Outrageous Acts

Announcing the Winners of our Katrina Anniversary Contest! We...

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:08:00 -0400

Announcing the Winners of our Katrina Anniversary Contest!

We challenged our outrageous activists to recruit members of the Ms. Foundation Outrageous Activists Cause on Facebook to recognize the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the DVD release of the Academy Award-nominated documentary TROUBLE THE WATER. We are pleased to announce the five winners of the DVD and to celebrate the top recruiter, Brenda Dardar Robichaux.

Ms. Robichaux is an outrageous activist of the best kind. Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Robichaux, a Ms. Foundation grantee, the Principal Chief of the United Houma Nation and founder of the United Houma Nation Relief Fund, quickly mobilized to meet the immediate needs of the Houma Nation. She established training in non-traditional jobs for women and leadership programming for girls. The Ms. Foundation for Women recognized her with a Woman of Vision Award in 2008 (see video and read a profile).

We thank the top recruiters below and invite all to join our Outrageous Activists Facebook Cause.

Brenda Dardar Robichaux
Sewall Whittemore
Lisa Connolly
Nancy Legato
Bobbi Zahra

TROUBLE THE WATER tells the story of Hurricane Katrina through the remarkable eyes and experience of Kimberly and Scott Roberts, “two unforgettable people who survive the storm and then seize a chance for a new beginning.” The film, whose New Orleans premiere was supported by the Ms. Foundation, reveals the courage, strength and wisdom of people who were directly affected by the storms and reminds us of the continuing need for recovery and rebuilding.

Buy the DVD
Order the DVD online from Zeitgeist Films.

Ms. Foundation grantee Raising Women’s Voices committed an...

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:13:51 -0400

Ms. Foundation grantee Raising Women’s Voices committed an outrageous act in a successful rally in New York City for just and inclusive health care reform. RWV organized the Women’s Walk for Health Reform, which assembled 14 NYC-based organizations, including another Ms. grantee, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, to advocate for women’s access to quality, affordable health care. (Read a report on our Igniting Change blog.)

If you’d like to commit an outrageous act for health care reform, follow the advice from Raising Women’s Voices and their one-page handout, Four Simple Actions You Can Take for Health Reform That Meets the Needs of Women and Families. [pdf] We share excerpts below:

Talk to your friends and neighbors about why women and our families need health reform this year. Some people have become confused by the barrage of media coverage reporting unfounded rumors about health reform. Your personal conversation can help remind them of what we stand to gain from health reform.
Write a letter to the editor of your local newspapers. It’s easier to do than you might think. Sample letters [pdf]: no. 1, no. 2, no. 3.
Call your Senators and Representatives to tell them we need health reform this year! Use this toll-free number: 1-877-264-HCAN (4226). Don’t know who they are? Use the Roll Call Directory.
Join rallies and other actions being sponsored by progressive health reform organizations in your state. Visit http://healthcareforamericanow.org/ to find events.

Tell us about the Outrageous Acts you have taken for health care reform. For more information on the issue and how to take action, see Raising Women’s Voices Action & Events page.

Photograph by Diane Greene Lent.

TROUBLE THE WATER tells the story of Hurricane Katrina through...

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:39:00 -0400

So be an outrageous activist. Recruit your friends. Watch TROUBLE THE WATER. And help the Ms. Foundation expand our reach and support for grassroots activists working to promote real recovery for women, families and communities on the Gulf Coast.

What You Can Do:

Recruit Outrageous Activists to Our Facebook Cause – Win a TROUBLE THE WATER DVD
Invite your friends and encourage them to invite theirs. The top five recruiters will win a DVD.

Buy the DVD
To guarantee that you get a copy of this celebrated movie, preorder the DVD online from Zeitgeist Films. They offer a 25% discount.

Be an Outrageous Activist—Recruit Friends, Remember Hurricane...

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 10:40:00 -0400

Be an Outrageous Activist—Recruit Friends, Remember Hurricane Katrina and Win DVD of Academy Award-Nominated TROUBLE THE WATER

Join us in marking the upcoming 4th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

Recruit your friends to join the Ms. Foundation Outrageous Acts Facebook Cause and be eligible to win a soon-to-be released DVD of the documentary TROUBLE THE WATER!

TROUBLE THE WATER tells the story of Hurricane Katrina through the remarkable eyes and experience of Kimberly and Scott Roberts, “two unforgettable people who survive the storm and then seize a chance for a new beginning.” This Ms. Foundation grantee project reveals the courage, strength and wisdom of people who were directly affected by the storms and reminds us of the continuing need for recovery and rebuilding.

Help Us Reach 1,000 Members by August 25
TROUBLE THE WATER hits stores August 25. That means there are under two weeks to help the Outrageous Acts Cause reach 1,000 members! The five Outrageous Activists (members of the Outrageous Acts Cause) who recruit the most new members between August 11, 2009 and August 25, 2009 will each receive a DVD copy of TROUBLE THE WATER.

Here’s how you can join us.

What You Can Do:

Recruit Outrageous Activists to Our Cause – Win a TROUBLE THE WATER DVD
Invite your friends and encourage them to invite theirs.

Buy the DVD
To guarantee that you get a copy of this celebrated movie, preorder the DVD online from Zeitgeist Films. They offer a 25% discount.

Visit the Trouble the Water site, sign up for email updates, take action.
“It’s not about the hurricane. It’s about America.”

Become a fan of Trouble the Water
Learn more about the action and commitment the film has inspired and join in.

Outrageous Act: Be an Online Outrageous Activist Jessica...

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:22:00 -0400

Outrageous Act: Be an Online Outrageous Activist Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, deputy director of Ms. Foundation grantee the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health asks you to sign up for NLIRH’s e-alerts and become an online activist.

You can also learn how to join NLIRH’s campaign to repeal the Hyde Amendment, which has banned federal funding for abortions for over 30 years, and has been at risk of being cemented and expanded by conservatives in recent health care reform debates. (See our recent blog posting and this AP story on the issue.)

Ms. Foundation grantee Kentucky Jobs with Justice asks you to...

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:36:20 -0400

Ms. Foundation grantee Kentucky Jobs with Justice asks you to sign a petition in support of the Employee Free Choice Act. According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research [pdf]:

Unionization raised women’s wages by 11.2 percent – about $2.00 per hour – compared to non-union women with similar characteristics. Among women workers, those in unions were about 19 percentage points more likely to have employer-provided health insurance and about 25 percentage points more likely to have an employer-provided pension.

Kentucky Jobs with Justice has committed the outrageous act of organizing the Kentucky Social Forum to take place late this week.

Outrageous Act: Be a Court Watcher Court watchers make an...

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:13:44 -0400

Outrageous Act: Be a Court Watcher

Court watchers make an enormous difference in domestic violence and sexual assault cases. Become a court watcher in your community.

For more information on becoming an outrageous activist as a court watcher, see
Legal Momentum
http://www.legalmomentum.org/legal-assistance/family-law.html#Courtwatch

Outrageous Act: Check Local Safety Standards for In-Home...

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 10:47:44 -0400

Outrageous Act: Check Local Safety Standards for In-Home Daycare

Donna Wade, executive director of Ms. Foundation grantee the Idaho Women’s Network in Boise, suggests you check if local in-home daycare operates with minimum safety standards. If not, get active with local organizations, town councils and legislators.

For more information on becoming an outrageous activist, see the Idaho Women’s Network and its Activist Toolkit.

‘Hurricane Season’ Run in New York City Begins 10...

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:09:32 -0400

‘Hurricane Season’ Run in New York City Begins 10 July

Be an outrageous activist! See the acclaimed The Hurricane Season: The Hidden Messages in Water, and be inspired and informed to take action for simple justice in your community.

Alixa and Naima, the creators of Ms. Foundation grantee Climbing PoeTree, hope “everyone who attends, walks away from Hurricane Season impassioned and empowered, with tools to put their highest visions and most daring dreams into practice.” They use a variety of methods to move participants to action including: a “solutions-cipher” a forum after each performance that “addresses the impacts of the issues surfaced in Hurricane Season on a local level, and illuminates solutions already underway.”

New York City performances of “The Hurricane Season” start on Friday 10 July and run through Sunday 2 August.

“Hurricane Season pounds with intensity and fierceness and love. Naima and Alixa are truly forces of nature, delivering a performance that will move you to tears and to action.”

—-Tia Lessin & Carl Deal, Directors of Academy Award-nominated “Trouble the Water,” Producers of “Fahrenheit 9-11”

Hurricane Season at the The National Black Theatre
10 July — 2 August, Fridays and Saturdays @ 7:30 pm, and Sundays @ 4:00 pm
Admission: $15-35
Information/tickets 212.722.3800 or www.nationalblacktheatre.org
Purchase tickets online.

If you commit an outrageous act for simple justice inspired by Hurricane Season, please share it!

Alixa and Naima on Hurricane Season, the issues it addresses, and the outrageous activists it inspires.

Outrageous Act: Find and Support LGBT Queer Youth At the end of...

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:37:56 -0400

Outrageous Act: Find and Support LGBT Queer Youth

At the end of LGBT Pride Month we share Paul’s request that you find LGBT youth in your community and support them.

For more information, see Ms. Foundation grantee FIERCE in New York City.

New York Times Editorial: Pass the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 17:59:00 -0400

An editorial in today’s New York Times calls on Albany, which “has not been able to govern its way out of a paper bag” to “bestow some fundamental rights and protections on the invisible workers whose labors are a cornerstone of the New York economy.”

Bringing domestic workers up to parity with employees in other industries is not outrageous, it is the just, responsible and long-overdue action for New York State. See our recent postings and learn how to contact your legislators to ask that they vote in favor of the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights, legislation that was drafted by our grantee, Domestic Workers United. There is currently a tremendous opportunity for victory: If New York State lawmakers can put aside their differences in time to pass the bill, Governor Patterson has pledged to sign it into law. The full text of the Times editorial follows.

The Rights of Domestic Workers
New York Times Editorial
June 15, 2009

There are more than 200,000 workplaces in New York State where fundamental labor standards do not apply, not even in theory. These are not sweatshops or salt mines. They are private homes, where housekeepers, nannies and caregivers for the elderly do work as important as it is isolated and unprotected.

The exclusion is a relic of the New Deal, when labor protections like overtime pay were written specifically to exclude domestic and farm labor. From exclusion it can be a short distance to abuse: to long hours, low pay, dehumanizing treatment, physical and sexual harassment.

Domestic workers and their advocates in New York have been pressing for reforms. They have been telling their stories in Albany and across the state and steadily gathering support for a Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights. The legislation, the first of its kind in the nation, would reform state labor law to provide basic protections like time-and-a-half pay for every hour over a 40-hour week; one day off a week; paid vacation and sick days; severance pay and health coverage — and a means of enforcing these standards in court.

Most other workers take these standards for granted. They don’t know what it’s like to have to show up for work sick rather than be fired, to be denied privacy and dignity, to be powerless to demand decent treatment from their employers.

Backers of the bill had been confident that this could finally be the year for a groundbreaking victory, at least before the recent power struggle brought the Capitol to new depths of shame, ridicule and paralysis.

If the Legislature decides to return to its senses and start passing meaningful legislation that improves New Yorkers’ lives, it should include the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights. Albany, which has not been able to govern its way out of a paper bag, should at least be able to bestow some fundamental rights and protections on the invisible workers whose labors are a cornerstone of the New York economy.

Join Governor Patterson -- Show Your Support for Domestic Workers

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:44:00 -0400

On the Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC in New York City this morning, Governor David Patterson expressed his willingness to sign the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. He said:

If you read back in the 1930s, the reason that these workers and farmworkers did not receive equal benefits is because the southern Senators wouldn’t vote for it. It really began with the racism of the mid 20th century. Clearly in the law these workers deserve equal rights and if they are able to pass the Bill or if they are able to get the legislature to even come back, I will sign it.

Show Your Support
To show the legislature that you would also sign the bill, take part in the 24-hour vigil at New York City Hall (starting tomorrow Friday 12 June at 8:00 am) or the March at City Hall (Sunday 14 June at 1:00 pm). Activity details.

More information on the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights is available in the radio interviews below, our previous post and from Domestic Workers United.

Radio Interviews
Brian Lehrer interview with Keith Wright (D-70th) sponsor in the New York State Assembly of the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, Ai-Jen Poo, lead organizer with Domestic Workers United, working nanny Barbara Young, and Donna Schneiderman, co-chair of Jews for Racial & Economic Justice’s “Shalom Bayit” campaign at DWU.

Brian Lehrer interview with Governor David Patterson on the shake up in the State Senate and what to expect in the waning days of the legislative session (includes his expression of support for Domestic Workers Bill of Rights).

Support the New York State Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act...

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:35:00 -0400

Support the New York State Domestic Workers Bill of Rights

Act now. With only two weeks left in the New York State legislative session, now is the time to tell your Assembly and Senate representatives and their leadership to support the New York State Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. With the economic crisis causing widespread job loss and pay cuts it is even more important that the 200,000 domestic workers in New York — mostly immigrants and women of color — who are excluded from most labor protections and safety nets are given a fair chance to support themselves and their families.

Take action to help make the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights the law in New York.

Today: Write Your New York State Representatives

[1] Find Your Assembly Member and Senator
Assembly: http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/
Senate: http://www.nysenate.gov/

[2] Send Them a Message

Dear Assembly Member [ ] or Senator [ ]

I endorse the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights because domestic workers are entitled to a healthy and safe workplace, dignity and respect, and protection from exploitation and abuse. Protecting domestic workers ensures healthy workers and quality of life in the homes and families they care for, and for domestic workers’ own families.

There are over 200,000 domestic workers (nannies, elderly companions, housekeepers) in New York. The vast majority are immigrant women of color.

Without the work of domestic workers the economy would grind to a halt. Domestic workers support their families and enable many sectors of professionals to work and have leisure time. Yet, domestic workers are among the most vulnerable workforces, suffering egregious abuses. Domestic workers remain excluded—by law—from almost all labor protections. The Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights would provide recognition as a real workforce and a set of basic protections based on the unique conditions facing domestic workers working in the private home. The bill includes health care, basic benefits and protections, and an end to the previous exclusions from the law.

[3] Send the Same Message to the Assembly and Senate Leadership

Sheldon Silver, Speaker, New York State Assembly
Email: Speaker@assembly.state.ny.us
Web site contact page

Malcolm A. Smith, Majority Leader, New York State Senate
Email: masmith@senate.state.ny.us
Web site contact page

[4] Do Some More

Share this message with your friends and contacts.
Visit Domestic Workers United for more information.
Come back to this site for more actions you can take.

[Photo: Elizabeth Rappaport]

Attendance Counts: Show Up for Domestic Workers

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 11:36:00 -0400

Attendance counts next week. Show up and take action to make the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights the law in New York State. Go to the State Capitol, fill a shift in a 24-hour vigil at City Hall, march with your family, or attend a public forum. [For more information, see related post and Domestic Workers United.] See below for how you can be an outrageous activist for domestic workers and RSVP now.

Visit Albany - Monday June 8, 2009
6:30am - 8:00pm
Domestic Workers Speak Truth to Power in Albany
Join domestic workers for a day of culture, testimony, truth-telling, legislative visits, a rally and march at a critical time in the legislative session.

Buses leave Manhattan 6:30am from Union Square Barnes & Noble - North side of the park
Return by 8:00pm the same day
RSVP: aijendwu@gmail.com or 212-481-5747
[map]

Join the Vigil at NYC City Hall - Friday-Saturday June 12-13
8:00am - 8:00am
24-Hour Vigil for the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights
Many domestic workers, particularly live-in workers, work around the clock without rest. In solidarity, New Yorkers will stand together for 24 hours straight in a symbolic show of support for the passage of the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights to ensure domestic workers receive overtime, job security, basic respect and recognition.

City Hall - across from 250 Broadway
Take the N/R to City Hall, or the 4/5/6 to Brooklyn Bridge
RSVP, and sign up for a shift aijendwu@gmail.com, or 212-481-5747
[map]

March for Peace and Justice in NYC - Sunday, June 14
1:00pm - 4:00pm
NY Children and Families March for Domestic Workers Rights
Bring your entire family, community and congregation to this Sunday afternoon, after-church, “march for peace and justice in the home” to show how many people of faith support and are connected to domestic workers. Send a strong message to the NY State Legislature and the Governor that we won’t stop until they honor, respect and protect the work that makes all other work possible in New York.

City Hall - across from 250 Broadway
Take the N/R to City Hall, or the 4/5/6 to Brooklyn Bridge
RSVP, particularly with groups, to joycedwu@gmail.com, or 212-481-5747
[map]

Learn More, Raise Awareness - Monday, June 15
7:00 - 9:00pm
National Domestic Workers Alliance Regional Congress Public Forum - Women and Work
Join domestic worker organizers, feminist scholars, activists, legislators, and other allies to raise awareness on how to extend protections to all working women. Featuring a video presentation of women leaders from across the country who are raising their voices to support the work being done on behalf of domestic workers in this country. Video includes Jennifer Baumgardner, activist and author; the Guerilla Girls, artists and activists; Maria Hinojosa, Senior Correspondent of NOW on PBS and NPR’s Latino USA anchor; Katha Pollitt, author and The Nation columnist; Amy Richards, activist and author; Gloria Steinem, activist and Ms. Magazine/Ms. Foundation co-founder; and Jessica Valenti, Feministing.com founder.

Julius Held Auditorium
304 Barnard Hall, Barnard College - Barnard Center for Research on Women
3009 Broadway
New York, NY 10027
[map]

Outrageous Act: Demand Health Service and Materials in English...

Thu, 28 May 2009 17:17:31 -0400

Outrageous Act: Demand Health Service and Materials in English and Spanish

To ensure your health, demand that your doctor’s office provides materials and service in both English and Spanish.

Bibiana Martinez, Community Mobilization Intern, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health

Recognize an Outrageous Original: Gloria Steinem

Wed, 20 May 2009 15:35:00 -0400

As the Ms. Foundation for Women recognizes Gloria Steinem’s 75th birthday on May 21, we ask you to make a contribution in her honor. Help the Ms. Foundation further her legacy of building grassroots action.

Read Gloria’s words (our emphasis added) from her letter to attendees at the Women of Vision Awards:

The Ms. Foundation has grown to a staff of 35 whose President, Sara Gould, is a national pioneer of women’s economic development. It has also grown thanks to the expert help of 15 board members, including men who not only care about wives and daughters, but understand that there is no such thing as democracy without feminism. It has inspired the spread of local women’s funds across this country and in other countries, and earned the support of individuals and foundations by multiplying the human benefits of every dollar given.

Yet Ms. has never sugar-coated the fact that having greatly increased the amount of charitable dollars going to projects for women and girls still leaves this sum at less than ten percent of corporate, foundation and individual giving. Most important, it has never lost its personal link with the diversity of women and girls on the ground who know best what they need, and are infinitely creative about how to achieve it.

I think that, for all of us, this is the best gift: Ms. has kept its spirit, its soul, and its ability to link rather than rank; a rare thing as institutions grow. Ms. has successfully made the journey from a dream with only money enough to last a few months to a reliable, deeply-rooted, transforming source of energy that we can include in our wills and bequests with confidence.

Make a gift to help further Gloria’s legacy.

Recognizing Outrageous Actors: 2009 Women of Vision Awards

Tue, 19 May 2009 10:49:00 -0400

This week the Ms. Foundation holds its 21st Annual Gloria Awards: A National Salute to Women of Vision where we will recognize three grassroots leaders and an individual and corporate donor who are each committing outrageous acts for simple justice. These women exemplify, in Gloria Steinem’s words, “women and girls on the ground who know best what they need, and are infinitely creative about how to achieve it.”

Naina Khanna, Director of Policy and Community Organizing at Women Organized to Respond to Life-Threatening Disease (WORLD), supports, educates and mobilizes women living with and affected by HIV/AIDS to advocate for policy change that meets their unique and, often, unmet needs. Naina recently co-founded the U.S. Positive Women’s Network and is the youngest leadership team member of the Ms. Foundation’s National Women and AIDS Collective. Her work results in better prevention, treatment and care programs for women and their families across the U.S. [Read more.]
Gina Womack, Director and Co-Founder of Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children (FFLIC), is an impassioned community organizer dedicated to creating a better life for all of Louisiana’s youth, especially those involved in or targeted by the juvenile justice system. With chapters across the state, FFLIC builds the leadership of parents and others to share testimony and advocate for the rights of youth and families, including an end to the “school-to-prison pipeline.” Under her leadership, FFLIC has helped reduce the number of juveniles in detention in the state from 2,000 to 541 between 2000 and 2007. [Read more.]
Kirbie Platero is the recipient of the Marie C. Wilson Young Woman’s Leadership Award. Kirbie, member of and organizer at Young Women United, is a 19-year old activist, mother and artist working to secure reproductive justice for girls and women. She recently helped lead a successful campaign in New Mexico that brought young women of color to advocate before state officials for the implementation of comprehensive sexuality education in public schools. [Read more.]
Bonnie Schaefer, Woman of Vision and Action Award recipient and former co-chair & co-CEO of Claire’s Stores, Inc., is being honored for her strong commitment to issues affecting women and girls in the U.S. and around the world—from human trafficking to women’s visibility in the media. Bonnie serves on the Host Committee for the Women’s Division of the Weizmann Institute of Science, and she is a new member of Women Moving Millions, a partnership of visionary donors and the Women’s Funding Network. [Read more.]
MAC AIDS Fund and Executive Director Nancy Mahon, recipients of the Corporate Philanthropy Award, are being honored for the Fund’s crucial support of women and HIV/AIDS advocacy. Their partnership with the Ms. Foundation has been critical to the success of the National Women and AIDS Collective, the first and only national policy coalition led by and for HIV positive women in the U.S., formed in 2005 by the Ms. Foundation’s Women and AIDS Fund grantees. [Read more.]

More on the 21st Annual Gloria Awards: A National Salute to Women of Vision.

Outrageous Act: Football Hall-of-Famer and Feminist Don...

Fri, 08 May 2009 15:43:38 -0400

Outrageous Act: Football Hall-of-Famer and Feminist

Don McPherson says that being a black man, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, a member of the Ms. Foundation Board of Directors and a feminist always leads to an outrageous conversation.

Outrageous Act: Tell Your Legislators to End Funding for Abstinence-Only Programs

Fri, 08 May 2009 11:25:13 -0400

Advocates for Youth, a Ms. Foundation grantee, is calling for support of President Obama’s budget eliminating abstinence-only-until-marriage education programs. They ask you to write to your Representative in the U.S. House and your U.S. Senators urging their support for the funding elimination. Ask your representatives to support the elimination of abstinence-only-until-marriage programs.

Outrageous Act: Help Your Employer Address Domestic...

Mon, 04 May 2009 17:00:59 -0400

Outrageous Act: Help Your Employer Address Domestic Violence

Maya Raghu, a senior staff attorney at Ms. Foundation grantee Legal Momentum asks you to check if your workplace has educated workers about domestic violence. If not, find a local domestic violence organization to offer the needed instruction.