National NOW Times >> Summer/Fall 2005 >> Article

First Spanish-Speaking NOW Chapter Forms in the Bronx, N.Y.

By Kris Moody, New Hampshire NOW President
and Erin Hanna, Chapter and Field Organizer

Many fabulous things came out of the 2005 Women of Color and Allies (WOCA) Summit, but perhaps one of the most wonderful was the revitalization of the Bronx Chapter in New York. The chapter had been founded by the late Geraldine Miller, in whose memory the WOCA conference was dedicated.

Longtime activists Rosalba Polanco and Candida Bido attended the WOCA Summit and brought along other activists from their community; they enthusiastically went home with a mission to revitalize NOW in their area, making the Bronx chapter our first Spanish-speaking chapter.

Polanco is a former staff member of the Dominican Women Development Center (DWC) in New York and founder of the Hermanas Mirabal Family Center. Bido is a former aide to New York council member Guillermo Linares and also worked at the National Dominican Women's Caucus.

The Bronx chapter held its kick-off meeting in July at Polanco's Hermanas Mirabal Family Center, with Executive Vice President Olga Vives and Director of Racial Diversity Programs Zenaida Mendez as special guests. The Center is a truly impressive establishment. It was created to seek solutions to problems such as inadequate salaries and lack of employment and child care services, and to satisfy the needs of low income Latinas in the community. The staff at the center aims to give women the opportunity to obtain the necessary skills to succeed in small businesses, to gain political status, to obtain and provide quality child care services, and to participate in the community.

The Mirabal Sisters [Hermanas Mirabal]—Patria, Minerva and Maria Teresa—were courageous women who lived in the Dominican Republic during the Trujillo dictatorship. Known as the "Butterflies," these sisters dared to fight for their country's political freedom, resulting in their assassination in 1960. Despite the brutal murders, their memories live on as a symbol of courage and hope. As the Bronx NOW members gathered at the Hermanas Mirabal Family Center, the Mirabal sisters looked on from framed news clippings hanging on the walls.

Spirit and Passion

The new Bronx NOW chapter's "inaugural" meeting was full of friendship and passion. Spirits were high as members gathered to share cafe con leche in the small kitchen. Once the meeting began, two women gave a presentation about NOW, its history, purpose, structure and ongoing projects.

Conducted entirely in Spanish, activists and members shared a lively discussion throughout the presentation. Participants later broke into two groups to discuss the structure of their new chapter and officer positions, and preparations for the NOW National Conference. Many wished to attend the conference and wanted to discuss plans to help people attend. Each group brainstormed and settled on plans, along with volunteers to carry them through. Later, officer elections were held with much merriment. The meeting ended with many smiles and lots of enthusiasm for the possible 17 hour bus ride to Nashville, Tenn., to the NOW annual conference. Drawing from their experience at WOCA, many wanted to participate in another NOW national event.

The enthusiasm for activism, the excitement about NOW's mission, the energy to create a vibrant, effective chapter — these were the feelings expressed by the Bronx NOW women. Their energy was infectious. Before the meeting started, one young woman spoke of her attendance at NOW's WOCA summit in April. She said she almost didn't go, fearing she might feel out of place because she didn't speak English well. But her friend convinced her to go, and she now says that the WOCA summit changed her life. By the end of the Bronx NOW chapter meeting, she had been elected as one of their first officers.

With women such as these heading the reinvigorated Bronx chapter, Susan B. Anthony's quote comes to mind: "Failure is impossible."