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

Organizing Takes Off in NW

By Jan Strout and Leanne Serbulo, Project Organizers

The Northwest region of the United States is known for its fierce, proud and assertive women: Sacajewea helped the Lewis and Clark expedition reach the West coast; pioneer women settled unknown territory, then fought to give us the right to vote in Wyoming, Montana and Colorado; and feminist, suffragist and pacifist Jeannette Rankin became the first woman elected to Congress (in 1916, from Montana) — all before the 19th Constitutional Amendment for women's suffrage was ratified on Aug. 26, 1920!

Building on the success of NOW Foundation's 2004 Washington Women's Voter Project, NOW launched the NW Regional Grassroots Organizing Project in January 2005 based in Seattle. The primary focus of this regional organizing project is to increase membership, build chapters and raise awareness of women's rights issues in the six-state region of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.

Achievements

After assessing the needs in the region, organizers initiated a number of activities and actions in conjunction with local chapters and state NOW conferences. Activities focused on issues of gender and racial justice, and young feminist action goals, and included two campus speaking tours.

Regional organizers are developing programs that support and strengthen volunteer leadership at state and local levels and building coalition networks on Social Security, Reproductive Rights, Supreme Court nominations, Wal-Mart, Marriage Equality, Voting Rights and others within a global justice/human rights framework. Washington State NOW launched a vibrant and diverse Young Feminist/Women's Task Force and we plan to renew the task force in Oregon. Plans also are underway for the regional Women of Color and Allies Summit next Spring.

A successful media strategy, which uses movie screenings and discussions, Public Service Announcements, radio interviews and a monthly public access TV program (Community Women's Voices), is helping to increase NOW's visibility, reaching new audiences, and building unique partnerships to support feminist as well as media democracy organizing.

Expanding women's political participation and empowerment continues to be a focus. Working with local leadership, we organized a Women's Political Participation and Empowerment tour featuring Linda Berg, NOW's Political Director. The tour included stops in Spokane and Pullman, Wash.; and Moscow, Idaho; plus five cities in Montana.

In a diverse region, the NW Organizing Project is dedicated to making political activism accessible to women's busy lives — like a Portland playgroup for activist moms with young children to address personal and systemic issues of work and family. Leaders use an email list for action alerts and have made a commitment to taking political action once a month.

Organizing for Action

We are also committed to working on issues that affect diverse groups of women. Plans are underway to start a race and gender reading and action group and to create a global feminist task force to respond to international gender and social justice issues. Future plans include supporting local organizing actions by immigrant women.

Focus will continue on issues of economic justice, poverty, and the lack of affordable housing. During the upcoming year we also will initiate a speakers bureau, develop a media strategy for our chapters and CANs (Campus Action Networks), build a feminist resource library, and work with our coalition allies to increase progressive political power. We will reclaim the positive and fabulous "F" word and have fun doing it!

In the coming year, Jan and Leanne hope to visit all NOW chapters in the six-state region. "We have learned a great deal in the past seven to eight months and welcome your suggestions and feedback," says Strout. You can contact the NW Regional Organizers at: Jan Strout, Director, NW Organizing Project (Seattle, Wash.), NWRegion@now.org or 206-448-7348, ext. 334. Leanne Serbulo, Portland NOW Organizer (Portland, Ore.), ORRegion@now.org or 503-289-0008.