

Bridge-building is more important today than ever, as Latinas, as African-Americans, as Asian Pacific Islanders, as native Americans, as lesbians or straight women, as white allies, to achieve a common agenda.